Welcome to Christ Lutheran e-news, a weekly electronic newsletter which highlights programs and activities of our congregation. Feel free to .

This Sunday will offer the first of two opportunities to purchase handmade, fairly traded gifts at CLC. Artisans, mostly women, from cooperative production groups in some 35 nations (including the USA), create beautiful goods and market them through SERRV (Sales Exchange for Refugee Rehabilitation and Vocation), and income supports their families and communities. SERRV "follows the internationally recognized fair trade principles of 
fair wage ,  gender equality, long-term relationships, concern for the environment, democratic decision making, safe  working conditions , respect for culture, and prohibition of  child exploitation."
If you would like to find items that would not be available at the Natick Mall or on Amazon, and to feel good about your consumption, be sure to stop by the parish hall after worship on Sunday. A small portion of sales will benefit the minibus project as well.

Next Sunday, 11/24,   Rolf Larson's photos and Sarah Whitlock's pottery will be available;  Natick resident and environmental activist Melissa Probst will bring  Sweet Suds,  her handmade, natural soaps.

Music Notes
Tom Berryman, Music Director
Eighteen singers and players from Christ Lutheran visited the South Middlesex Correctional Center, part of the Massachusetts Correctional Institute in Framingham last Thursday evening. The SMCC is the pre-release section of the prison, with the residents typically staying within one year. We enjoyed an hour of offering fiddle tunes and enthusiastic sing-a-longs with about twenty-five residents of the Center. The Center Chaplain, the Rev. Lucy Marshall, coordinated our visit and provided a very welcoming and friendly spirit for the evening. The residents whole-heartedly joined in with us, singing songs like "This Little Light of Mine," "I Saw the Light," "Amazing Grace," "Down to the River to Pray," "I Heard the Voice/Shine on Me," and "I'll Fly Away." We hope to visit again!
Youth & Family
Gail Weston-Roberts, Youth & Family Ministries Coordinator
Hello, Youth and Families!

Happy November to you all, and here's a Save The Date notice: our annual CALUMET AWESOME WINTER RETREAT is coming up at the end of JANUARY, Friday the 31st thru Sunday, FEBRUARY 2!

Some folks have suggested we try for a goal of 100% youth attendance in 2020, plus...everybody brings A Friend along!

What do you think? We could do this; definitely want to meet and discuss soon, because your ideas about what to do, program- and activity-wise, are ESSENTIAL to this being an exciting trip to commit to! Plus I'm guessing that those of you with weekend jobs need to ask for time off, way ahead of time? Also, there will be financial support to cover your costs so that doesn't need to be an issue.

I'll be contacting you and your parents about this project. In the meantime, dream of tubing on the toboggan run and chugging hot chocolate around the fireplace.

Thanks ever so! Your Coord. Gail W-R

Adult Formation

ADULT FORUM


This Sunday in the Adult Forum we resume our exploration of some of the more difficult texts in the Bible. This week we look at Genesis 38: Tamar & Judah. Join us at 9:00 in the Memorial Room!


                                        
CLC @the Movies

Departures  depicts an unemployed cellist who takes a job that he thinks is for a travel agency, but learns to his chagrin is for a mortuary assistant who prepares bodies for their final journey. Despite the disapproval of his work by his wife and friends he gains a deep appreciation for life. November 17, 4:00 p.m. Movie followed by a Japanese-themed potluck. No time to cook? Come anyway.

Book Group

The Girl with Seven Names  is a memoir that recounts the escape of a 17-year old girl from the repression of North Korea, first to China, then to South Korea requiring her to change her identity seven times. Meet for discussion on November 18, 7:30 p.m.




BIBLE STUDY

Led by Pastor Richard Hurst, the Bible study group meets each Thursday at the church. We invite you to join with us as we gather for coffee and refreshments at 9:45 a.m. in the Memorial Room so that the hour discussion/study can begin promptly at 10:00 a.m.

Call to Action

Let's keep it brief: pledge cards and time and talent forms...please!

Otherwise, why not pause this week and make an inventory of thanks-giving? Not your shopping list or guest list for November 25, but a catalog of all (or much) for which you are grateful.                                                           
 



CLC'S Host Week is right around the corner:
December 8 - 15, 2019

Trained volunteers are needed to set up, prepare and/or host meals, stay overnight, and break-down at week's end.  Registration is now open on CERVIS at  www.familypromisemetrowest.org .   If you need CERVIS support or more information, please contact CLC FPM Co-Chairs Robin Hurst or Mary Avalos to assist you. 

Thanks to all for your continued support of the important ministry. 
Looking Ahead

On Sunday, December 1, Advent begins, the short season in which we focus on our anticipation of Christ's coming, not only or even especially as a baby some 2000 years ago, a one-time, long-ago event, but Christ's coming into our midst week after week in Word and Sacrament, day after day in the last, the lost, and the least, and at the end of history, when God will finish the work of restoring the beloved creation and God's beloved people.

On the 1 st  we'll have an Advent wreath-making workshop. Bring your own base (ring) if you have one, as well as four candles (usually blue, but purple or white are fine, too), and we'll provide greenery and wire and some tools to put them together. You're welcome to embellish them with pinecones or ribbons or whatever you'd like-although the candles and greenery are the focus. A few sets of candles and some rings will be available for a nominal cost.

This is a great, annual, intergenerational event. Bring your kids and grandkids!

                                                   

                                                    
On Sunday, November 17,  we celebrate the Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost ,  10:00 a.m. worship. Pastor Rebecca Bourret   preaching and presiding.
READINGS FOR THIS WEEK - Twenty-Third Sunday After Pentecost
November 17, 2019  

The end is near. There is no doubt about it. The warnings are dire. The tone of today's texts is ominous. But the baptized know how to live in the "meantimes." The baptized are strengthened for the living of these days in word and sacrament. The baptized rally around the invitation of the apostle: "Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right."

            First Reading                           Psalm                     Second Reading                     Gospel
             Mal 4:1-2a                                Ps 98                       2 Thess 3:6-13                    Luke 21:5-19
Sing For Joy
Enhance your understanding of the weekly scripture readings by listening to Sing For Joy http://www.stolaf.edu/singforjoy/ from St. Olaf College.  The Sing For Joy radio program, produced by St. Olaf College , has a simple mission: to explore the weekly themes of Christian worship by providing the best in sacred choral music and thoughtful commentary. The musical performances eloquently "do the talking," while the concise remarks from host Pastor Bruce Benson illuminate the meaning of the texts.
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