Stewardship Stew and Annual Meeting
The Annual Meeting will be this Sunday, November 17, following worship. Before the meeting, the Fellowship Committee will be serving "Stewardship Stew," a simple but tasty lunch, with the meeting to follow. Important agenda items will include elections, 2020 budget, and the proposals for flooring in education wing and AC in the sanctuary.
Funeral for Marabelle
On Saturday I met with Marabelle's familyl to plan the service for their mom. The service, (family only) was at Auxter on Monday morning. Special thanks to Roger and Ann P. for their faithful visits to Marabelle (and her husband Bruce) in recents years, bringing a ministry of presence and the sacrament of Holy Communion.
More Holy Communion visitation?
One thing that I have done in previous interims was to begin (or revitalize) what is sometimes referred to as Communion Ministry or Eucharistic Ministry, the bringing of Holy Communion to the home-bound, as Ann and Roger did for Marabelle. Ideally, this ministry has several individuals or couples who do this on a regular basis for congregation members who are unable to participate in worship on Saturday or Sunday.
Another ideal is to have home communion kits on the altar, and before the final Blessing, for Eucharistic Ministers come forward to receive the kits, and remain while the following prayer is prayed:
Gracious God, loving all your family with a mother’s tender care: As you sent the angel to feed Elijah with heavenly bread, assist those who set forth to share your word and sacrament with those who are sick, homebound, and imprisoned. In your love and care, nourish and strengthen those who will receive this sacrament, and give us all the comfort of your abiding presence through the body and blood of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
This is a strong reminder that the Distribution of Holy Communion during this service now continues for those unable to physically attend, and is a reminder that these saints are still a part of our worship and celebration of Holy Communion.
I have sometimes offered a brief training for those who participate in this ministry. Might anyone be interested in participating in such a more structured Communion Ministry?
Stewardship Emphasis continues
Our Stewardship theme, "How Much is Enough?" will continue to guide us in the coming weeks. Packets with Plan for Giving cards were distributed last Sunday, and mailed out this week. Members are encouraged to complete and return their cards this weekend, at earliest convenience, or by mail using the addressed envelope. The fourth and final bulletin insert this weekend reminds us that "Giving is a spiritual discipline." From the insert"
The value of planned and regular giving is in claiming it as a freely chosen spiritual discipline to assist the steward in worshiping God above all things. I choose to make my giving decision first, and arrange my life from there. In this way planned giving is not imposed from without but rather elected from within. And that makes all the difference.
Submitted photos needed for new picture directory
I learned this week from Doug Klein that he and Cindy will not be doing a make-up day, but will plan to do a day next fall, and following years, for new members and anyone else who wants to be included. Hopefully, this will keep the directory much more up-to-date that it has in the past. In the meantime, we will put out the request for submitted photos to be posted in the directory. Kristen has been doing research on printing cost -- looks like it will cost between $6.00-8.00 to print the books. The plan will be to receive submitted photos through the end of the year, and then put it all together in January. Members with email addresses will be sent an invitation to access the directory online through Breeze, our church management software.
Confirmation youth learn 8th Commandment
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
What does this mean for us?
We are to fear and love God so that we do not betray, slander, or lie about our neighbor, but defend him, speak well of him, and explain his actions in the kindest way.
We have one more class session before Thanksgiving, and for the first three weeks of December we will do mentor meetings and attend Advent worship at 7:00 pm. We'll finish up the Ten Commandments when we resume in January.
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