Quick Links
Following our local ministries & activities.
TITHE.LY: A safe and simple way to support our ministry.
Staying connected with Lutheran Ministries of our area.
FOR ONGOING ACTIVITIES, CHECK THE CALENDAR IN THE TOP MENU
CHRISTMAS AUCTION FESTIVAL
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 5 @ 6:00 P.M.
The annual Christmas Auction Festival will be held on Friday, December 5 starting at 6:00 p.m. Bring an appetizer or dessert to share. We will have a silent auction, a wine wall, a bake sale, raffle, and live auction.
We need you to provide auction items such as gift baskets, crafts, food, personal services, etc. We are accepting donations of new and gently used items for the auctions and raffle, and bottles of wine for the wine wall from November 1st until the 23rd. Pick up a Donation Form in the narthex and fill it out with the item's worth and a thorough description that can be used during the auction. Bring your non-perishable items to the multi-purpose/fellowship room and place them on the tables, behind the curtain to the left. Perishable and Bake Sale items can be dropped off December 5.
The funds raised are used to support our outreach and local organizations. This is a really fun time for everyone—mark your calendars and don’t miss it!
HOLDEN EVENING PRAYER
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10 @ 6:30 P.M.
Holden Evening Prayer is a liturgy for evening prayer based on the Annunciation to Mary, with scripture reading, silence, and song. It was written by Marty Haugen in 1985–1986 while he was the musician-in-residence at Holden Village, a Lutheran retreat center in Washington State, this lovely setting of vespers follows the traditional form while using contemporary and inclusive language. Contents include "Service
of Light," Evening Hymn,"Joyous Light of Heav'nly Glory," "Evening Thanksgiving,"
"The Annunciation," "The Magnificat," "Litany and Prayers," and "Final Blessing."
Choir practice will follow.
SANTA LUCIA PROGRAM
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14 @ 7:00 P.M.
St. Lucia, the young Christian martyr whose name means light (from the Latin “lux”), is celebrated in many parts of the world. Given her association with light, the legend of Santa Lucia has always been linked to with the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year. The saint comes during the darkest time of winter, and promises the return of spring. Families observe Santa Lucia Day in their homes by having the eldest daughter dress in white and serve coffee and baked goods, such as saffron bread (lussekatter) and ginger biscuits.
Please join us for this tradition with the Scandinavian Heritage Society. Stories will be told and songs will be sung in the traditional way the Christmas holiday is celebrated in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Iceland.
Following the program there will be a meal of Scandinavian treats. Hope you can join us!
JOIN US FOR CAROLING
AFTERNOON OF DECEMBER 21
Everyone is invited! If you like to sing Christmas Carols, we'll go to places where they like to hear them! We will carol for shut-ins on the afternoon of December 21. Jaci Williams will coordinate.
CANDLELIGHT CHRISTMAS EVE WORSHIP WITH HOLY COMMUNION
DECEMBER 24, 7:00 P.M.
The history of Christmas Eve candlelight worship stems from the Moravian Church, which began holding candlelight services in Germany in 1747. It spread quickly to the Lutheran Church and other denominations. It came to America in 1756 via Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. This tradition, inspired by Jesus as the "Light of the World," begins in a darkened sanctuary. Everyone's candle is lit from a single candle, as the birth of Christ banishes our darkness. It is a powerful, reflective experience.
TORNADO RELIEF
Across the country, Lutheran Disaster Response supports communities recovering from devastating tornadoes. They include:
- Western Kentucky
- Selma and Prattville, Ala.
- Amory and Wren, Miss.
- Rocky Mount and Battleboro, N.C.
- Pulaski County, Ark.
- Central Tennessee
Our response:
In the aftermath of tornadoes, Lutheran Disaster Response works with ELCA synods, social ministry organizations and community-based groups to support local responses. Together we accompany impacted communities through disaster case management, construction management, providing relief supplies and addressing other unmet needs.
What you can do:
Pray:
Please pray for the people impacted by these destructive tornadoes. May God's healing presence give them peace and hope in their time of need.
Give:
Gifts to "U.S. tornadoes" will be used entirely (100%)
to assist those affected by tornadoes.
Connect:
To learn more about the situation and the ELCA’s response:
JUSTICE AND PEACE IN PALESTINE
Sumud is the ELCA Churches response to occupation and injustice in Palestine and Israel. In Jesus Christ all of life— every act of service, in every daily calling, in every corner of life— flows freely from a living, daring confidence in God’s grace.
Freed by the transformative life of Christ, the ELCA is committed to accompaniment, advocacy and awareness-raising with our partners in the Holy Land and in the United States. For the past two decades that work was organized through the ELCA Peace Not Walls campaign. In October 2023 the ELCA announced that, following an in-depth review by ELCA staff and leadership from the Palestinian Lutheran church, Peace Not Walls would be renamed and reconfigured as a new initiative, Sumud: For Justice in Palestine and Israel.
Sumud is an Arabic word meaning “steadfastness.” The term is widely used by Palestinian theologians and others to signify Palestinian resistance to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands and people. That resistance takes the form of nonviolent advocacy for political change as well as “resistance through existence,” embodied in education, social work, the arts and one’s relationships with the land and community.