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BLESSING OF NEW BANNERS
On Sunday, November 9th, during our Sunday worship service there was a blessing of two new banners for the Gethsemane narthex.
Born from discussions at the May 4th long-term brainstorming session, the banners were suggested as a way to communicate welcoming sentiments to all who visit our church.
Project Day coordinators, Carol Stuckert and Pamela Anderson took the lead in choosing the fabrics and making the designs. Then they and other Project Day participants stitched the two beautiful banners proclaiming “Have Mercy” and “Abide No Hatred.” Following their blessing, the banners were hung in the narthex.
JOINT SERVICE WITH CASA DE DIOS EMANUEL WITH HOLIDAY BRUNCH
SERVICE 9:30 A.M. | BRUNCH FOLLOWS
ALL ARE WELCOME
We will be having a joint service with Casa De Dios Emanuel on Sunday morning, November 23 at 9:30 a.m. We will use a new bilingual liturgy from All Creation Sings, our newest ELCA hymnal supplement. Everything will be both in English and Spanish. Don't be surprised if you see some hands going up in the air in worship! After the service, Gethsemane and Emanual will share a holiday brunch in the fellowship room. Join us for a time of fellowship and thanksgiving.
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 on 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!
SANTA LUCIA PROGRAM
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14 @ 7:00 P.M.
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.