St. Olaf Lutheran Church The CALLER December 2017 WOMEN OF GRACE NEWS Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! I know it is early for Lutefisk Dinner, Bake Sale, and Scandi Butik thank yous, but I know that many of you have been helping in all the preparations and the Women of Grace wish to thank each and every one of you for your dedication and help. I ll have a report on the results of the dinner, bake sale, and scandi butik in the January Caller. There will be a meeting of the Women of Grace on Thursday, December 14th at 6:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall at church. At that time, we should have initial numbers regarding the dinner and can talk about some of the places we would like the funds for missions to go. Final decisions will be made in January. We have already made the decision to donate some funds to the Child Smile program since that money is needed soon. The Gather magazine has a Bible study each month. For the past few years we have had that study in the evening. We would like move it to a Tuesday morning during the Searchers Bible study. In December, we will have the study on the 19th at at the home of Jane Christenson. If you do not currently subscribe to the Gather magazine, we will have copies of the study available that day. Please consider joining us if that time works out for you. The December study is entitled Joy to the World, and is an Advent devotional. As always, all women of St. Olaf are invited to join in any activities that the Women of Grace have. We look forward to seeing you and hearing any ideas you may have for us. Peace and Joy to you all during this Christmas season! ~ Cindy J. Schlieve, President Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell. Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. 2 Corinthians 13:11 DECEMBER ANNIVERSARIES 4 Austin & Jennifer Becker (13) DECEMBER BIRTHDAYS 3 Matthew Siegrist 5 Carolyn Roraff, Peyton Roraff 12 Donald Christopherson 13 Christine Kirkhofer 15 Noelle Kraemer 16 Amiah Brakob 17 Sarah Braunschweig 18 John Guenther 19 Thomas Guenther 20 Pr. Tom Pietz 21 William Guenther, Kenneth Nelson 22 Traci Walter 23 Kayla Krassman, Russell Weiss 24 Russell Roraff, Lily Siegmann 25 Michael Cadena 26 Linda Feutz 27 Sam Pietz 28 Tony Brakob, Kalleigh Kuzenski 30 Lisa Sutrick 31 Pauline Christopherson, Cindy Schlieve A CHILD S SMILE This is the 6th year for our "A Child's Smile" program. Scrip cards to Walmart and other donated presents will be given to children of local rural families in need who otherwise won't experience the joy of Christmas. Last year we provided over $8,253 in gift cards, warm mittens and caps, and other presents to 195 children. I am challenging St. Olaf's Congregation to match the contributions I am receiving from the community. Make contributions payable to St. Olaf's and designate to "A Child's Smile". You can put them in the plate or send to me. I must receive contributions by Dec. 13th. ~ Rog Johnson
DECEMBER LAY MINISTRY SCHEDULE Date Asst. Minister Acolyte Sat. Dec. 2 Mary 5:00 p.m. Hershoff Sun., Dec. 3 Pam Eggert Andrew Schlehlein Sat., Dec. 9 Jane 5:00 p.m. Christenson Sun., Dec. 10 Diane Dowling Madison DeBack Sat., Dec. 16 Dave 5:00 p.m. Johnston Sun., Dec. 17 Scott Siegrist Matthew Siegrist Sat., Dec. 23 Jane 5:00 p.m. Christenson Sun., Dec. 24 4:00 p.m. Jane Christenson Payton DeBack Sun., Dec. 24 7:00 p.m. Mary Hershoff Braden Wetzel Mon, Dec. 25 Jane Christenson Braeden C. Sam S. Alaina Sam M. Sat. Dec. 30 Assistant 5:00 p.m. Sun., Dec. 31 Needed Assistant Needed December Altar Guild: December Counters: Carter Meier Liz Laack Joan Uhlman Jerry Bohen Lyn Johnson Roger Johnson ADVENT WORSHIP Come worship with us as we prepare our hearts, mind, and body for the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. We will be doing Holden Evening Prayer (about a 30 min service) on Wednesday evenings at 7:00 P.M. on November 29 th, December 6 th, 13 th, and 20 th. SCRIP CARDS MAKE GREAT STOCKING STUFFERS!! ST. NICHOLAS DAY IS DECEMBER 6 TH ST. OLAF BOOK CLUB NEXT MEETING DATE: DECEMBER 12 th St. Olaf Addicted Readers (S.O.A.R.) invite you to join us in reading, and then discussing, some of our favorite books on the second Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. Our selection for December is Murder on Astor Place by Victoria Thompson. We will meet at the home of Mary Hershoff. Book selections December 12th 2017 Murder on Astor Place Author Victoria Thompson January 9th 2018 Our Souls at Night Author Kent Haruf February 13th 2018 Three Cups of Tea Author Greg Mortenson March 13th 2018 A Man Called Ove Author Fredrik Backman April 10th 2018 - A Thousand Acres Author Jane Smiley May 8th 2018 Pride & Prejudice (open to another option) Author Jane Austen ORDER YOUR POINSETTIA It s time again to decorate our church for the holidays. Order forms are on tables around the gathering area. Orders and payment are due by December 10 th. If you would like, you can take the plant home with you after the Monday, 12/25, 9:00am worship service. SCANDI BUTIK at LUTEFISK This is a reminder that it will be "sneak peek" time to purchase items at the Scandi Butik on Fri. Dec. 1st from 1:30-3:00 as the items are being set out. The Butik will also be open from 10:00-4:30 on Sat. Dec. 2nd, and then again before and after church on Sunday Dec. 3rd. Thank you to everyone who donated items for the sale.
CHRISTMAS 2017 SCHEDULE Sunday School Program Sunday, Dec. 24 th 9:00 A.M. Christmas Eve, Sunday, Dec. 24 th Children/Family service with Holy Communion 4:00 P.M. Christmas Eve worship with Holy Communion and Candles 7:00 P.M. Christmas Day, Monday, Dec. 25 th Christmas Day Worship with Holy Communion 9:00 A.M. First Sunday of Christmas Saturday, Dec. 30 th 5:00 P.M. Worship w/ Holy Communion Sunday, Dec. 31 st 9:00 A.M. Worship w/holy Communion Congregation will pick the carols BENEFIT FOR ST. OLAF MEMBER John Monnahan s family is holding a benefit for him on December 9, 2017 at noon. It will be held at Big Guys, 5869 Franklin Dr., Hartford. There will be a Texas Hold-Em' Tournament, silent auction (4-2018 Brewers tickets behind home plate and more), chance auctions (2 - Dec 23 Packer tickets in Lambeau Leap Zone and more), meat auctions, music, bake sale and more. John is a Type I diabetic. He had his left leg amputated just below the knee on 10/19 while on vacation in Colorado. He is also in stage 5 chronic kidney failure. He will probably start dialysis while his amputation heals. Once it heals he can be on a kidney transplant list. The benefit is to help John with personal and medical financial expenses during this very trying time. 2018 SPRING ADULT MISSION TRIP WITH LAKE CLUSTER CONGREGATIONS Have you thought about helping those recovering after a natural disaster? We have a great opportunity with our area cluster churches with everything arranged. Will you join me, Pastor Tom, and give a week of service to bring a smile on people s faces who have lost their homes? Then read on What: Hurricane Harvey recovery in the Houston area (where 330,000 homes were destroyed) When: Early Sat April 14 to late Sat April 20 (overnight stays both ways) Accommodations and Work Planning: Salem Lutheran Church, Tomball, TX Work: Cleanup and rebuilding Volunteer Cost: $400 - $500 (specific to be defined) Transportation: Rental vans - 15 passenger Ford Transit style. Target Count: 40 volunteers Kickoff Meeting: Tuesday Dec 5, 2017, 6:30 PM, St. Luke s Lutheran Church, Waukesha St. Luke s Trip Contact: Don French, (262) 896-0225, d-french@sbcglobal.net Please sign up early. We expect many people will want to help. TIME TO THINK ABOUT ORDERING SCRIP FOR CHRISTMAS! Are you counting down to Christmas already? Well, we can make some of your shopping easier with the Scrip program here at St. Olaf. Are you planning a special holiday meal or party? We have grocery store cards, too, so think about using Piggly Wiggly or Pick n Save cards for all the food you ll be buying. St. Olaf gets a percentage of each card, so with all the holiday spending we do, it s nice to help the church as well. We carry an inventory of the most popular cards so you can just pick them up at church. If you want some of the others, please fill out an order
form. (Remember, scrip is not just for Christmas, we sell the cards year round) NEW MEMBER CLASS MEETING Sunday, December 10 th at 10:15am Those interested in hearing more about St. Olaf, to consider membership, meet in the Conference Room. Please let Pastor Tom know that you will be attending. A sign-up sheet is on the information desk (next to the mailboxes). If you are interested in membership but this date does not work for you, please talk with Pastor Tom for an alternative meeting time. ST. OLAF S NEXT BLOOD DRIVE Monday, December 18, 2:00 pm - 6:00 pm St. Olaf Lutheran Church W653 Roosevelt Road Rubicon, WI 53078 To sign up https://donor.bcw.edu/donor/schedules/drive_sch edule/156171 "A CHILD S SMILE" I have asked the community outside St. Olaf's what a child's smile is worth, and it has recognized the value of our A Child's Smile program to the kids of local families in need. Individuals, organizations, and other churches have so far contributed over $4,100 with more contributions on the way. St. Olaf's is answering the challenge. So far, 24 members have been inspired to contribute $2,280 in donations that range from $5 to $500. Join us on the Christmas train that brings Christmas to local kids who won't have one without you. Don't forget the need for mittens and caps. ~ Rog Johnson