Advent/Christmas 2009 Newsletter

" I am the

l Ight of

the world.

whoever

follows me

wIll never

walk In

darkness,

but wIll

have the

l Ight of

l I fe ."

John 8:12

In thIs Issue...

sharing tree ... 3

sponsor a

family ............. 5

advent and

Christmas wor-

ship services 6-7

rlC Christmas

Concerts ......... 8

Collections for

bridging .........10

20 09 advent / ChrIstmas newslet ter

R o s e v i l l e l u t h e R a n

1215 west roselawn avenue, roseville, mn 55113 — Phone: 651-487-7752 — www.rosevillelutheran.org

Blessed Advent And Merry ChristMAs,

For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders and he will be

called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

I heard it for the first time this year. Like spotting the first robin of spring. I heard my first Christmas carol yesterday. I tend to complain when it comes at us before Thanksgiving because it seems so early – seems to be rushing the season.

I’m suspicious that it’s being driven by commercial interests rather than evangelical motives.

As I pondered these words of Isaiah, I asked myself this – “Who put me in charge?” It isn’t my timeline or seasonal order that’s most important. It is the announcement of this Child. This Child that will carry all authority under heaven and earth. This child that will take the weight of the world upon His shoulders by way of a cross.

So the carols are playing, the lights are beaming, the decorations are adoring – albeit too early for me, but maybe it can serve the purpose of pointing to this Child. The one named Jesus, who is born of Mary, who is the Savior. Maybe I’m the one, most of all, who needs to be reminded that this child came for poor ornery sinners like me.

Following are the words to the hymn: “I wonder as I wander out under the sky."

I wonder as I wander out under the sky, How Jesus the Savior did come for to die. For

poor on’ry people like you and like I… I wonder as I wander out under the sky.

When Mary birthed Jesus ‘twas in a cow’s stall, With wise men and farmers

and shepherds and all. But high from God’s heaven a star’s light did fall,

And the promise of ages it then did recall.

If Jesus had wanted for any wee thing, A star in the sky, or a bird

on the wing, Or all of God’s angels in heav’n for to sing,

He surely could have it, ‘cause he was the King.

In Jesus’ name,

Pastor Craig Hanson

1215 west roselawn avenue, roseville, mn 55113 — Phone: 651-487-7752 — www.rosevillelutheran.org3

shAring tree

Our RLC Sharing Tree tradition in the Commons will continue this Christmas season. Please take an ornament with a gift idea, purchase the gift, and place it unwrapped under the tree by December 13th. Your gifts will benefit children and adults served by several organizations that RLC helps to support. The December 13th deadline allows the organizations to pick up and deliver your gifts prior to Christmas. After December 13th there will be ornaments on the tree with ideas for monetary donations to local and international organizations. Thank you for keeping the Sharing Tree tradition alive!

WArM toes And tuMMies

Help the homeless keep warm this winter. As has been a tradition at Roseville Lutheran Church, we will collect new socks from November 28th through December 13th. The socks will be given out at the Dorothy Day Center on December 14th during Roseville Lutheran’s monthly Loaves and Fishes dinner.

PresChool PoinsettiA PlAnt sAle

On Saturday and Sunday, December 5 and 6, the Roseville Lutheran Nursery School (RLNS) will be selling poinsettia plants in the Commons for you to take home. The beautiful plants are from A. Johnson & Son Floral on Grand Avenue. Our thanks to Tom and Heidi Johnson. Proceeds from this sale will be used to supplement the scholarship fund and replace worn equipment. Thank you for your support of RLNS’s one and only fundraiser.

ChristMAs gArden

The Christmas Garden decorates our Worship Center with poinsettias and other adornments for the Fes-tival Christmas Concert and Christmas Eve and Christmas Day worship services. Contributions to the Christ-mas Garden can be made in honor or in memory of a loved one, or in thankfulness or celebration of a person or event. A minimum donation is $15 per plant and is tax-deductible. Contributions must be received by Sun-

day, December 6, in order to be printed in the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day worship folders. Contribu-tion forms are available at the Welcome Desk, in the church office, or online at www.rosevillelutheran.org.

"shine"20 09 love l Ight s tars

Special thanks to those of you who have decided to remember a loved one through the Love Lights campaign! These Love Light donations have been added to the permanent funds of the Roseville Lutheran church Endowment Fund. The income from your gifts has supported the ministries of the

church, both here at Roseville Lutheran Church and in worldwide missions. Come see the dedication of "SHINE" - Love Light Stars December 12, at the Christmas concert.


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There will be games, crafts, and a family friendly movie here for all children ages 6 months to 5th grade at RLC. Cost for the night is $15 for one child, $20 for two, $25 for 3, and $30 for 4 or more. All money will go to help students raise money for youth trips. So come drop off your children and go Christmas shopping (or just enjoy a quiet evening). Sign up sheets can be found at the Children, Youth and Family desk on Sunday Morning or Wednesday nights. Contact Neal Cannon for more information ([email protected]).

ChristMAs ProgrAM MusiC

Did your child bring home their lyrics sheet for the Cornerstone Christmas Pro-gram? If not, additional copies are available at the Children’s, Youth and Family Min-istry Desk in the Lobby. Or you can download them at http://www.rosevillelutheran.org/childrens-ministry.

MP3s of all the songs are available on the website. Or you can make a CD at the Children’s, Youth and Family Ministry Desk. Blank CDs are provided for your use.

Please work with your child(ren) at home to learn their songs. We will have brief rehearsal time in Cornerstone each week, but this is not enough time, especially for the younger children.

oPerAtion underWeArshow you C are . . .g Ive underwe ar!

Donate new underwear to benefit local homeless shelters. Help this mission proj-ect by purchasing new boxers, briefs, undershirts or long johns in boys, girls, men or women sizes. Please put items in collection boxes in the lobby by December 13th. This is a project coordinated by RLC Student Ministries and Children’s Ministries.

Cornerstone ChristMAs ProgrAM sChedule

The Cornerstone Christmas Program is Sunday, December 13th at the 11:00 a.m. worship service for all 2 Year Old through 5th Grade Cornerstone students. Rehearsal for the program will be held on Friday, December 11th from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. The schedule for the rehearsal is as follows:

6:30 – 8:00 p.m. Kindergarten – 5th Grade

6:30 – 7:15 p.m. 2-4 Year Olds

There will be regular Cornerstone on December 13th at 10:00 a.m. However, all Kindergarten through 5th Grade Cornerstone children should meet in the Activity Center at 10:00 a.m. This will give us one final oppor-tunity to rehearse.


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hMission And outreACh uPdAtedeCember 20 09

The Mission and Outreach would like to thank everyone who donated to the Student Sponsorship Campaign. Through your generous giving, $7,320 was raised to support our companion congregation in Tanzania, Slovakia, Operation Bootstrap Africa and the RLC nursery school.

With RLCs first fruits from what you have consecrated to God, RLC’s Mission and Outreach supported these groups in the month of September:

ELCA Benevolence $ 3,333 ELCA Missionary Support $ 6,666 Luther Seminary Student $ 750 Operation Bootstrap Africa $ 3,000 Iringa Secondary Student Sponsorships $ 3,000 Note: this amount is from the Mission and Outreach budget and does not include other gifts.While all of us are feeling the effects of downward economy, there are always those less fortunate

than us. All of the local food shelves are experiencing higher demamd for food assistance. However, at most of the local food shelves, clients can only receive assistance once a month. What an opportu-nity for us to help those in need at RLC and our community. Please look for the food bin in the Luther Commons and consider bringing 1 or 2 items to RLC every time you come for a meeting or service.

Angels AMong us

The Roseville Fire Angels and Love INC are working together to recruit Giving Families to participate in a unique “Family to Family Giving Program”. This is a great family activity that will help to build character and values that will remain with your children longer than any new toy! The giving “Family” may also be a group of friends, co-workers, a small business, book club, bowling league, quilting group; any group who wants to experience the joy of giving.

Each giving family will be paired with one of the families of the 3,100 students in the Roseville School district living at the poverty level. Each family in need should receive 1 family game, 1 grocery gift card ($25 or more), 1 gift ($10 -$15 range) per child, and 1 book per child. All items need to be new and unwrapped.

You may be connected with a family and deliver the gifts yourself to experience the joy of gratitude first hand. Or if you would rather, bring the gifts to the Roseville Fire Angels and Love INC before December 12th, and they will deliver them for you.

Can you help? Please contact them to get connected to a family in need right here in your community: [email protected] or (651) 493-1175.

sPonsor A FAMily

Share the joy of Christmas by sponsoring a family through SeAM’s annual Christmas Friendship program. This faith-based ministry receives money from the RLC M&O budget and serves refugees and immigrants in the Twin Cities. They have had an overwhelming number of refugee families apply for the Christmas Program. Sponsors are matched up with a family, shop for gifts, and then deliver gifts in early December. Personally meeting the family you help is a rewarding and fun experience. For more information contact Jennifer Schneider, Executive Director Southeast Asian Ministry, 105 West University Avenue. Phone 651-293-1261 or visit www.seam-stpaul.org.

a d v e n t

november 28-29

Saturday 5:00 p.m. Vespers - Holden Evening PrayerSunday 8:00 a.m. Matins9:00 a.m. Traditional Worship10:10 a.m. Faith & Fellowship11:00 a.m. Praise & Worship

1st Weekend in Advent

deCember 5-6

Saturday 5:00 p.m. Vespers - Holden Evening PrayerSunday 8:00 a.m. Matins9:00 a.m. Traditional Worship10:10 a.m. Faith & Fellowship11:00 a.m. Praise & Worship

2nd Weekend in Advent

deCember 12-13

Saturday 5:00 p.m. Vespers - Holden Evening Prayer7:30 p.m. Festival Christmas ConcertSunday 8:00 a.m. Matins9:00 a.m. Traditional Worship11:00 a.m. Cornerstone Ministry Christmas Program

3rd Weekend in Advent

deCember 19-20

Saturday 5:00 p.m. Vespers - Holden Evening PrayerSunday 8:00 a.m. Matins9:00 a.m. Traditional Worship11:00 a.m. Praise & Worship

4th Weekend in Advent

vesPers l at In for “e venIng”saturdays - 5:0 0 P.m.

Advent Vespers is a contemplative wor-ship, quiet and peaceful. Marty Haugen’s well-known musical setting called “Holden Evening Prayer” will give words and music to our worship. Each week we come to the table and share the Lord’s Supper.

MAtinsl at In for “day” sundays - 8 :0 0 a .m.

Matins is the worship we offer at the beginning of the day. During Advent, it will be an 8:00 a.m. worship time for 30 minutes, including sharing weekly Holy Communion.

trAditionAl WorshiPsundays - 9 :0 0 a .m.

This worship experience is filled with the rich tradition of Lutheran liturgical worship. With sung liturgies and responsive prayers we join together in sharing the journey of Advent. The organ leads us along with a variety of choirs and instrumental groups lifting up our hearts in praise. The ELW - the new red worship book will be used.

PrAise & WorshiPsundays - 11:0 0 a .m.

The worship is led musically by our worship band, featuring keyboard, guitars, sax, flute, percussion and brass. A variety of voices lead us in praise. The music is upbeat, vibrant. The overall experience is uplifting and prepares you for the week to live a life pleasing to God.

Four Advent Worship experiences

Festival Christmas ConCertsaturday, deCember 12, 20 09, 7:30 P.m.

This concert features all our music groups, including adult, youth and children's choirs, handbells, brass and orchestra. The concert backdrop will be David Hetland's mural "The Lord is My Shepherd".

WorshiP AssistAnts needed For sPeCiAl WorshiP tiMes

Communion servers, ushers and greeters are especially needed for Christmas worship. Ushers and greet-ers are being recruited for Christmas worship times (Dec. 24 at 3, 4:30 7, 9, and 11 p.m. and Dec. 25 at 10 a.m.). In addition, communion servers are needed for Christmas Eve at 7 p.m. and Christmas Day at 10 a.m. First-timers are always welcome to help at any of these events. Please consider signing up your entire family! You may sign up at the Welcome Desk or call the church office at 651-487-7752.

c h R i s t m a s

famIly blessIng: 3:00 & 4:30 P.m.

On this holy night we are all God’s family. Youth will read the Christmas Gospel. There is a specialtime for a children’s message. The worship concludes with a medley of carols and a time for family blessings.

Come to the Lord’s tabLe: 7:00 p.m.

On Christmas Eve there are no strangers, there are only humble worshippers, like the shepherdswho came to the manger to see what the angels had proclaimed. There is something about kneeling at the altar that moves the heart towards God. We are humbled by the invitation to theLord’s Table to receive bread and wine, body and blood, to hear “given for you,” and in faith toreceive Jesus and His abundant love.

CandlelIght worshIP: 9:00 & 11:00 P.m.

As the last hours of this Christmas Eve night draw to a close, we come to worship the Christ Child, Jesus, the Light of the World. At the end of worship, we share of this Light, from one candleto the next, from one person to the next, until the whole room is illuminated and we sing “Silent Night.” Handbells - 9:00 p.m.

Senior Choir – 11:00 p.m.

ChristMAs eve WorshiPthursday, deCember 24 , 20 09

CelebratIon of the ChrIst ChIld: 10:00 a.m.

The peacefulness of a grateful heart can be sensed among those who come to worship on Christmas Day. The hopeful anticipation of Christmas Eve has now been fulfilled in Jesus’ birth,and we express our gratitude in worship and share Holy Communion.

ChristMAs dAy WorshiPfr Iday, deCember 25, 20 09

"god Is l Ight; In hIm there Is no darkness at all ."1 John 1:5

six christmAsWorship experiences


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FestivAl ChristMAs ConCertsaturday, deCember 12, 7:30 P.m.

Through this event we highlight our music ministry to the community by featur-ing all our music groups, including adult, youth and children's choirs, handbells, brass and orchestra. The concert backdrop will be a colorful, 56-foot-wide mural by David Hetland titled, "The Lord is Our Shepherd." The beauty of Christmas music and the powerful image and color of art come together in the warmth and joy of this year's Festival Christmas Concert.

Prayerfully consider who it is that you will invite to the concert. Who do you know that is needing a special word of hope? Who in your circle of friends is in the midst of conflict and is seeking peace? Is there someone who is feeling alone this Christmas? Your invitation matters.

rlC ChristMAs Cd still AvAilABle

Copies of the 2008 RLC Christmas CD, Hear the Angels Sing! featuring all the RLC music ensembles, are still available. The 2009 price is $15.00. Proceeds benefit Tan-zanian missions in memory of Ginny Heuer. Contact John Helgen if you’d like to get a copy or watch for upcoming sales in Luther Commons.

north stAr BArBershoP Chorus & lAke Country sWeet Adeline Chorus deCember 5, 20 09, 1:30 P.m.

Christmas Concert , “Christmas is Coming”, will be held on Saturday, December 5 at 1:30 p.m. at Roseville Lutheran Church. Special reduced ticket price for RLC members & friends - $8 per person and $30 for families. Share a non-perishable food donation for the local food shelf. For more information and tickets call Dennis Jacobson 612-306-8511.

New Year’s eve with rLC JazzdeCember 31, 20 09, 7:0 0 P.m.

All are invited to come and hear the soul-soothing sounds of RLC Jazz at the New Year’s Eve worship at 7:00p.m. on Thursday, December 31. The RLC jazz group, some-times known as the Soul Medicine Gospel Big Band, will provide the musical backdrop for this service, where we will celebrate with thanks to God for all the blessings of the year that has passed, and pray for guidance and hope for the year that is ahead. Bring the whole family, and invite a friend too!


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Mission sPotlight: gloBAl heAlth Ministries

Global Health Ministries is a local organization that provides medical supplies to hospitals and clinics throughout the world. Their Mission statement is, "Global Health Ministries continues the healing ministry of Jesus Christ by enhancing health care pro-grams of Lutheran churches in other countries." Pastor Tim Iver-son, the director of Global Health Ministry will be at RLC to tell us about the great work that is happening through Global Health Ministries and how we can support them.

Mission sPotlight: Progressive grACe ChurCh

Pastor Clement is the leader of the Progressive Grace Church that has been using the Great Hall for services at 11 a.m. every Sunday since September 1, 2008. As our relationship together grows, we want for members of RLC to meet Pastor Clement to hear how their congregation is growing in faith through the support from RLC. Come meet Pastor Clement and learn how we can grow in faith together.

shACk ChAt – greAt CroWd – greAt ConversAtion

“You just never know who’s going to show up.” That was the sentiment of those planning the SHACK CHAT community event that took place Tuesday, November 17, here at RLC. An invite postcard was sent out and an ad was placed in the local paper but it was the personal invitations of RLC members that made the difference. Pastor David Hanson said “With that many invites out, we didn’t know what to expect.” They did come. They came to have a conversation around the book by William P. Young – The Shack. It was a great crowd with close to 300 people, many not from RLC. Our Bethel University presenters shared their insights from a theological and psychological point of view with a Q&A session that followed. Our heartfelt appreciation to everyone who attended and invited others to join them. If you are inter-ested in listening online to the SHACK CHAT presentation at RLC go to www.RosevilleLutheran.org and find the link to the SHACK CHAT audio presentation.

CirCle Meetings

naomI C IrCle

Jan. 19, 2010, 10 :0 0 a .m.her I tage , lygbloms ten

rebeCC a C IrCle

deC . 15, 20 09, 10 :0 0 a .m.Jan. 19, 2010, 10 :0 0 a .m.

Pr Ime t Ime

deC . 10, 20 09, 11:4 5 a .m.Jan. 14 , 2010, 11:4 5 a .m.

rose enk as*fr Iday*deC . 11, 20 09, 11:30 a .m.kozl ak ' s , shore v Ie w, mn

Interested In oCtober 2009 fInanCIals?

view them online at www.rosevillelutheran.org


vision slovAkiA uPdAte

After the mayor of Martin, Slovakia visited its sister city, Fargo ND, he was impressed with the “campuses” he viewed at Concordia, NDSU, and Oak Grove Lutheran School. The city of Martin, Slovakia just decided to lease a school building to the Martin Bible School as of August, 2010. The building will be used for 4 or 8 classrooms for the Elementary School once it is remodeled with the aid of an architect from St. Andrews. For the summer/fall of 2010, there will be tremendous opportunity for members of RLC to give of their time or financial support to remodel this new school. Please look for more information to come over the few months.

The date for conversational English is June 24-July 15 and for VBS is July 1-July 15. If you are interested in this Mission Outreach program, please contact Mary Schultz at 654-644-1534.

FAre For All exPress

Fare for All Express Food Program in partnership with Love INC of NWRC and Real Life Church recently opened a distribution site in Roseville. This non-profit food program is open to everyone and offers fresh fruits, vegetables and frozen meats for sale at a savings of 30-50% over retails costs! Fare For All offers a great opportunity for you to save money at a time when we’re all facing tight household budgets. Real Life Church, 2353 Chatsworth St. North, is host-ing the site. It is located about 1 block north of Hwy 36 and 2 blocks east of Lexington Avenue. Real Life Church: 2353 Chatsworth St. N. Roseville, MN 55113. Stop by on Tuesdays from 3:00-5:00 p.m. - Nov. 10, 2009, Dec. 8, 2009, Jan. 19, Feb. 16, Mar. 16, and Apr. 13, 2010.

rlC Continues Monthly ColleCtions For Bridging

Bridging is a twenty year-old non-profit organization headquartered in Bloomington with warehouses in Bloomington, Roseville, and Central Minnesota. Its mission is to provide the economically disadvantaged in transition with quality furniture and household goods free of charge. The Roseville warehouse opened in 2006 and many RLC members are already volun-teering at the site. More information can be found on their web site www.bridging.org.

In order to support Bridging in our community, the Mission and Outreach Ministry Team continues to sponsor monthly collections of goods donated by RLC members. New or gently used household items will be requested each month and will be collected in the Commons area in a designated bin. No furniture or large items will be collected. Members with larger items like these can bring them directly to the Roseville warehouse.

for the summer/fall of

2010, there will be tre-

mendous opportunity for

members of rlC to give

of their time or financial

support to remodel this

new school.

you Can helP too!

donations will be collected in the Commons area. during the month of december towels will be

collected. In January mixing, serving and cereal bowls will be collected. thanks for your help!

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youth BAsketBAll leAgue

RLC youth grades 6 - 12, come and participate in the Twin Cities wide ACCYL basketball league! Games are on Sunday afternoons from Jan 3-Feb 28. They will play against churches from all over the Twin Cities and at the end of the year participate in the ACCYL tournament at Augsburg. All skill levels welcome. To sign up or for questions, contact Neal Cannon at [email protected].

students interested in rAising Mission triP Funds

Parents’ Night out is Friday, Dec. 4 from 6-9 p.m. Any high school students who are interested in working to fundraise for their upcoming mission trips should sign up by emailing Megan Moroff at [email protected].

BAgels @ dAWn

Bagels @ Dawn is going strong this year – thank you to everyone who has come! We want to encourage you to continue to invite your friends, or simply join us if we haven’t seen you in a while! All are welcome. 6:45 a.m. at St. Paul Bagelry on Lexington Ave.

thirsty

Join us for our High School Education Hour every Sunday at 10:10 in the Great Hall, where you will learn, laugh, ask big questions, and eat doughnuts.

eAgle sCout AWArd

Luke Mielke is a member of Troop 297 with the Boy Scouts of America. This Troop has been sponsored by RLC since 1955. On November 8th, Luke was presented with the Boy Scouts of America Eagle Award. Pastor David Hanson was present to give the following invocation to the troop:

“Heavenly Father, we thank you for the interest in the Scouting movement that has brought this group together. We thank you for the success of the Scout-ing program in the United States since 1910. We are grateful for the influence that Troop 297 has had on the lives of boys since it held its first charter in 1955. We pray for continued blessings on this troop, its leaders and its troop commit-tee through the years ahead. We pray that Troop 297 may continue to turn out leaders for tomorrow, prepared as good citizens. Amen”.

luke mielke with

his boy scouts of

america eagle award

presented to him on

november 8, 2009.

1215 west roselawn avenue, roseville, mn 55113 — Phone: 651-487-7752 — www.rosevillelutheran.org

teA tiMe14th annual women ' s wInter te a sunday, January 10, 2:30 P.m.

This year’s guest speaker is Jerene Mortenson, the mother of Greg Mortenson who wrote, Three Cups of Tea - One Man’s Mission to Promote

Peace One School at a Time. Greg’s memoir tells about his failed attempt to climb K2, the world’s second highest mountain located in northern Pakistan. On the descent, he became separated from his group during a storm. Weak, exhausted and hungry he came upon a small village and taken in by the chief elder. To thank the village for saving his life, he promised to build a school for the children. Since then he has built 78 schools for girls in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The title of the book comes from the Balti Proverb “The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger. The second time you take tea you are a honored guest. The third time you share tea you become family”.

Tickets will go on sale starting Sunday, December 13, 2009 for $10 each in Luther Commons and will be available in the Church Office during regular office hours.

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non-ProfIt org.u.s. Postage

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1215 w. roselawn ave.rosevIlle, mn 55113-5998

“the fIrst tIme you share tea wIth a baltI, you are a stranger.

the seCond tIme you take tea you are a honored guest.

the thIrd tIme you share tea you beCome famIly”.

Advent/Christmas 2009 Newsletter

Documents

Transcript of Advent/Christmas 2009 Newsletter