8401 W. Hillsborough Avenue, Tampa FL 33615

•Www..LcosTampa.org • 813-884-1232 •www.facebook.com/lcostampa

Our Vision

Through LCOS all come to know the unconditional love of God ,grow in their

faith, and share their love and faith with others.

Our Mission That all may experience the love of Jesus Christ, we reach up, through worship celebration. We reach out by sharing our faith; and we reach in through prayer and study.

THIS IS LCOS

Sunday Worship Celebrations

Bible Study: 8:30 am

Worship Service: 9:30 am

Children Sunday School during ser-vice

Church Staff

Rev. Jose-Luis La Torre-

Cuadros, Pastor

Naoko Okada, Minister of Music

Nancy DeVries, Bookkeeper/

Secretary

Church Council

Barbara Beauregard

President

Kim Cross,

Vice President

Judith Stocker, Secretary

Kim Jordan Elsie Fewer Don Gibson

Heidi Richters Tom O’Reilly

Janice Spaulding Aggie Pompeo Peggy Kienzle

Mission Team Leaders Acolytes & Crucifiers Karen Muir Adult Education Don Richardson

Altar Guild Kim Cross Boy Scouts Judith Stocker Clothes Closet John/Karen Hangartner Offering Counters Julian Julius Liturgists & Communion Asst Heidi Rich-ters Facilities & Grounds Barbara Beauregard Fellowship Don Richardson Finance Kristi Saligame Food Bank Rita Blyden Hospitality Peggy Kienzle/Lorella Swain LAFFS Lori Muir Lay Pastoral Care Team Steve Smeach New Our Saviour’s Disciples Julian Julius Newsletter Nancy DeVries Note Folks Diane Tolzman Stewardship Bruce Odiorne Seven Habits of Jesus Steve Smeach Sunday School Luz Miranda

Ushers Martin Stewart

Website Max Valentonis

Flocks were sleeping, shepherds keeping

vigil till the morning new

saw the glory, heard the story, tidings of a gospel true.

Thus rejoicing, free from sorrow, praises voicing, greet the morrow: Christ the child was born for you!

Christ the child was born for you! Text: Polish carol; tr. Edith M. G. Reed, 1885-1933

Dear disciples of Jesus:

Advent is here, Christmas is near and the message is clear: the child we are waiting for, the savior of the world is near, the child was born for you!

Yes, for you, for me, for all of humanity. Our convulsed world, damaged and un-der suffering due to wars and natural disasters, our hurt and divided home, this same world is the scenario for redemption, this world is the place where the child was born for you. And if the child was born for you, the question then is if you are ready to let the child live in you during this Advent and at this Christmas time.

Are you celebrating that he is here for you? Are you celebrating free from sorrow that your liberator and redeemer was born for you?

I think Christmas is the special season to remember that the most holy came to make us holy and part of something bigger, something amazing, the incredible adventure that we call the kingdom of God!

Now is the time not only to deck the halls but to lift up our hearts and give thanks, because God is near, God is here and this miracle is for us!

Luther wrote in the Catechism: “Jesus has done all this in order that I may belong to him, live under him in his kingdom, and serve him in eternal righteousness, in-nocence, and blessedness.”

These are the best Christmas decorations that we can use to deck the halls: serv-ant hearts that are ready to serve God and our neighbors bringing heaven to earth every time that we share God´s love with our words and deeds.

Blessed Advent Season and Merry Christmas!

Your Pastor

The Rev. José Luis La Torre Cuadros.

¿Cómo podemos agradecer bastante a nuestro Dios por ustedes y por toda la alegría

que nos han proporcionado delante de él? 1 Tesalonicenses 3, 9.

Toda la alegría que nos han proporcionado

¿Han encontrado personas que hayan marcado su vida con una influen-cia positiva? Cuando Pablo escribe a los Tesalonicenses les dice que su vida de fe le ha proporcionado una gran alegría, porque al verlos él ha sentido que Dios

realmente ha usado su vida y servicio para ayudar a otros a servir a Dios y a crecer en la fe. ¿Cuál era el sentido de este vinculo de fe? Para Pablo era crecimiento y a la vez expectativa del retorno del salvador. El esperaba un crecimiento que permitiera a la comunidad vivir con una mayor conciencia de la relatividad de la vida y del significado de la autentica esperanza cristiana. Pablo quería ver en sus discípulos la convicción que él mismo tenia de que más allá de todos los problemas del presente, el reino de Dios viene con contundencia y claridad a establecerse para siempre. Pablo añade en su pedido de oración que desea que Dios fortalezca a los miembros de la ig-lesia interiormente. Este es un concepto interesante, “fortaleza interior”. Es fácil tratar de lu-cir fortaleza exterior, aparentar salud y fuerza física, o más aun lucir sano. Pero la fortaleza interior es algo más que salud física. He conocido durante mi vida pastoral muchas personas físicamente débiles, incluso per-sonas desahuciadas pero con una enorme fortaleza interior. La fortaleza interior no tiene necesariamente que ir de la mano con la fortaleza física, la fortaleza interior de la que habla Pablo en el texto de hoy está mas bien conectada con la presencia viva de Cristo obrando en la vida de la personas. Es Cristo como principio vital, como vida verdadera y abundante quien le da a cada creyente no solo la salvación, sino además la capacidad de experimentar esa salvación dentro de este mundo con mirada siempre hacia el mañana. Estamos en Adviento esperando la Navidad. Hagamoslo creciendo en nuestra fortaleza inte-rior en todo momento, en los buenos y en los malos tiempos, fortaleza interior en la cual Je-sus se revela como el rey que vino y que sigue viniendo, y viene por eso cada día nuevo a ca-da uno de nosotros. Feliz Adviento y Feliz Navidad.

President’s page…………… Due to the holiday, Thanksgiving this month, there is an earlier closing date for the newsletter therefore my information about the current months Council Meeting will not make the cut for this month, sorry.

Let me take this time to thank a number of people in our Congrega-tion who are always around to fix, hook-up, hang up, re-do all sorts

of things around our campus that need that special touch. Most go unseen and unno-ticed. Roger Swain is like my personal handy-man! He has rewired, disconnected, re-connected, and fixed so many issues in the Enrichment Center, plus hung art work, changed lights and light bulbs. Seems there is always ‘just one more thing’. Then there is Lorella Swain. Most Sundays there would be no Fellowship Hour is it were not for these two coming in on Saturday evening, setting up the Hall, fixing the cof-fee, checking on ‘treats’ in the refrigerator. Sometimes going out and purchasing items, just to make sure there is enough. Another person who slips in, does his thing and slips out: Don Richardson. The deck on the back of Pastors office had fallen into disrepair and unusable. Now it is back good as new. Once it is pressure washed it will even look new. If anyone has a small patio table and chairs they want to give away, we have the patio ready! The next item on Don’s list is the fencing on the west side of the building, also the ceiling at the front entry to church that fell during the hurri-cane, he and Martin Stewart will make it happen. Big Thanks guys! Steve Smeach and Ernest Largent have spent many hours working on the grounds from trimming, to cutting down, to mulching plants and even planting some blooming seasonal flowers around our sign. All these things would not happen if not for members that step in and take on a project and with great results! Many Thanks!! The list of Thank You’s for our fabulous Oktoberfest is endless, but at the top of the list is our Beer Hall. That transformation would not have taken on that look without Gail Smeach spending her summer shopping on line to find all the decorations before places sold out, and most did!! Then comes the food team: each food item had a team cooking! All the food, ex-cept the big pretzels were made by our LCOS members! The pretzels were hand made, but in Naples, FL. I think Pastor moved more furniture, bins and boxes in 2 days in Luther Hall then he did in moving to Tampa! There were many personal do-nations, Thrivent gift cards and found treasures that all came together to produce a great party. To everyone who stepped in and helped out in so many ways, Thank You!! This has been an exciting and very busy year! Much has happened, many changes have taken place! We’ve tried some new things that have been fun, challenging and rewarding. I thank each of you for your support as I wrap up my year as President of your Church Council.

Barbara

LCOS Treasurer’s Notes

October 2017

October income of $30,107 for the church includes member giving of $17,105, transfer and fundraising in-come of $12,838, and other income of $164. Member giving for the month was above budget, below last year’s level, and well below our expenses for the month.

Fundraising and Transfers: During the month, we used $1,600 from the Mortgage Reduction Fund, $9,318 from Bold Statement, and $200 from the Hospitality fund. We recorded Oktoberfest proceeds of $1,720, with very little expense expected for this FUNdraiser. (Many items were donated for the event, and other purchases were made using funds from Thrivent.)

Expenses for the church were $31,703 for the month of October. Expenses were well above budget, and above levels during October of 2016. Facilities costs in particular were above normal during the month: improvements to the Enrichment Center contributed $3,000 to our facilities costs in October. We also re-placed the air conditioner in the church office area, for $5,250.

Overall, we recorded a loss for the month of ($1,596).

Designated Funds Flows: We significantly reduced the balance in our Designated Funds account in October (see transfers, above). Our month-end balance was $19,699, down from the September-end balance of $31,881.

Reformation through Transformation: Gifts for Reformation through Transformation were $2,755 in August, $6,684 in September, and $625 in October, for a total of $10,064 through October 31.

LCOS Income vs. Expense Review

July to Oct, 2017

FY 2018 Results Year-ago results

Income Expense Difference Income Expense Difference

July $36,034 $25,633 $10,401 $22,685 $24,334 ($1,649)

August $17,152 $23,745 ($6,593) $28,972 $32,739 ($3,767)

September $29,443 $27,439 $2,004 $32,007 $24,771 $7,237

October $30,107 $31,703 ($1,596) $24,957 $28,210 ($3,252)

YTD Total $112,736 $108,520 $4,216 $108,621 $110,053 ($1,432)

Christ the child is Lord of all!

Christ the child was born for you!

December 2nd. Christmas Sing Along and Wine and Cheese. 5 pm

Tuesdays December 5th, 12th and 19th. Advent Meditations and Eucharist. 11:30 am.

December 24th. Christmas Eve Services:

7:30 pm Lessons and Carols with Communion.

10:30 pm. Christmas Mass.

2018 ELCA YOUTH GATHERING

We are excited to share with you the theme for the 2018 ELCA Youth Gathering, “This Changes Everything.” Our primary scripture will be Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”

Grace is a foundational and distinctive piece of the Lutheran faith. This gift, unde-served and freely given, changes lives and perspectives as people realize they are enough because of what Christ has done and are called into the world to serve their neighbor and share the good news.

Our logo is a visual representation of our theme and the 2018 Gathering experience. It incorporates the coming together of a mosaic to reflect the diverse host city of Hou-ston, as well as the idea that we are a church where all are imperfect and incomplete, yet we each belong in – and have an important place in – God’s masterpiece. The cross at the center of the logo is the focus – it is God’s grace, through Christ’s life, death and resurrection, that changes everything for all people.

In her book “Woo: Awakening Teenagers’ Desire to Follow in the Way of Jesus,” Mor-gan Schmidt identifies the three central desires of teens.

All youth desire:

• Someone to become

• Somewhere to belong

Something to do [that changes the world]

Congregational registration is now open! All ELCA congregations are invited to regis-ter for the Gathering. Youth in grades 8th-12th grade at the time of registration (2017-18 School Year) are eligible to attend as participants. Adult leaders should be at least 21. Congregations should generally have a ratio of 1 adult for every 7 youth. If you are not an ELCA congregation, but would like to attend please email gathering@elca.org.

Regular Registration - $390 Nov. 16, 2017 through Feb. 15, 2018

Late Registration - $440 Feb. 16, 2018 through May 15, 2018

A $150 non-refundable, per person deposit is due at the time of registration and must be postmarked within the rate range you expect to pay. Registration fees are the same for youth and adult leaders. Youth participants who receive $300 in financial assis-tance are only required to pay a $50 non-refundable deposit.

Are you ready to go?

Michelle Odiorne

Graduate, Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate Program (www.nutritionstudies.org)

Facilitator, Whole Food Plant-Based Potlucks

PlantPure Nation Ambassador & POD Co-Leader

www.facebook.com/Michelles.Journey2WFBPNutrition/

PUMPKIN MOUSSE

Serves: 4

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 20 – 30 minutes

Ingredients:

½ cup date paste

½ cup walnut pieces (or nut or seed of your choice) ¼ cup medjool dates, pitted

1 can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling) or 1 ½ cups fresh pumpkin

1 package (15 oz.) silken tofu

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ginger

¼ teaspoon allspice

1/8 teaspoon cloves

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1. To make the date paste, soak ½ cup of pitted medjool dates in boiling water for 10 minutes. Set aside. 2. Add nuts (or seeds) and the pitted dates to a food processor and pulse until fine crumbs. Set aside 3. Drain the soaked dates reserving the liquid and blend in a food processor until a smooth paste is achieved, adding the soaking water as needed. 4. Add the pumpkin and silken tofu to the date paste and blend well in a food processor. 5. Add the vanilla and the spices and blend well. 6. Fill 4 ramekins or parfait glasses with 4 oz. of the pumpkin mousse and top with the nut and date crumbs.

In Good Health!

KAYE PROX

FOOD BANK

Barbara Packer, from Messiah

Lutheran Church giving a check

to Rita Blyden for $1,500 to the

Kaye Prox Food Bank. This was a

wonderful donation and much ap-

preciated.

APPRECIATION LUNCHEON

Kaye Prox Food Bank will begin collecting toys for our Toy Drive on No-

vember 1st through December 8th.

These toys/gifts will be for children ages 2-16. Please keep in mind that

teenagers are often forgotten during these times.

We are also collecting gifts for the senior citizens that attend the food

bank.

They will need to be unwrapped and can be

dropped off at the church office or Sunday in

the narthex.

We will be posting more information in the

weekly bulletins.

ALL SAINTS DAY

LCOS DecemberBirthdays

Liturgists

12/3-Kim Cross

12/10 Fraser Muir

12/17-Lynn Richardson

12/24-7:30pm-Steve Smeach

10:30pm-Heidi Richters

12/30-Steve Smeach

Communion Assistants

12/3-Della Griscti, Lynn Richardson, Linda Dillinger

12/10-Heidi Richters, Mimi DeJesus, Kim Cross

12/17-Barbara Beauregard, Lynne O”Reilly, Karen Muir

12/24-7:30pm-Peggy Kienzle, Della Griscti, Linda Dillinger

10:30pm-Peggy Kienzle, Kim Cross, Karen Muir

12/30-Fran Beauregard, Lynne O’Reilly, Heidi Richters

Pastoral Care Team

December 3rd-9th-Mary Kramer & Gail Smeach

December 10th—16th-Kim Jordan & Julian Julius

December 17th-23rd-Danielle Kearney & Heidi Richters

December 24th-30th-Gail Smeach & Kim Jordan

Sunday School

12/3-Luz Mirando

12/10-Heidi Richters

12/17-Judith Stocker