St. John’s Lutheran Church ELCA 1300 W. Benjamin Avenue

Norfolk, NE 68701 (402) 371-1985

stjohn@cableone.net www.stjohnsnorfolk.com

Our Mission: Loving God . . . Loving People . . . Reaching Out!

Please remember in prayer: Janet Jundt Dallas Esser Norma Hunter Bradley Wise Stephanie Rabbass Ann Schroeder Don Freese Warren DeWald Thad Murren Bailey Suehl Boston DeWald Pr. David Cox Kevin Rasmussen Rosemary Westerhold Bob Henning

Doug Stratton Tom Daoust

If you know someone who is in need of prayer but whose name is not listed, it may be that they have asked not to be included in the printed bulletin. Please remember them in your personal prayers.

Flowers on the altar this weekend are sponsored by Carolyn Wilcox in loving memory of husband, Jim, on his birthday; and by Ken Wragge in celebration of Terry Hall’s birthday.

Everyone is invited to Fellowship Hour for coffee and rolls between

services each Sunday in the Fellowship Hall.

PLEASE CONTACT THE CHURCH OFFICE if you or someone you know is hospitalized and would enjoy a visit. Our church staff and hospital visiting volunteers visit daily and would be happy to greet, see, and pray with you.

Please be mindful of our members and visitors who would benefit most from the handicap and “senior” parking areas at the front of the church. During the winter months, our

seniors need the assurance of a shorter, level walk in to the building. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Lou’s and HyVee Shop for Ministry cards are available in the church office during the week for all your Christmas gift needs! One size fits all! They make excellent gifts for the newspaper carrier, garbage man, postal carrier, teachers and more. Let us help you conquer your shopping! If you would be interested in providing some special music prior to each of the Christmas Eve services, please contact the church office @ 402-371-1985 and Vern Krause will contact you. Whether you play an instrument or sing or both, we’d love to hear from you. Thank you!

Dr. David E. Cox – Interim Senior Pastor Justin Wiese – Assistant Pastor, NeLCM-Norfolk Campus Pastor

Jacquie Samway – PMA, Coordinator of Congregational Care Jolene Ziebell – Coordinator of Youth Ministries

Gail Ermels – Office Manager Jim Carter – Custodian/Grounds Keeper Midge Hedrick – Office Assistant

SUNDAY, DEC 6 8:30 am ....................................................... Worship 9:15 am Sunday School Christmas Program Practice 9:30 am ........................................... Fellowship Hour 9:45 am .............................. Life of Christ Bible Study Lower Level Hoppe Community Room 9:45 am .............................................. Sunday School 11:00 am ..................................................... Worship 12:00 pm ....................................... Celebration Meal

MONDAY, DEC 7 10:00 am ............................................. Staff Meeting 2:00 pm ........................................ Chosen ChristCare Carol Waggoner, 402-371-7642 6:30 pm ............................ Stephen Ministry Training 7:00 pm ............................................. Praise Forever 8:30 pm………… .......................................... Solid Rock

TUESDAY, DEC 8 7:00 am ................................ Men’s Prayer Breakfast 2:00 pm ............................................... WELCA Board 5:15 pm ...................................... Finance Committee 6:00 pm ........................................ Temple ChristCare Pat Monson, 402-371-8803

WEDNESDAY, DEC 9 12:30 pm ...................................... Mission Life Team 1:30 pm .................................... Searchers ChristCare Connie Hagstrom, 402-649-4862 2:30 pm ................................. First Communion Class By appointment 3:35 pm Sunday School Christmas Program Practice (Speaking parts only) 5:00 pm ................................. First Communion Class By appointment

THURSDAY, DEC 10 6:30 pm .......................................... Cantata Practice 7:15 pm ................................. Majesty Choir Practice

SATURDAY, DEC 12 9:00 am ............... Christas Program Dress Rehearsal 5:00 pm .............. Sunday School Christmas Program

SHOP FOR MINISTRY

DEC 6 8:30 am Alice Gentzler 11 am Terri Denkinger DEC 13 8:30 am Linda Downs 11 am Lisa Echtenkamp

OFFERINGS Mission Emphasis (DEC) ..... Norfolk Rescue Mission Greenfiber Funds for OCT-DEC ...................... Mosaic General offering for 11/29/15 .................. $5,784.79 The above general offering figure reflects

weekly additions of direct deposits and advance pledges.

End of Oct. Net Profit / (Loss) ................. {$4,143.41) Year-to-Date Net Profit / (Loss) ............ ($28,774.29) Attendance 11/29/15 ....................... (47, 88, 59) 194

FOLLOW THE STAR

The St. John’s

Sunday School

Christmas Program

is scheduled for NEXT

Saturday, Dec. 12,

@ 5 PM.

There will also be an additional

dress rehearsal on Saturday morning,

Dec. 12 from 9-11 AM. Holy

Communion will be offered during the

program.

Christmas for a Soldier For those who are deployed overseas,

the holidays can be a difficult time, especially if you don’t have family’s support back home. By “adopting” a soldier, you may be the only “warm fuzzy” from home. Jeann & Desiree Granstra are organizing holiday boxes to be sent to single soldiers serving abroad.

Boxes would have to be in the mail by Dec. 10 to reach their destination before Christmas. Anyone would love to receive movies, books, a deck of cards or non-perishable food items (no homemade items, please). Use your own ideas to fill, decorate and send words of encouragement.

Please contact Jeann at 402-860-2667 or jegtb@hotmail.com for more details. She has the boxes along with the information sheets needed to get these mailed. For many soldiers, this is their first deployment or time away from home. Let’s make a difference in their lives as they make a difference in ours!

STUDENTS IN GRADES 3 – 8 are invited to sing with Jill Miller at the King of

Kings Concert on Dec. 19 @ Johnny Carson Theater. Practices will continue Dec. 10 and 17 @ 6:30 pm at St. John’s. Pick up a flyer at the back of the sanctuary for contact information.

Dear St. John’s Benefaction, Our daughter Shelby has been

participating in the SMILE Program for a total of 16 years – she began when she was 3 years old. She absolutely loves riding her horse Latte, and she truly believes Latte “is her horse”. Every lesson consists of preparing her hrose for the lesson; i.e. brushing, saddling and putting the bridle on. Shelby has learned that she needs to do this work before she is able to ride. This requires Shelby to do work on her fine motor skills, which is not the easiest task for her. Once they are in the arena, Shelby has to focus on her balance, hand placement and her instructor’s commands. Although Shelby sometimes struggles with focusing on all of this, she tries her best. She has the biggest smile on her face, especially when she gets to trot her horse. I could seriously go on and on about how wonderful the SMILE program is. We are truly blessed to have this program available in our area. Shelby truly counts down the days until her next lesson in the summer months, and in the winter asks frequently “when she can go to Patty’s.” Sincerely, Tammy Reigle

There’s still time to order

your poinsettia for the

Christmas sanctuary.

Floral Expressions will

provide a supply of

poinsettias -- foil wrapped and

delivered to St. John’s for you! Plants

with at least 5 blooms are available for

$13.50 each. You can order yours

today by marking your envelope

“poinsettia” and making any checks

payable to St. John’s. Deadline for

ordering will be Monday, December 14.

ELCA Good Gifts Advent Tree

The average American spends more that

$700 on Christmas gifts each year.

Rethink the tradition of gift-giving with

ELCA Good Gifts. Your family is invited to

select an ornament from the Advent tree in

the back of the sanctuary representing a

gift you would like to give and take it home

as a reminder of your giving. Your gift

carries God’s love to others, making a

difference in their lives and around the

world. Consider giving a donation toward

the purchase of a cow through the Good

Gifts “impossible to wrap” program!

Donations can be placed inside your

offering envelope marked “Good Gifts”.

If you choose an ornament from the tree

and would like to purchase something

other than a cow, please indicate on the

envelope what your donation should

purchase. Please make all checks payable

to St. John’s. THANK YOU!

FIRST COMMUNION CLASSES

During December, four First Communion confirmation class times will be made available for any baptized youth whose parents have discerned that their children are ready to receive the Lord’s Supper for the first time. Two classes have been completed. The remaining dates and times for class are:

December 9, 2:30-3:30pm; December 9, 5-6 pm.

All classes will be held in the sanctuary.

Attendance is required at only one of the four scheduled class opportunities. Families must RSVP their intent on attending a class no later than noon of the day of the class by calling the church office (402-371-1985). If no RSVPs are received for a class, it will not be held. If these times do not work for a family, Pastor Justin will help schedule a personalized time as scheduling allows. In each hour-long class, we will review how God loves us and that God feeds us, using stories from the Spark Story Bible. Students will also practice and learn how communion is received at St. John’s and other churches. It is strongly preferred that children attend the class with their parent(s).

Students who attend one of these classes will be invited to receive First Communion at a Sunday worship service next Sunday, Dec.13. If this Sunday does not work for a family, please be in conversation with Pastor Justin or Pastor David to discuss other options.

We look forward to celebrating First Communion with the families of those baptized young people who will be taking part in the Lord's Supper for the first time.

GOOD NEIGHBORS PACKING Yes – it’s time again for Good Neighbors packing and delivering! Items are already being collected and delivered to St. John’s. Boxes are arriving daily. If you would like to help with packing and delivering, folks will gather at St. John’s on Wednesday, Dec. 16 @ 9am for packing, and Thursday, Dec. 17 for delivery. Please contact Carol Severa for any additional information. 402-371-3324.

BENEFACTION BOARD HIGHLIGHTS –

November 12, 2015 The St. John’s Benefaction Board ended the

calendar year by funding one request and reviewing

the benefaction fund investments.

A request for $2,000 was funding with an

increase to $3,000. Oasis Counseling asked for the

money to fund the Befriend Mentoring Program

which they started in Norfolk and now serves the

Columbus and Fremont areas as well. This

program matches families at risk or struggling with

caring, mentoring families providing informal

support and positive relationships. The increase

was approved to bring the amount Norfolk agencies

funded closer to the amounts from Fremont and

Columbus.

The board also gave early approval to funding

camp scholarships for next year to allow families to

plan earlier and take advantage of early savings.

Finally, the board reviewed changes in

investments for the year and looked back over the

last four years to see that about 35 requests were

funded for over $300,000 while also increasing the

fund’s holdings by over $100,000.

The next meeting of the Benefaction Board is

February 11, 2016. Requests for funds should be

submitted three weeks before the meeting, must be

signed by the principal contact and a sponsoring St.

John’s member, and include a budget.

Warmth, Peace and Pajamas The Salvation Army is again collection

pajamas for children in Norfolk who may otherwise go to bed cold this winter season.

Please consider making either a monetary donation or buying a new pair of pajamas to donate. Sizes needed: 2T – Adult XL, both girls and boys. Expecially needed sizes 8-18. Checks should be made payable to Norfolk Salvation Army Pajama Project and can be dropped off or mailed to Salvation Army, 610 W. Norfolk Ave., Norfolk. New pajamas can be dropped off at Salvation Army, Deadline – Dec. 16.

November COUNCIL HIGHLIGHTS

The St. John’s Council heard reports from several committees and boards, and reviewed the 2016 budget at their monthly meeting on November 18. The Property Committee is working on a number of projects. The current project is to improve the safety of the west entrance and stairways. Carpeting is also being planned for the office area and west hallways. Reports from the Benefaction Board and Memorial Committees listed requests and suggestions that were funded. The Worship Life Committee also presented a report from the organ tuner indicating a need to build supports for some of the large pipes. A proposal has been received for the sound system update and replacements. Council members also reviewed a revised budget for 2016 which now goes back to the Finance Committee for fine tuning and consideration for council approval in December. A complete copy of the minutes is available by mail or email by contacting the church office.

Christmas Eve Worship Services

5 PM – “An Illustrated Christmas” is our

family-friendly interactive worship of

candlelight and Holy Communion where

you #drawthestory and share your art

during the service through smartphones,

tablets, or old-fashioned paper. You won’t

want to miss this fun!

7 PM – Festival of the Nativity is the

traditional Christmas Eve candlelight and

Holy Communion worship service as we

gather and give thanks for the birth of

Christ.

9 PM – Festival of Lessons & Carols is a

service of readings and familiar Christmas

hymns. No sermon is preached.

Candlelight and Holy Communion are

given with a sense of the wonder of the

Word made flesh, as we celebrate the

coming of the Christ child.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 5

5 PM

COUNCIL PERSON OF THE WEEK

DAVID PEDERSEN

WORSHIP ASSISTANT

JIM CARTER

GREETERS/USHERS – Rod & Shirley Hughes

READER – Shirley Hughes

PRAYER LEADER – __________

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 6

8:30 AM

COUNCIL PERSON OF THE WEEK

DAVID PEDERSEN

WORSHIP ASSISTANT

MIKE / KAREN WIDHALM

GREETERS – Carol Sorsen, Danny Olson

USHERS – Dennis & Lois Braesch

READER – Tom Hedrick

FELLOWSHIP HOUR – Jan Henning

COMMUNION ASSISTANTS – Sherri Kuk,

Diane Sobotka, __________, __________

PRAYER LEADER – Sara Fegley

POWERPOINT – Midge Hedrick

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 6

11 AM

COUNCIL PERSON OF THE WEEK

DAVID PEDERSEN

WORSHIP ASSISTANT

MIKE / KAREN WIDHALM

GREETERS—Michelle Dagerman,

Martha Thompson

USHERS – Kevin Bonderson, Don Meister,

Carol Severa

COMMUNION ASSISTANTS – Beth Bonderson,

Janet Erickson, Tracy Meister,

Kristy Booras

PRAYER LEADER – Lon Timperley

POWERPOINT – Emma Dagerman

LECTIONARY READINGS:

Malachi 3:1-4

Luke 1:68-79

Philippians 1:3-11

Luke 3:1-6

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12

5 PM

COUNCIL PERSON OF THE WEEK –

DANNY OLSON

SUNDAY SCHOOL CHRISTMAS PROGRAM

GREETERS/USHERS – Rod & Shirley Hughes

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 13

8:30 AM

COUNCIL PERSON OF THE WEEK –

DANNY OLSON

WORSHIP ASSISTANT

CONNIE HAGSTROM

GREETERS – Dan Melkus, Richard & Leona

Pfeifer

USHERS –Mark Polenske, Mike Frank,

Mike Kai

READER – Richard Pfeifer

FELLOWSHIP HOUR – Ruth Circle

COMMUNION ASSISTANTS – Rolie & Linda

Downs, Rick & Diana Uhlir

PRAYER LEADER – __________

POWERPOINT – John Skogstoe

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 13

11 AM

COUNCIL PERSON OF THE WEEK –

DANNY OLSON

WORSHIP ASSISTANT

CONNIE HAGSTROM

GREETERS—Ken Wragge, Terry Hall

USHERS – Dennis & Brenda Smith,

Echtenkamp Family

COMMUNION ASSISTANTS – Carol Timperley,

Carol Severa, Ken Wragge, Terry Hall PRAYER LEADER – Brenda Smith

POWERPOINT – C laire Thompson

LECTIONARY READINGS:

Zephaniah 3:14-20

Isaiah 12:2-6

Philippians 4:4-7

Luke 3:7-18