Come to worship

Sunday, December 11

Adopt-a-Family Deadline and Mitten Tree Deadline

On this Third Sunday in Advent, we will celebrate Holy Communion at 8:30 and 10:45 a.m. using liturgy from LBW, Setting One. Special music will be provided by the Handbell Choir in both services. Please return your wrapped Adopt-a-Family gifts by this Sunday, and your hats, mittens, gloves or socks!

Sunday, December 18

Sunday School Christmas Programs

On this Fourth Sunday in Advent we will celebrate Holy Communion at 8:30 a.m. using liturgy from LBW, setting one, with the lighting of the Advent Wreath. The Christus Choir sings at the 8:30 a.m. service, the Sunday School threes–Grade 2 Christmas Program takes place at 10:00 a.m. in the sanctuary, and the Sunday School Grades 3-6 program takes place during the 10:45 a.m. worship service.

A Word from the Pastor : A Simpler Christmas

One of my fondest Christmas memories takes place in Poland, where I served as a Peace Corps Volunteer. In 1994 I spent Christmas with the family with whom I lived for the first three months of my service and I was eager to learn about their holiday customs and traditions. When I arrived at their home, a couple of days before Christmas, I was amazed to see that they did not yet have a Christmas tree and there were no decorations in sight. Instead, we waited until Christmas Eve, right before dinner, to put up the tree and decorate it. And still no presents. Those came out during dinner (my host mother could not wait a minute longer!), and everyone got one present and no more.

Perhaps it is too late to write this column, with the Christmas wish lists already written up, Christmas decorations already adorning our houses, and plans to blow the budget again this year, if we have not done so already. But I wonder when we will finally decide not to bow to the pressures of our society and not even really think about Christmas until Christmas Eve, as I experienced in Poland so many years ago. I wonder when we will embrace this Advent season of anticipation and mark this time in prayer, worship, and wonder, rather than packing the month of December with too much eating, shopping, and Christmas carols.

Call me a Grinch, but that simpler Christmas in Poland was utterly transformational. Un-encumbered by having to buy too many presents for too many people or having to decorate my little apartment to the hilt, we could truly focus on the “reason for the season,” Jesus Christ, and the peace and joy He brings.

My family exchanged gifts at Thanksgiving this year and, once again, we all went overboard. I wonder if I will ever get the nerve to suggest giving only one present per person at Christmas and put up my tree on Christmas Eve as we did in Poland. We would have to give up a lot in order to change our beloved traditions, but what we would gain in terms of our faith and our understanding of the Advent season of anticipation would we be immeasurable.

Blessed Advent,

Pastor Gail

We offer our Christian love to the family of Paul Breitenbach at the death of his mother; to the family of Deb Ganser at the death of her uncle; to the family of Debbie Graff at the death of her father; to the family of Lloyd Petermann at the death of his brother; and to the family of Ralph Koch at the death of his mother.

Donuts & Dialogue: December

December is a very busy month, so please check the schedule below carefully so that you don’t miss a thing! Please come to the Annual Meeting on Sunday, December 4, at 9:40 a.m.

December 4: Annual Meeting, Part I (No Donuts & Dialogue)

December 11: Daily Discipleship: Expectation

December 18: Christmas Program (No Donuts & Dialogue)

December 25: No Donuts & Dialogue

Outreach Team to begin church Activities Video

The Outreach Team is working with local videographer, Steve Hermann, to create a video that shows the many areas in which to become involved at First United. The shooting of the footage will begin Wednesday, December 14, and continue on Sunday, December 18. If for any reason you would not like your family included in the final project, please contact the church office with your name. Because a variety of activities and groups will be shot, and we won’t know the final outcome until the editing process begins, we aren’t certain what will be included. This video will be shown to new members and possibly once annually to the congregation to encourage involvement in the many activities offered here. Thanks for your help in making it a great project!

Parents’ Morning Out!

There are only two Parents’ Mornings Out left!! Parents, it is all set. The date, the time, the volunteers, the activities and the location are all ready - all we need now is you! Children can be dropped off at First United and will be cared for by members of our youth along with adult supervision. The last two Parents’ Morning Out will be offered on the following Saturdays: December 10 and 17. Both Saturdays (if we have enough kids registered) we will be doing fun activities and playing with the kids from 8:00 a.m. until noon. Our Great Beginnings Preschool Room will be open for two- year olds to four-year olds, and we will also have rooms for the school age kids and an infant/toddler room. Activities, crafts, movies and a snack will be available for the kids. These are great opportunities for parents to get holiday shopping or gift wrapping done. Please look for registration information and sign-up sheets on the Youth & Family board. If you would like to help out, please contact Mary Gorges at 452-2401. Both of these dates will require registration before so we can plan to have enough youth and adult supervision. A good-will offering will go towards the children and youth programs here at First United.

Soup Luncheon

All VILs and guests are invited for Pastor Truby’s famous soup and bread on Monday, January 23, at 12:00 noon, followed by the movie, “March of the Penguins.” Call the church office for reservations!

Decorate the Church

Can you help decorate the church for Christmas? The Outreach Committee invites you to join them for pizza and decorating at 12:00 noon on Sunday, December 11. We will order in ,eat lunch, then decorate the sanctuary and gathering area. Please see the decoration sign-up sheet on the kiosk and indicate the number of pizza slices you plan to eat.

Adopt-a-Chair

The choirs of First United need new chairs! For safety, posture, good singing, we invite you to “adopt-a-chair!” The cost is $80 for each chair, and we need a total of 50 chairs. If you are willing to “adopt” one, please make your check payable to First United. Thank you!

Good News Deadline

The next deadline for Good News articles is Sunday, December 11. It’s short notice, but December is a busy month. Thank you!

Daily Devotional Book Available

Are you looking for a good devotional? The Upper Room Disciplines is one of the most popular daily devotional books available. “Disciplines” follows the same revised common lectionary that we use for Sunday worship. It offers daily scripture reading, wonderful reflections from many different Christian authors, as well as prayer and thoughts for the day. The Upper Room Disciplines are $11 each, ($9.50 each if we have an order of ten or more). Please sign up on the kiosk by Sunday, December 11, to order.

Christmas Luncheon

All women of the congregation are cordially invited to a Christmas Luncheon to be held at the Sheboygan Yacht Club on Wednesday, December 14, beginning at 11:30 a.m. If you would like to attend, please contact Jean Craney at 467-2546 by December 8 to make a reservation.

Help Is Needed at Bridgeway

We are in need of two volunteers on Saturday, January 7, to help prepare an evening meal at Bridgeway, a transitional housing facility for women with children. Bridgeway is located at 1251 Geele Avenue, and is run by the Sheboygan County Interfaith Organization (SCIO), of which we are a member, and have agreed to help with their evening meal programon the seventh of every month. This may include helping the moms prepare, serve and clean up the evening meal, or it might be playing with the children so the moms can make dinner. The food is provided by Bridgeway, and the volunteers are invited and asked to stay for dinner to eat with the family. Can you help? Please sign up on the kiosk or call the office (452-2401). Thank you!

Gifts in a Jar

Do you need Christmas gifts for family, friends or teachers? Look no further because the youth of First United will once again be creating those great “Gifts in a Jar.” This year we are planning to make four different recipes in the quart-sized jars. There will be two different soup mixes, a muffin mix and a cookie bar mix. We will also have three recipes in the pint-sized jar. The ever popular Mochaccino mix will return as well as a Tea mix, and this year we will feature one just for the man on your list - a Nuts & Bolts mix. We will begin sales at the end of November and continue through December.

Giving Warms the Heart

Sunday School Mission Project

The Sunday School classrooms are doing hands-on mission projects during this Christmas season. We are asking children ages 3's-6th grade to bring new socks, mittens, hats and gloves to Sunday School. These items will be distributed to needy families in Sheboygan, and need to be here at church by this Sunday, December 11. Items can be dropped off in your child’s Sunday School room, in the boxes located in the gathering area, or by fellowship hall. Thank you to all who have already donated items!

From St. Mark Lutheran Church to our friends at First United Lutheran Church:

A BIG Thank You for all your help on this year’s Share Your Bounty program! This year we helped 165 families in the Sheboygan area. Each family received a box of food, a ham, three loaves of bread, 10 pounds of potatoes, apples, and butter. It is all made possible by the generosity of those who give food and money, and wonderful people like youwho pitch in to help sort, pack, and distribute. We couldn’t have done it all without you! Thanks so much!!

~St. Mark’s Social Ministry Action Committee (SMAC)

Poinsettias

Christmas poinsettias will again adorn our worship space at First United. If you’d like to purchase a poinsettia or two, fill out a form located in the church pews, and return it to the church office by Sunday, December 11. Please enclose $9.00 per plant in an envelope marked for “poinsettias.” You may pick up your plant/s on Sunday, December 25, after the 9:30 a.m. worship service.

Christmas Program Practice

Our annual Christmas Program Practice will be held on Wednesday, December 14. On that evening we will have family pizza in fellowship hall and a birthday cake for the Baby Jesus. When families are finished eating they will be invited to make Christmas Crafts for the shut-ins of our congregation or members of their own families.

These are the specific times for that evening:

5:00-7:00 p.m. Pizza & Crafts for families in fellowship hall

5:00-5:30 p.m. Cherub Choir practice

5:30-6:15 p.m. 3's-2nd grade Sunday School practice (meet in classrooms)

5:30-6:15 p.m. Christus Choir practice

6:15-7:00 p.m. 5-Star Sunday School practice (meet in sanctuary)

Both Christmas programs will be held on Sunday, December 18. The 3s-2nd grade will be during the education hour between services, and the 3 rd through 6 th grades will be during the second worship service.

If you have any questions, please contact Mary Gorges at 452-2401.

Adopt-a-Family Help Still Needed

The Adopt-a-Family names have been selected and shopped for, but help is still needed before the gifts will be delivered!

We will be wrapping gifts onTuesday night, December 13, from 5:00-7:30 p.m., in the Youth Room and Quilter’s Room. Come and help wrap all the gifts that were purchased (with Adopt-a-Family funds) for the individuals that were not ”adopted” by our members. Please bring your own scissors. Wrapping paper, tape, and gift tags will be provided. Gift boxes and bags are always needed and appreciated.

Help is also needed to sort the gifts on Wednesday, December 14, beginning at 9:00 a.m.

It takes many hands to make our Adopt-a- Family program a success. Please sign up on the kiosk, or call Cindy Van Akkeren (458-3761) or Deaconess Deb (452-2401) if you can help in any way.

Financial support is always appreciated, and very much needed. Through your generous support, we are able to purchase gifts for everyone that is not already “adopted’, and give each family food certificates!

This year we are helping 325 individuals (121 adults and 204 children) through our Adopt-a-Family program! THANK YOU for sharing your gifts with those in need!

Christmas Worship Responsibilities

As Christmas quickly approaches, please check the worship responsibility page in this issue to see if you are scheduled to serve on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. And if for some reason you cannot serve on either of those days, PLEASE try to find someone to switch with, and notify the church office as soon as possible. We realize Christmas is a time that everyone wants to be with their families, but we also need people to serve those that visit First United, as well. Thank you!

Foundation Fund Highlights

A popular source of charitable gifts is the donation of appreciated stock. If you own a stock with a low cost basis and have been hesitant to sell it because of the capital gains tax it will create, consider gifting it to First United. First United assumes the donor’s cost basis, and when First United sells it, they do not have to pay the tax. The donor receives a deduction for the full value of the gift. The donor not only avoids paying capital gains tax but saves on income tax with a charitable deduction. Gifts of appreciated stock are appropriate for the Foundation Fund, or the general stewardship efforts of First United. For additional information, please contact the church office at 452-2401.