The Week of December 23

Merry Christmas…on a very blustery winter day. Today, it was even windier than usual on the Swedlanda hill. But the fellowship was warm inside. We began our service with an unexpected prelude from Ralph and Corrine’s daughter Julie L. and granddaughter Sophie—very beautiful. Our choir also sang today; Megan S. had a flute solo. Numerous special family events are being celebrated this week, including birthdays for Lynn P., Matt S., Kasey P., Joe W., and Doris J. and anniversaries for Charles & Nancy S. (31), Gary & Gail D. (37), Adam & Janine B. (6) and Kurt & Sue S. (23).

The Swedlanda sanctuary is looking very festive with numerous poinsettias. As usual, the message for the day is available from SkyDrive (link on the right).

I thought I would include a few photos from the past Wednesday, a very frosty morning. That evening, the Luther League met and our Men In Mission filled Christmas bags for the Christmas Eve service.

We are looking forward to that and to a service on Christmas Day. A few announcements can be found below.

God’s blessings and keep safe.

Pastor Stewart

Announcements:

The Swedlanda Christmas Eve Family Service is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. and will include offerings from our members.

The Christmas Day Service of Holy Communion will be held at 9:00 a.m.

The Swedlanda Church Council has voted to designate the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day offerings as follows: ½ Renville County Food Shelf; ½ Lutheran Social Services.

On Sunday, December 30 at 9:00 a.m., the 2007 Christmas cantata, Mary, Did you Know? will be performed at Swedlanda by members of the Olivia area choir as directed by Deb R. Members of the Palmyra Covenant Church will also be our guests that day. The program will be followed by a potluck brunch hosted by our Church Council. Please join us and invite others to come.

The Annual Meeting for Swedlanda Lutheran is scheduled for Sunday, January 13, beginning with the Cemetery Association meeting at 12:30. A potluck will be held immediately after worship on that day. The alternative date in case of bad weather is January 20. All officers of auxiliary church groups (W-ELCA, MIM, LL) and committee chairs/directors are reminded that their reports should be submitted to the church office as soon as possible.

Congratulations to Nick P. who graduated from SCSU with a Bachelor’s in Business Management.

The quilters of Swedlanda have a great ministry of providing quilts for various needs--Lutheran World Relief, local families in need, the fundraiser for Renville County domestic abuse prevention to name a few. Since we can't all quilt, perhaps we can support this ministry by a donation of funds. The jar on the narthex table is now accepting donations to help fund the quilters’ projects. Thank you.

Tonight the CBS television network will air a two-hour prime time program entitled "In God's Name." This special will feature extraordinary footage of 12 of the world's most influential religious leaders, including our very own Mark Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and president of the Lutheran World Federation. Tune in at 8:00 p.m.