The Week of December 9th

God’s Blessings from Swedlanda,

I hope all is well with you during this season of so much “busyness” (and business). I was just reading an article about this subject as a part of my coursework at the seminary, Taking Care of Busyness by John Ortberg. The basic premise is this: “You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.” Spiritually, our time and schedule-obsessed lifestyles distract us from what is really important, a life-giving connection with God. Jesus, you might remember, was a master at withdrawing for purposes of solitude and prayer. It is not a waste of time. This is something I need to re-learn from time to time and Advent provides the perfect opportunity to focus on this.

At Swedlanda this Sunday, we took time for God’s Word, prayer and praise. It was also a time for preparing. Instead of our usual Church Family Sunday School, rehearsal was under way for the Christmas Program which will be presented next Sunday. Gail D. has been organizing this and I look forward to seeing the program, which will be part of our regular 10:15 a.m. worship service.

Several Swedlanda members are celebrating their birthdays this week, including Kyle B. (21), Julie H., Bernice C., Keith P., and Jordan A. (14). Bernice, by the way, had a successful surgery and is recovering at her daughter’s home.

For those looking ahead to Christmas, the Christmas Eve Family Service is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. and on Christmas Day there will be a 9:00 a.m. service of Holy Communion.

As usual, the sermon for Sunday is available on SkyDrive through the link on the sidebar. Announcements and the calendar for the week are below.

Have a great week as you reflect on what is truly important in your life.

In Christ,

Pastor Stewart

Announcements:

The Swedlanda Christmas Eve Service is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. and we would like to encourage members of the congregation to bring their gifts to share. We will need readers and special music, in addition to offerings from the choir. Family groups are welcome, but so are individuals or instrumentals. If you would like to offer something, please let Deb R. or Pastor Stewart know. Thank you.

Megan S. was last week’s Terrific Teen on KOLV radio. Congratulations, Megan! We’re proud of you.

The Swedlanda Men In Mission will meet on Wednesday, Dec. 19 at 8:30 p.m. to fill Christmas bags. Hosts are Dave J. & Brian L. Please note that this meeting has been delayed a week.

The Luther League will meet on Wednesday, Dec. 19 at 7:00 p.m. Kasey P. is serving.

Thanks to all who contributed to the Swedlanda Advent Event. The silent auction took in $4654.00. The lunch (including jar) offering for the India Library project was $518.99; this plus 1/2 of the MIF interest ($196.60) was sent to support the project.

Looking for a great Christmas Gift? Habitat For Humanity Raffle tickets are now available!! This year, the Grand Prize is a candy apple red 2008 Ford Mustang convertible. Other prizes include a 15” Lap Top Computer, $500 cash, Apple I Pod 80 GB Video, and 27” Digital Color TV. Tickets are $50 and may be purchased from HFH Board members, Joyce N. or Pastor Stewart. The drawing will be held on February 3, 2008.

The next HFH meeting will be on Tuesday, Dec. 11 at 7:00 p.m. at the Lion’s Den, BL. All are welcome to attend.

The Annual Meeting for Swedlanda Lutheran is scheduled for Sunday, January 13, beginning with the Cemetery Association meeting at 12:30. 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 by December 15.

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.