The Week of November 16

Greetings from Swedlanda

Yes, it’s true. We were giving money away at church today. Everyone received a dollar bill, as a way of illustrating the message of the Gospel Lesson about the servants who received talents from their master. How have you made use of the abundant gifts God has given you? What kind of return might you give on a single dollar? One quick-thinking group decided to pool their dollars to purchase chickens! $10 provides 10 chicks to build an egg business through “God’s Global Barnyard” offered by ELCA World Hunger. Check out ELCA Good Gifts at http://archive.elca.org/scriptlib/DS/Giving/express.html. I’m hoping for some more innovative ideas like that. If you weren’t here to get your $1 “reverse offering”, talk to Pastor Stewart.

We had quite a few folks here for worship today, including a family that joined our congregation today, John, Angela and Cree G. It’s so nice to have them with us. The choir also sang “Simple Gifts” today, which fit perfectly with the theme for the day.

Thanksgiving will be here before you know it. Check the announcements below for upcoming events.

Announcements:

The Swedlanda Thanksgiving Eve Program begins at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 26, followed by fellowship, pie and coffee. ALL FAMILIES ARE ENCOURAGED TO BRING PIES. The Men in Mission are hosting for the evening. On Thanksgiving Day, there will be a worship service at 9:30 a.m. Please join us.

Offerings for Thanksgiving Day have been designated for the Renville County Food Shelf. Contributions will be matched by Thrivent.

The 2008 Christmas cantata Journey of Hope will be performed on Thursday, December 4 at 7:00 p.m. at St. Aloysius Catholic Church in Olivia. Deb Rath is directing and Cyndi Washburn is the accompanist. Other Swedlanda members participating include Wendy Wulkan, Doug Toreen, Brian and Karyn Lamb, and Pastor Stewart. The cantata will be performed a second time at First Lutheran Church on Sunday, December 7 at 9:00 a.m. All are encouraged to attend. The Swedlanda Family Sunday School has been rescheduled for December 14 and other Sunday morning activities on Dec. 7^th have been canceled with the exception of the 10:15 a.m. worship service.

The 2008 Advent Event Silent Auction will be held on Sunday, November 30, so now is the time to work on your contribution. Crafts, gifts, baked goods and services are welcome. Donations can be brought to the church beginning Nov. 23.