The Week of November 29

Greetings from Swedlanda!

It has been quite a week! On Thanksgiving Eve, the Kingery Family entertained the congregation with song. This talented family of ten plus a son-in-law was well received by all. After the performance we adjourned to the fellowship hall for pie and conversation. It was a fun evening for everyone. The following day we also had a Thanksgiving worship service.

This Sunday was the first day of Advent. After worship, several volunteers helped decorate the sanctuary, including the Christmas tree and altar hanging.

Downstairs, members were enjoying a delicious meal provided by members of the Evangelism Committee and both a silent and live auction. Tom G. did a great job of calling the auction, which was very successful.

Blessings during this Advent Season,

Pastor Stewart

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The Week of November 15

Greetings from Swedlanda!

Yes, the corn is finally starting to disappear from the fields surrounding Swedlanda. The last few weeks of warm weather came as a welcome relief after a nearly a month of rainy, cool weather. All are grateful what God has provided. We have what we need and still have more to share with others.

Speaking of thanksgiving, Swedlanda will host the Mike Kingery Family on Thanksgiving Eve at 7:00 p.m. Mike was a professional baseball player for 17 years and his entire family of 10 has been singing together for the glory of God for several years. The family was with us for the Swedlanda Midsummer event in 2006. Members are invited to bring pies to share for the fellowship time which follows the program. Also, on Thanksgiving Day, there will be a Service of Holy Communion at Swedlanda at 9:30 a.m.

There has been much activity at the Swedlanda parsonage over the last two days. After 30 years, the septic system needed to be replaced. This required some excavating for the tanks and the construction of a mound for the drain field. It was a blessing to have such good weather for the installation.

The Women of Swedlanda have been busy assembling kits for Lutheran World Relief. Here are some pictures of members of the Esther club as they prepare school kits and health kits for shipping.

For All Saints Sunday at the beginning of November, the Evangelism Committee introduced the use of a tree to recognize some of the saints we have known. Members were invited to bring ornaments to the front of the sanctuary with the names of people they regarded as saints. Some also said a word about those they were recognizing. It was a meaningful service, as we thought about the way in which God has called us to be saints for one another, sharing that which we have received from Jesus Christ.

I cannot fail to mention the birthday celebration that was held after worship for Olga’s “Sweet Sixteen” party; she was 87 on October 16. Our Swedlanda “hugger” received the congratulations of many and was serenaded by the Kitchen Band from the Hector Senior Dining Center.

God’s blessings as we approach Thanksgiving Day and the holiday season which follows.

Pastor Stewart

The Week of October 4

Greetings from Swedlanda!

It’s starting to look and feel a bit like fall at Swedlanda. We have had quite a bit of rain over the past week, about 3 1/3 inches, so not much has been happening in the fields. Hopefully things will dry out soon. I think it’s time for me to bring my flowers in.

The Bowling Alone reference is a book written by Robert Putnam, a sociologist who believes that social capital is essential to communities and the church is the greatest repository of social capital; bonding capital is the glue which holds us together. The Sunday lessons reflect on how God has created us for relationships. We are made for one another and for God. “Blest be the tie that binds/Our Christian hearts in love.”

This Sunday we started our educational hour, which is held after church now. We had 20 people present and I think it went very well. We discussed a book called The Centered Life, written by Jack Fortin. It addresses several issues that people have been discussing. Fortin would refer to it as our fragmented lives, which means feeling too busy with no time to do things, feeling overwhelmed, and concerns about spending enough time with God in prayer or reading the Bible, and so forth. There was a lively discussion about many of these things. Fortin believes that the remedy for fragmented lives is to center our lives in Christ. So we are really talking about our Christian vocation. I hope you will join us at a forthcoming Sunday. Coffee and cookies are available too!

This past week, the women from the Palmyra Covenant joined the women of Swedlanda for their unit meeting. We had a nice meal and then the Covenant women provided the program: a very humorous song, a skit, and a trio. It was a very nice event.

I hope you are finding time to center your life on Christ. I will be gone for a week of vacation, so I don’t expect to have a blog next week.

God’s blessings,

Pastor Stewart

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