ALTAR FLOWERS are given to the glory of God by Corine Motley in celebration of the birthday of her daughter, Sabrina.
A REMINDER OF LOVE The extra roses on the altar today are from some of the more than 140 rose bushes around First Lutheran’s campus. They are a reminder of God’s love for us and His provision for all our needs.
OUR BLUE PARAMENTS The blue paraments adorning our altar, lectern and pulpit are gifts in loving memory of Dr. John Greenlee. They are blue for Advent. Blue is the color for hope and expectation. Our particular parament set is called “Glory to God,” reminding us of the message of the angels to the Bethlehem shepherds. The altar parament includes the word “Gloria” (Latin for “Glory”) as well as the symbols of four advent candles. The lectern parament shows a 1st Century oil lamp (from a couple of Jesus’ parables), superceded by the Chi Ro (the Greek letters for the first three letters in the Name “Christ”). The pulpit parament mimics the altar parament, with four advent candles, set into a wreath.
THE HOLY FAMILY The Fontanini Holy Family on the Altar is a memorial gift given a number of years ago by Pastor Christopher Schaar in loving memory of his grandmother, Charlotte Thorsen.
ALL WOMEN ARE INVITED THIS SATURDAY! Lutheran Women’s Fellowship holds its Christmas party this Saturday at 11:30 a.m. It is a wonderful time of year and we invite you to ask family, friends and fellow members to join with all of us in this fun-filled and informative celebration. If you are a fan of JEOPARDY, here is your chance to be part of it. It is called Bible Jeopardy and our hostess, Anna Price, has put this together with prizes to boot. The decorations and other fun items planned for this day are not to be missed And then to really leave us with additional and useful knowledge, the gracious, well-known attorney, Carol Peters, who specializes in Elder Care Law, will join us and share some valuable information for all of us, regardless of age. You will love her sense of humor! RSVPs are a must to Harriet Dickens, Carol Numrich or Anna Price.
ATTENTION SENIORS (over 55)!! Save the date for the 4TH ANNUAL ““SENIOR FEST”” on the Concordia University Irvine Campus. ““What is your most precious possession? What legacy do you most want to leave to your children and grandchildren? Christianity is always just one generation away from extinction. Today the baton is in our hands and we dare not drop it!”” That is the heart of the message which speaker Dr. Rollie Martinson will share at Senior Fest on the Concordia University campus on 13 January 2010. Dr. Martinson is a well- known author and Professor of Children, Youth and Family Ministry at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. Save the date and plan to attend! To get more information on this special event or to register please contact Mary Sipes at mary.sipes@cui.edu or 949.854.8002, ext. 1861. Save the date also for the 1st ANNUAL ““SENIOR FEST”” at California Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks on Thursday 14 January 2010. Keynote speaker: Rev. Dr. Roland Martinson. He is an energetic speaker who engages his audience wherever he speaks. He will be focusing on the ““Call to Elderhood.”” Save the date and plan to attend! For more information on this special event contact Linda LeBlanc at leblanc@callutheran.edu or 805-493-3936. To register go to http://www.callutheran.edu/university_ministries/church_relations/senior_fest.php
“PERSPECTIVES” The Rev. Dr. Gerald Kieschnick, President of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod, has launched a new weekly e-journal titled Perspectives. As the title implies, his intention is to share perspectives on a range of topics that might include family, life matters, church issues, current news, national and world events, etc. His goal is to provide readers with his thoughts on various subjects as he views them from his personal life and his life as President of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod. Please consider this an invitation to subscribe to Perspectives. If you are so inclined, you may do so online at www.lcms.org/ca/president/perspectives/signup.asp
REJOICE! A CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION If you enjoyed Linda Krantz’s handbell performance today during worship, you may want to consider attending her concert next Sunday 13 December at 3:00 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church, 100 N. Hillcrest in Inglewood.
NEXT SUNDAY Our quarterly Voters’ Assembly is scheduled after worship. This meeting includes approval of our 2010 congregational budget. Advance packets are available from the table in the narthex. Please plan now to attend.
COLLECTION FOR THE FOOD PANTRY UP THE STREET FROM US If you are looking for a way to give a little extra this year to people in need, join the Lutheran Women’s Fellowship Collection scheduled for Saturday 12 December. Bring items to the Green Room prior on that day and they will be delivered to the Ecumenical Center. Over 75 families a week show up for food. Suggestions – bags of rice, bags of beans, canned vegetables, canned fruit and pasta. For questions or a desire to make a contribution, talk to Anna Price, Harriet Dickens or Carol Numrich.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE IN ONE MONTH! As we have promised to update you weekly with regards to our church budget, it is with much joy that we announce that we ended the month of November with a deficit of $6,276.71. That may not seem to be something to celebrate until you remember that we began the month of November with a deficit of $11,547.00. So not only did we pay every bill in November, but had an excess income of over $5,000. which lowered our deficit accordingly. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could rise to the challenge before us, maintain the generous giving we saw during November and completely erase our deficit and end the year with a balance? It IS possible! Please keep this in your prayers!
A JOKE ABOUT FINANCES A pastor once stood before his congregation to give an update on a building project underway. The pastor announced, “The good news is that we have every dollar we need for the new building! The bad news is that it’s still in your pockets!”
MIDWEEK ADVENT SERVICES Midweek Advent Services are every Wednesday at 12:00 Noon and 7:00 p.m. Please plan now to attend one of these special services every week.
CONFIRMATION UPCOMING! Kevin Baumgartner has completed his independent study course of confirmation. He will be interviewed by Pastor Schaar regarding what he has learned and what he believes. His confirmation will follow shortly.
CHRISTMAS TREE DECORATING Please note that our annual Christmas Tree Decorating Party is scheduled for this Thursday 10 December at 11:00 a.m. Help is needed from men and women. A pizza lunch will be provided.
CHRISTMAS GIFTS Again this year, Pastor Schaar respectfully asks anyone who would like to provide him a Christmas gift to instead consider a special gift to Historic First Lutheran to try to help erase our deficit by year-end. Simply use a designated envelope or clearly mark your gift in Pastor’s honor. Your gift will be receipted as a tax deductible donation. Pastor will be notified of your gift and you will receive a personal thank you from him.
USHERS: TAKE NOTE Next week’s service will involve Usher Team #4 – Doris Barnes, Taina Feher and Paul Nagle.