NOVEMBER 2015 December Issue Deadline November 15 From Pastor John .……….................p. 2 Book Review……………………….....p. 6 Birthdays & Anniversaries………….p. 4 Finance Update…..……………..…....p. 5 Giving Tree…………………………….p. 6 Grief Resource…………..……………p. 6 November Worship news…………...p.3 Picture Page………...………………...p. 7 Prayer Requests…………..……........p. 4 Preschool News……………………...p. 5 John Cunningham, Pastor Jeanne Soberg, Parish Administrator Chuck Masny, Music Director Jill Voelz, Nursery Supervisor Lorena Skelley, Wedding Coordinator Dennis Mitchell, Custodian STAFF Office: 847/639-3959 Email: [email protected]Website: www.stbarnabas-cary.org A monthly publication of St. Barnabas Lutheran Church, ELCA Church Office Hours: 9:00am to 2:00pm IN THIS ISSUE St. Barnabas Lutheran Church . . . to grow up into Christ. THE ENCOURAGER You are invited to add leaves to the trees, showing your gratitude for blessings you have received (the tree on the left) and ways you have responded by using God’s blessings well (the tree on the right).
A monthly publication of St. Barnabas Lutheran Church, ELCA
Church Office Hours: 9:00am to 2:00pm
I N T H I S I S S U E
St. Barnabas Lutheran Church
. . . to grow up into Christ.
T H E E N C O U R A G E R
You are invited to add leaves to the trees, showing your gratitude for blessings you have received
(the tree on the left) and ways you have responded by using God’s blessings well
(the tree on the right).
God’s Word – Our Guide
In its last meeting the St. Barnabas Council was consid-ering a theme for this year. We were thinking about a Bi-ble emphasis, and decided to take off from the “God’s Work – Our Hands” of our Evangeli-cal Lutheran Church in Amer-ica and have the theme of “God’s Word – Our Guide”. Already the Bible is permeating our ministries. Here are a few examples:
• Worship. Did you realize
that each time we sing “This is the feast of victory” it’s from the book of Revelation? Much of the liturgy comes from the Bible. Page 1154 in the back of our hymnal lists the sources. And while you’re looking in the hymnal, check p. 18 in the front for a list of the Bible readings for each Sunday. That’s a 3 year cycle; we are finishing Year B (Mark empha-sis) and will soon begin Year C (Luke emphasis). Page 1121 has a list of daily readings for the 3 years.
• Sunday School. For in-
stance, our Sr. High group is discussing how reports from the news relate to what the Bible has to say.
• Children’s messages. Each
Sunday there’s a new card with a picture and Bible verse.
• Stewardship: Check out the
Bible study in the Sunday bulle-tin. It’s also being sent in an email blast early in the following week.
• Confirmation. In addition to
the references in the lesson, we have extra items like “confirmation baseball” (for which the only equipment needed is a Bible!)
Devotional booklets are made available for free. Take one for daily home use! New this year is a “through the Bible” Sunday evening adult Bible study. So far we have gone through Genesis and Exodus. Watch for future “God’s Word – Our Guide” responses! And a suggestion: read the in-troduction to your Bible. Before you read a Bible passage, read the introduction to that book of the Bible, if you Bible has them. These will enrich understanding of what the Bible is.
As a Lutheran church we have the heritage of Martin Luther’s focus on Scripture alone as the norm for faith. Keep exploring the Bible for inspiration and insight and encouragement for daily liv-ing!
— Pastor John
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November 2015 Page 3
Christ the King Sunday (11/22) ends the liturgical year with praise to our Sav-ior and Lord. Also, as we consider all that God does for us, all the rich blessings of life we are given day by day, we will have our Cele-bration and Commitment Sunday.
The Thanksgiving Eve (11/25) worship service at 7:00 pm is another opportu-nity to praise God. While this is a national holiday rather than a church one, we know that it is indeed right, our duty, and our joy, that we should at all times and in all places give thanks and praise (as we say in the liturgy for Holy Commun-ion). Come, thankful peo-ple, come! “All good gifts around us are sent from heaven above; then thank the Lord, O thank the Lord, for all his love!”
November ends as the Advent season begins on Sunday, Nov. 29th. We will begin lighting the candles of the Advent wreath and enjoy-ing the time of hope even as we wait.
All Saints Sunday, November 1 Gratitude Sunday, November 15 Celebration Sunday, November 22
Christ the King Sunday, November 22 Thanksgiving Eve Service, November 25, 7:00pm
Advent begins, November 29
Our Stewardship program culminates in Gratitude Sunday on Nov. 15th
and Commitment Sunday on Nov. 22nd! The 22nd is also Christ the King Sunday. The two “trees” in our worship space are filling with examples of gratitude and commit-ment. Gratitude for all the blessings we receive from God is indicated in examples on the leaves on the tree on the left. Leaves on the tree on the right give examples of blessings well used, showing our commitments to faithful living. (Meanwhile, blank leaves are in the narthex (entry area)—you can add your examples and put the completed leaves in the basket.)
Wednesday, November 25 at 7:00pm
We pray for each St. Barnabas member and families. NOTE: We will pray for every member/family by name during the coming year. The
names are listed at random; those out of high school are given their own listing.
November 1 Chelsea Swan-son. Mark & Karole Vogel. James, Melanie, Luke, Brian, & Vanessa Dutcher. Emily Carrick. Peter & Grace Kubas. Bob & Laura Torgerson.
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BIRTHDAYS NOV 2 BETSY ROEHRI NOV 3 KURT KREUTZMANN NOV 4 ERIN ALLEVA NOV 6 JENNIFER DROZT NOV 7 MATT MCCUMBER NOV 6 MALIA NELLS NOV 8 VAL ALTPETER NOV 8 TONY STAFANI NOV 9 JONATHAN DREWS NOV 10 STEPH BALLARD NOV 10 BILL GWINN NOV 10 GAVIN PAYTON NOV 11 CONNOR BARTH NOV 12 KATIE FLUGGE NOV 12 SAM NALLEN NOV 13 FRANK JAESCHKE NOV 13 JESSICA BECIRIVIC NOV 14 ANDREW JACOBSEN NOV 14 LORI OLSON NOV 17 KYLE BRENNEN NOV 19 MICHELLE SCHUSTER NOV 19 HOPIE PATERSON NOV 20 PATTI HILL NOV 20 NATHAN PTIZ NOV 22 CRYSTAL JONES NOV 22 DIANA JONES
NOV 26 PAT HIVON NOV 27 KEITH FLUGGE Nov 27 KAROLE VOGEL Nov 27 KRISTEN GIOE Nov 28 DAVID GRACELY Nov 30 GREG LIAUTAUD Nov 30 PEYTON TEER
ANNIVERSARIES
November 5 DUSTIN & BETH EVITTS
November 24 DAVE & MARY GWINN
November 27 JIM & JEN COTSIOPOULOS
November 8 Sarah Kerby-son. Bill, Chris, Amber & Alli-son Mathesius. Jason, Darcy & Violet Sowle. Scott, Linda & Natalie Hamann. Kate Carter. Phil, Lisa, McKenna, Lauren, Kyle & Keegan Brennen.
November 15 Todd, Jenni-fer, Grace, Olivia & David Gatto. Don & Joan Kuthe. Christian Taylor. Christopher, Kristen & Ellery Gioe. Todd, Val, Katie, Elizabeth & Jenni-fer Altpeter. Roy Kolak.
Baptisms
Jessi Hyde
Jason Bonnot Perez
November 22 Betty Post. Greg, Jen, George & Becky Liautaud. Nick Zimmer. Mark, Jovita, Seth, Isabella & Zachary Neifing. Chuck & Marianne Barstow. Olivia Fos-ter.
November 29 Stacy, Ryan & Reese Whitcomb. Chris, Donna & Peyton Teer. Fred, Sue, Tim & An-drea Dodge. Brandon McCumber. Jeff, Jessica, Eva & David Becirovic. Sean Schaley.
Continue to keep our military
families in your prayers: Jonathan Barstow, Ryan Blackwell, Joe Caffer-ata and all who are unemployed or underemployed or in any need.
REMINDER:
There is a discretionary
account available to help St. Barnabas members
with emergency needs. Contact Pastor to access
it. Confidentiality
will be kept.
Thanksgiving Beatitudes
Be thankful that you don’t already have everything you desire. If you did, what would there be to look forward to? Be thankful when you don’t know something, for it gives you the oppor-tunity to learn. Be thankful for the difficult times. During those times you grow. Be thankful for your limitations, because they give you opportunities for improvement. Be thankful for each new challenge, because it will build your strength and character. Be thankful for your mistakes. They will teach you valuable lessons. Be thankful when you’re tired and weary, because it means you’ve made a difference. —Author unknown
Page 5 November 2015
WE ARE THANKFUL
FOR OUR PRESCHOOL,
FAMILIES AND FRIENDS!
This month the chil-
dren are working on
what it means to be thank-
ful. We experience giving
thanks on a daily basis,
with family, friends, our
community and our faith.
As a preschool will be ex-
pressing our thanks thru
songs, prayers, and plays;
as well as concluding our
month with a variety of
Thanksgiving Celebrations.
We strive to make sure that
each child has a strong un-
derstanding of giving
thanks and being thankful
for God’s love.
We appreciate all the love and support that the members of St. Barnabas Church con-tinue to share with us.
We had a wonderful turnout at our “dinner out” at Ga-lati’s Hideaway last month.
Thank you to all the St. Barnabas Church mem-bers for your support!
This month’s “dinner out” will be at Kojak’s in Cary, on U.S. Highway 14 on Wednesday, Nov. 18th. We look forward to seeing you out to dinner! Happy Thanksgiving!
Meghan Ruscheinski, Director
Financial Update General Fund income for the month of September was exactly
on budget and year-to-date is tracking slightly ahead of
budget, thanks to your generous response to our special ap-
peal over the past couple of months. Expenses continue to be
well-managed with no unexpected surprises. The special ap-
peal alleviated our "cash crunch" and should allow us to meet
our budget for 2015. Unfortunately, we have a deficit budget
for 2015, but we started the year with a healthy cash position and should end the year with
a smaller, yet adequate, cash balance. The Council approved payment of one more mission
support payment this month, yet we are still 4 months behind ($4,932). If general fund
giving continues at budgeted levels through year-end, we will continue to be able to meet
all of our obligations and hope to be able to catch up on our 2015 mission support pay-
ments. Thank you for your continued support of our mission here at St. Barnabas!
Linda Hamann, Council Liaison
Food Pantry Statistics for Sept.
Served: 184 Families 628 Adults 232 Children Total: 960
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FYI: our Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is constantly responding to disasters to serve in the name of Jesus. Our reputation is that we stay as long as the need continues. At present, some of the response is to flooding in the USA, the earthquake in Chile, wildfires in the USA, and the refugee crisis in the
Middle east and in Europe.
While we sometimes invite special offerings to help in disasters as they happen, this is one area where a gift is appropriate (and will be put to excellent use) at any time—just as with the hunger appeal (including the Global Barnyard), Lutheran Social Service of Illinois, and other needs such as the ones in the Good Gifts catalog. Just be sure to indi-cate the purpose you want for special gifts.
At a recent gathering of pastors from our synod’s Northeast Conference, we heard about a resource
for grief as during holidays. You can find it at https://www.unitypoint.org/quadcities/article.aspx?id=8162e1f6-f21b-4f91-afe3-4f8f17c67507 (Copies are also available in the church office)
Beginning Wednesday, November 25th, our Giving Tree will feature little paper ornaments
with the names and gift requests of the selected families through the Cary Gove Food Pantry and in the community. Please select an ornament or two and purchase the gift(s) requested, wrap it and tape the ornament
to the outside of the package. Your generosity will be appreciated and will help others add to
not only their joy, but to your joy as well. Let us respond to God’s greatest Gift by gifting others!
PLEASE BRING YOUR WRAPPED GIFTS TO CHURCH
NO LATER THAN DECEMBER 13TH!
Sunday, December 6
at 11:45am at the Fox River Grove
“Panera.”
The Girls of Atomic City by Denise Kiernan
All are Welcome All Saints Day...candles lite in memory of loved ones!
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Smoothie recipes available at the Welcome Desk!
Green Monster Smoothie and Oatmeal Shakes.
(both sampled that day)
Eloise Flach receives her Bible for starting Sunday Schgool Preschool 3!
Confirmation Class 2015
Keenagers... Enjoy a Heart Healthy & Diabetes Smoothie Class
