ANCHOR NEWS Springfield Lutheran Church, ELCA, Newsletter 2019

Post Scripts

"O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good..."

...and that is the right sentiment, any time of year, but especially now in our life together at Springfield Lutheran. It is my happy privilege to remind us about our expanded practice of thanks-giving, which is expressed, of course, at our national holiday this month. We, for some years now, have started our Thanksgiving cele- bration as more than a single day, with the blessing of quilts and baby care kits, on October 20. We follow that this year with these dates/events:

October 27: Reformation Sunday, giving thanks for the ongoing recovery of being “Autumn is a second saved by grace through the gift of faith; spring when every leaf is November 3: All Saints Sunday, giving thanks for the witness of, and remembering prayerfully, those who are now in God's eternal care; a flower.”

November 10: /weekend breakfast, inviting and giving thanks for - Albert Camus men and women who have served our nation with their commitment to our nation;

November 15: Gratitude Dinner, giving thanks for those in our SLC community and friends of the church who work often "behind the scenes" around here;

November 24: Christ the King Sunday, giving thanks for the Reign of Jesus as Lord, recognizing and re-committing His Rule in our hearts and lives!

In This Issue And throughout this time our annual Pledge of time, talents and treasures, for "the Lord loves a cheerful giver..." (2 Corinthians 9) • November Calendar

• All Saints’ I have experienced with all the churches I have served, and know first-hand in my own walk of faith, how difficult it is to practice a consistent approach of thanksgiv- • Help Wanted ing in a way that is authentic and not just a hokey optimism. Our world, the one that we live in and that God loves so much that her gave us Jesus, challenges a thankful heart and tries to smother gratitude. What I have discovered, though, is • Pet Blessings that a deep authentic faith is one of humble gratitude to God, no matter what cir- cumstances occur throughout life. Examples of that abound in scripture: the sto- • Newsletter News ries of Joseph and his brothers, Abraham and Sarah, Ruth and Esther, the Apos- tles Peter and Paul--the list is too large and the stories too deep to contain in this little column. That's one reason why we need to engage in regular worship togeth- er and study and prayer especially--the Church at its best is best suited to help us out here. I go to the example of our Lord, who even on the night when he was betrayed, took bread, and gave thanks....I am happy and awed to announce that every time we share the bread and wine.

-- Pastor Erik Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 9:30 am Worship with Office Closed 9:00 am LWR Quilting 9:00 am SLSS Quilting 9:30 am SHS Cooking Office Closed Communion 12 noon AA 12 noon AA 9:30 am SHS Cooking 12 noon AA 12 noon AA 10:30 am Fellowship 6:30 pm Al-Anon 5:30 NA 12 noon AA 5:30 AA 12:30 Nar-Anon 6:30 pm Bible Study 12:30 Nar Anon 2:00 Sr. Mat Yoga 3:30 Sr. Chair Yoga 5:30 AA 6:45 Evening Service NOVEMBER 2019

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 All Saints’ Sunday

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Pent 22 Circle meeting 1pm, Harvest Gratitude Annual Veterans’ home of Michelle Dinner, 5:30pm Day Breakfast, 8- Marroquin In This Issue 10am • Advantages of a 17 18 19 20 21 22Newsletter 23 Pent 23 • Add Value to Your Newsletter

• Second Story

• Another Story 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Christ the King Wise Guys, 1:30pm, No midweek worship • Back Page Story Hole in the Wall Thanksgiving Feasting

When the pumpkins are gone, And the leaves have all fallen to ground, When the air has turned windy and cold, Then Thanksgiving will soon be around.

Thoughts of loved ones all feasting together, Pleasant pictures from past times appear To dwell in each heart and each mind-- Then Thanksgiving is finally here!

The kitchen has scrumptious aromas, The dining room looks oh, so fine, Decorations with pilgrims and turkeys, What is All Saints’ Day? And now we are ready to dine! All Saints' Day, also known as All Hallows' Day, Hallowmas, the Feast of All Saints, or Solemnity of All Saints, is a Christian festival celebrated in honor of all the saints, known and unknown. In Western Christianity, it is celebrated on 1 First the napkins are placed on our laps; November by the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, Now the prayer for the meal to be blessed, the Methodist Church, the Church of the Nazarene, the Lutheran Church, the Reformed Church, and other Protestant churches. The Eastern Orthodox Then we stuff the good food in our tummies, Church and associated Eastern Catholic Churches and Byzantine Lutheran Churches celebrate it on the first Sunday after Pentecost. Oriental Ortho- And we hope for it all to digest! dox churches of Chaldea and associated Eastern Catholic churches celebrate All Saints' Day on the first Friday after Easter. By Joanna Fuchs In the Western Christian practice, the liturgical celebration begins at Vespers on www.poemsource.com the evening of 31 October, All Hallows' Eve (All Saints' Eve), and ends at the close of 1 November. It is thus the day before All Souls' Day, which commemo- rates the faithful departed. In many traditions, All Saints' Day is part of the season of , which includes the three days from 31 October to 2 November inclusive and in some denominations, such as , extends to Remembrance Sunday. On All Saints Day, it is common for families to attend A Big Thank You! church, as well as visit in order to lay flowers and candles on the graves of their deceased loved ones. In Austria and Germany, godparents gift Thank you to all who donated their godchildren Allerheiligenstriezel (All Saint's Braid) on All Saint's Day, while in any way to the Baby Care the practice of souling remains popular in Portugal. It is a national holiday in many Kits - we were able to make historically Christian countries. 131 kids for 2019. Blessings to all who helped, especially to The Christian celebration of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day stems from a belief Baby’s World Unlimited for that there is a powerful spiritual bond between those in heaven (the "Church tri- their generous donations! umphant"), and the living (the "Church militant"). In Catholic theology, the day commemorates all those who have attained the beatific vision in Heaven. In Methodist theology, All Saints Day revolves around "giving God solemn thanks for the lives and deaths of his saints", including those who are "famous or ob- scure". As such, individuals throughout the Church Universal are honored, such as Paul the Apostle, Augustine of Hippo and John Wesley, in addition to individu- als who have personally led one to faith in Jesus, such as one's grandmother or friend.

--borrowed from Wikipedia

3 HELP WANTED

Our worship assistant team (the folks in the light gray robes) would like to add one or two additional members to our team.

Duties are simple:

• Light and extinguish candles at wor- Blessing of the Pets was a fun time for all! ship’s beginning and end; Thank you to everyone who brought in their • Read selected portions of the printed worship service “script”; adorable pets.

• Assist with communion distribution;

• Help Pastor Erik keep track of his glasses.

We assist on a very flexible rotation schedule, seldom serving more than once a month.

If interested, please contact Pastor Erik or any one of the worship assistants.

Newsletter News Contact Us If you need the church, the If you have anything you’d like to see in the newslet- Pastor, the Office Adminis- ter, please email your submissions by the 25th of trator, prayer, comfort, or guidance; please contact us each month. You can also place hard copies of your at: submissions in the Parish Secretary box in the main Springfield Lutheran hallway. Church, ELCA

- If anyone would like to receive this newsletter via 1542 I Street email, please let Julie know. Springfield, OR 97477 (541) 746-2403

Office Hours: Closed Mon- days, Fridays, & National Holidays. Open Tuesday- Thursday, from 10:00am to 1:00pm.

[email protected]

Visit us on the web at www.springfieldlutheran.org

Springfield Lutheran Church, ELCA, Newsletter

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