Atonement Lutheran Church Newsletter - Messenger

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November 13, 2007 - Volume 28, #40

• Thanksgiving at Atonement - Wednesday, November 21, 2007
  
  
  • 6:00 PM Turkey Dinner in the Fellowship Hall. You are cordially invited to a full Thanksgiving Turkey Dinner with all the trimmings. A free will offering will be taken to cover the cost of the dinner, but donations are not required. We want as many people as possible to enjoy this evening together! Reservations are not required but would be appreciated to. Please call the church office at 492-9065.
  • 7:00 PM Service of Thanksgiving in the Sanctuary Vicar Richter preaching. Transportation is available by calling the church office. Nursery for children five and under will be available during the worship hour.

  Bring a guest! All are welcome!

  Note:
  • There will be no afternoon or evening class on Wednesday, Nov. 14 or 21.
  • Regular Wednesday night activities will resume on November 28, including a new class: "Mary's Story: Fact, Faith or Fiction?" taught by Pastor Suarez (read more about this in next week's Messenger).
  • There will be no additional service on Thanksgiving Day.
  • The church office will be closed on Thanksgiving Day and Friday, November 23. Please conduct all business with the church office by Wednesday, November 21. The office will close promptly at 3pm Wednesday.

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• Help WELCA Blanket the World with Love
  
  

  In the United States and countries around the world, BLANKETS provide warmth as a bed covering, warmth and protection as a wrap around someone's shoulders, and are even used as a shelter like a tent.

  On Sunday, November 18, you can purchase a Church World Service warm BLANKET for someone who needs itÐfor $5 by using the envelope which will be in your church bulletin.

  If you are unable to be at church, you may send a check, made out to Atonement WELCA, to 116 W. Glen Ave., Syracuse 13205.

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• Psalm 98

  This week's devotional, written by Vicar Aaron Richter. In contrast to last week's psalm of grief and pain, we hear a song of praise and joy to God. In addition to remembering that the Psalms are written by humans, it is also good to remember that they were also originally songs, and are meant to be sung to an audience. Therefore, when we hear the tales of God's love and faithfulness in verses 1-3, we can imagine the mood to be one of appreciation and thanks to God. As verses 4-6 are sung, instruments are added to the music so that it becomes richer and bolder as a joyful noise is made before the LORD. And finally, even the seas, the floods, the hills, and all the world and those in them add to this chorus till it becomes a tremendous sound: the whole creation raises its voice to the Creator!

  In these days, it seems difficult to imagine how we can praise a God who may not feel close, but it is the simple act of praise and thanks that we can lift up to God. Notice in v. 7: the seas roar. The sea does what it does, but with joy. My invitation for you is to simply stop for a moment and thank God for joys in your life.

  Let us pray, Creator God, you alone are the source of all life and are worthy of our praise. We give you thanks this day for all the joys and blessings in our life (especially...). Thank you for your continued presence in your creation as we lift our song up to you. Amen!

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• ...and speaking of song!
  
  We need voices for our Christmas Choir. We have a wonderful and enthusiastic group in the choir already and would love to include you. If you are interested, please contact Kathryn Woods. Call the church office at 492-9065. Leave a message (including a good time to call you back).
   

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• Food Pantry - Thanksgiving
  
  We are gathering the necessary items for Thanksgiving and Christmas baskets and need your help.

  We need 12 turkeys for Thanksgiving and at least 6 for Christmas. If you are able to contribute a turkey, please put your name on the list in the vestibule just inside the red doors. If you can buy a turkey, but do not have freezer room to hold the bird till Nov 19th, let us know (call the Church office at 492-9065); we know where there is space.

  Contributions are always welcome. Last year, filling out the baskets, after sorting through the donations, cost almost $900.

  Many of our families have children who are off from school and need to be fed the two meals that they usually get at school. At Thanksgiving and Easter we feed at least 12 families and at Christmas we do at least 12 baskets plus meat for about 30 additional families. Any help is appreciated. We can use all the usual food pantry items plus for thanksgiving baskets

  Please bring:

  Peanut butter and Jelly Mac and cheese - boxed Hi C or other fruit juice drink (with vitamin C) Cereal Jell-O and pudding mix Coffee Turkey Stuffing mix Boxed mashed potatoes Canned beans and Corn Canned cranberry sauce Quick bread mixes Canned fruit - peaches, pears or mixed fruit Holiday candy

  Spaghetti Sauce Spaghetti (36 pounds) Soups - especially chunky type Cans of stew, spam, tuna or other canned meat Raman noodles Pumpkin pie filling (not plain pumpkin) Evaporated milk Pie crust mix Seasonal funfetti cakes and icing Cranberry sauce

  Thank you for your generosity!

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• Thanks Dan & Bill - We Have Heat!

  When we arrived at church last Sunday we were greeted with a sanctuary that was really cold. The heat had not come up as it is thermostatically controlled to do well before the 8:30 AM service. The mystery deepened: The furnace was working fine. The thermostat was calling for heat. The circulating pumps were running. SO.... Why no heat? We were mystified. Then, mid morning, Bill Kemp and Dan Randall arrived for church and knew immediately what the problem was. We had an "air lock" in the lines preventing the hot water from getting from the furnace to the radiators. They went directly to work and had heat flowing in a few minutes. By noon, unfortunately, following the 10:45 AM service it was nice and warm in the sanctuary. Our apologies to everyone - and there were a lot of every ones as we had great attendance at both services - who suffered through worship in the cold. If it ever happens again, we know what to do. Thanks Bill and Dan!!!

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• Crafty Ladyes Bazaar
  
  The Crafty Ladyes held their annual bazaar this past weekend. If early photos are any indication, They had a busy day!
   

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• Atonement Women of the ELCA...

  ...will meet Thursday, November 15 at 6:00 pm in the conference room. Pastor Dawn Rodgers will present our Thank Offering Service Thank offerings will be received. All women of Atonement are invited.

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