Can you serve in a volunteer care network for some of our Gloria Dei members? The care of our members who are homebound or in nursing homes or in the hospital is an important part of our calling as the church. In addition to visits by the pastor or parish nurse, these members of our church family benefit from contact with other members and friends. Our Health Cabinet is seeking to widen the pool of our members who are involved in the “caring” ministry of our parish. It includes:
Christopher Ministers – who bring Holy Communion to our members unable to come to worship regularly. (Click here to read more about Christopher Ministry.) Nurses or other trained persons in the parish – who may be able to serve as resources for members and/or listen while taking blood pressures. YOU if you could envision yourself doing any of the following: • being in touch with 1-2 people weekly by phone – or • visiting 1-2 people monthly – or • being available to give rides to medical appointments or church – or • praying and/or reading devotions with members – or • another caring activity.
Please pray about your involvement in caring for others. You may have gifts to share! If you can serve in any of these capacities in such a caring network, please contact Patti Maguire (click here to email her). She is currently serving as Interim Chaplain at Gloria Dei and coordinating our volunteer care network.
DISCRETIONARY SUNDAYS - On the first Sunday of each month, part of our offering supports the Gabriel Project, a ministry of direct assistance to needy people in our area that pools discretionary funds from several Central Hillside churches. In addition to regular offering in envelopes, members and friends of Gloria Dei are encouraged to contribute to this effort by writing an additional check with "Gabriel Project" in the memo, or by an additional contribution of cash since all loose money in the offering plates will go toward this important outreach ministry. Thanks. In addition, the Service & Witness committee invites worshipers on the first Sunday of the month to bring canned goods for the CHUM Food Shelf, which can be placed in the basket in front.
Lutheran's Concerned
LAKE COUNTRY LUTHERANS CONCERNED NEWS
WATCH HERE FOR UPCOMING MEETINGS....
(Lake Country Lutherans Concerned held it’s inaugural service at Gloria Dei on October 24th, 2004. This program is an extension of our Reconciling in Christ (R. I. C.) outreach. We work toward building community for worship, education and support. The support the acceptance and full participation of people of all sexual orientations and gender identities, their families, friends and allies. Lake Country LC meets four times during the year and all are welcome. If you wish to officially join, LC, contact Sue Anderson or Carol Kelley.)
RIC LOGO
Gloria Dei is a RIC Church.... WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
We welcome all people.... and this means ALL people. Many of our brothers and sisters in Christ may not feel welcome in some churches (for example, Christians who may be gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender). God welcomes all of us! Come worship with us at Gloria Dei.
BRING OR MAIL TO GLORIA DEI LUTHERAN FOR COLLECTION
HEALTH KITS FOR LUTHERAN WORLD RELIEF
Include the following items in each health kit: One hand towel dark color recommended One washcloth dark color recommended One bath sized bar of soap, any brand, in its original wrapping One adult-sized toothbrush in its original packaging One 5-7 ounce squeeze tube of toothpaste with remaining shelf life of at least 12 months with packaging removed One comb, wide tooth preferred with packaging removed One metal nail file (or nail clippers that have a file) with packaging removed Six Band-Aids (or similar brand) ½ “ – ¾” wide, secured together with a rubber band All items should be new and in good condition. Wrap smaller items in the washcloth; wrap washcloth and remaining items in the towel and tie securely with ribbons or yarn. Do not enclose the kit or any of its contents in plastic bags. Note: Toothpaste is marked with an expiration date. Please include toothpaste with at least a 12 month shelf life; 18 months highly preferred. It can take several weeks or months for a LWR health kit to travel from your church to the person who receives it. Project Comfort Note: LWR’s approximate cost to handle and ship one LWR health kit overseas is $1.10.
Preparing a meal for CHUM drop in
Visit to our Brothers and Sisters in Bokoba
As
a part of our calling to “Love one another as I have loved you”, Gloria
Dei Lutheran Church is involved in many local, national, and
international endeavors.
Gloria Dei provides financial support
to many organizations, including the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America (ELCA), the Northeastern Minnesota Synod, and the ELCA World
Hunger Appeal.
Much of our caring ministry is coordinated
through our Service and Witness Committee, Women of the ELCA, and
Churches United in Ministry (CHUM).
Through CHUM, we help minister to adults and children with programs such as the drop-in center and emergency shelter.
Gloria
Dei is a partner in the Gabriel Project. This is a coordinated effort
to provide support to individuals and families in the Hillside Area
with emergency help and referral to other support agencies.
Our
Mission Statement says: “Empowered by Christ’s love, Gloria Dei reaches
out as an inclusive welcoming church through worship and social
action.” Gloria Dei has a long history of both quality worship
experiences and reaching out in the community to share Christ’s love.
Archiving our History.... An opportunity for elders of our church and our youth...
Gloria Dei has hundreds of audio tapes, records of services over many years. To preserve this valuable material for future generations, these tapes now need to be transferred to new digital formats (CD/DVD). We envision a two-step process.
Elder Congregants, your help is needed to screen the old tapes. You would be listening to pastors, musicians, and liturgists from the past. Youth, your help is needed to digitize the screened tapes. Would you like to use or learn new skills in digitizing analog audio and making CD’s and DVD’s?
Once the new material is complete, it will be available for your use. You will be able to hear voices of people who were (and in some cases, are) part of the fabric of Gloria Dei. You will be inspired!
If you are willing to help in this project, please call Doug Maguire at 722-5152
WHY TITHE? Give because Christ gives to us EVERY DAY!
GIVING COMMITMENT CARDS THANKS to all who have returned their giving estimate cards for 2008. We dedicated our giving commitments on November 11, but if you haven’t filled one out, it’s not too late to get yours in – please do so! Additional YELLOW cards are available in the narthex (back) of the church, as are forms for the automated “Simply Giving” program offered by Thrivent. Cards and forms can be put in the offering plate or mailed to the church office. THANK YOU for your prayerful support of God’s mission through the ministry of Gloria Dei.
Discussing recipes and other essential topics in the kitchen at the Neighborhood Breakfast
SERVICE AND WITNESS AT GLORIA DEI
MEMBER AND NEIGHBORHOOD BREAKFAST
Our Neighborhood Breakfasts are on the 4th Saturday of the month and we
serve food from 9:00am till 10:30am. Great opportunity to meet
neighbors and visit with Gloria Dei members..... FREE! If you want to
help out leave your name and number at the church office and someone
will call you back... 722-3381. Join us in the Hillside Room!
More.... about the FREE FOURTH SATURDAY BREAKFASTS
We are entering our second year of congregation/community breakfasts. Many members feel that this is a very important outreach of our congregation. In order to keep it going we will continue to need your help. We can use financial contributions and also help on Saturday mornings. If you are able, please consider helping at least one Saturday during the year. Breakfast is served from 9:00 to 10:30. Workers are needed from about 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 which includes prep time and clean up. There is a sign up sheet near the coffee table during coffee hour. It is not difficult, it is fun, and it is rewarding. You can even help yourself to a hearty breakfast!
At this time the Service and Witness Committee would like to thank all of those who have enabled us to celebrate more than a year of Community breakfasts. We have had a dedicated group of workers who have arrived cheerfully on Saturday mornings ready to get to work. We have had contributions of money, food items, griddles, fry pans, bowls, cooking utensils, etc. to allow us to carry out the program. A HUGE THANKS TO ALL WHO HAVE HELPED IN ANY WAY. YOU ARE GREAT!!
MISSION TRIP TO CENTRAL RUSSIA 2007
Pastor David and Stephanie Carlson lead a mission trip to the Ural Deanery of our companion synod, the Ingrian Lutheran Church of Russia, this past summer, June 18-July 1, 2007. For comments on this trip please go to Global Mission page or click here. The trip included connecting with Lutheran churches in Moscow, participating in a retreat for church leaders in Yoshkar-Ola, 500 miles east of Moscow, and leading a two-day church camp for children and youth near the Ural Mountains.
FAIR TRADE NEWS. by Tom Uecker
Our chocolate order has arrived and includes a few new items such as a
chocolate Advent calendar. We get our chocolate from two different
suppliers. Equal Exchange chocolate comes from the CONACADO farmer
co-operative in the Dominican Republic. Their products include: hot
cocoa mix, baking cocoa, and several 3.5 oz. chocolate bars (organic
dark chocolate with almonds, organic dark chocolate with pure cocoa
nibs, organic chocolate espresso bean). A Great Gift (also known as
SERVV) chocolate comes from farmer co-operatives in Ghana. Their
products include: 1.5 oz. chocolate bars (milk chocolate, dark
chocolate) and 3.5 oz. chocolate bars (milk chocolate with hazelnut,
very dark chocolate, and mint dark chocolate). Currently, prices have
been rising in the organic cocoa market, but we haven't had to raise
our prices yet.
With Fair Trade premiums, the farmer
co-operatives that Equal Exchange partners with in the Dominican
Republic have been able to make improvements in their communities and
co-operatives. A delegation of ten Equal Exchange staff recently
traveled to visit the CONACADO co-operative. Communities have dug wells
to provide clean drinking water and have repaired school buildings. The
co-operative has invested in cocoa processing improvements like new
cocoa fermentation tanks and drying tunnels. If you wish to see some
pictures, go to:
www.equalexchange.com/liane-blads-dominican-republic-photo-journal.
REUSABLE GROCERY BAGS
The Green Team will be giving out reusable grocery bags during coffee
hour beginning the first Sunday in December. The bags are free with a
maximum of 3 each. These bags can be used over and over again without
adding more paper and plastic into the waste system. We have about 50
bags and they will go to the first people who ask for them. Please stop
at the Fair Trade table and pick some up. They are sturdy bags and give
you one more option at the grocery store instead of the "paper or
plastic" options you now get at the check out counter.
MORE RE: FAIR TRADE
Fair trade products will continue to be sold during coffee hour every Sunday. We
have been participating in two of the Fair Trade projects sponsored by
Lutheran World Relief (LWR) for over a year now. In addition to the
Fair Trade table every Sunday at Gloria Dei we also sell at the Gloria
Dei WELCA Fall Bazaar and the Synod Convention.
LWR COFFEE
PROJECT: We sell lots of different kinds. There is percolator grind,
drip grind, and whole bean. Then there are choices of regular or
decaffeinated. Then there is the 12 oz. size or the 16 oz. size. Then
there is coffee from different parts of the world. Then there is whole
city roast, vienna roast, and a bunch of other roasts. Our newest
offering is called Love Buzz (whole bean only). We don't know if it is
any good, but the name is appealing. We also sell 4 varieties of tea in
boxes of tea bags.
LWR CHOCOLATE PROJECT: Chocolate lovers pay
attention. We are now past the warm months when chocolate cannot be
shipped. We have been out of dark chocolate for several months, but
that problem will be rectified with our next order. So, you can look
for more chocolate choices in the near future. We also sell hot
chocolate mix and baking cocoa. There will be a few new chocolate items
also.
LWR HANDCRAFT PROJECT: We have not participated in this
program yet, but we will order a few items with our next chocolate
order. Also, in the future when we place chocolate orders through LWR
we will give you the opportunity to order items from the Handcraft
Catalog to include with our order for those interested. LWR is happy to
send the Handcraft Catalog to anyone for individual orders also.
Here are the items we currently have for sale:
COFFEE (several varieties in regular and decaf) 16 oz. bags of ground coffee-$8.00 12 oz. bags of coffee beans-$7.00 12 oz. bags of ground coffee-$7.00 12 oz. bags of flavored coffee-$7.00
TEA (several varieties of teabags) 24 teabags per box-$4.00
CHOCOLATE (dark and milk) 3.5 oz. bars-$2.50 1.5 oz. bars-$1.25 12 oz. can hot chocolate-$5.00 8 oz. can baking cocoa-$5.00
CRANBERRIES (organic, dried, sweetened) 5 oz. bag-$4.00
