leaves from the forest

November 2020 Sunday Worship

9:30 am

Masks and social

distancing required

Communion 2nd & 4th Sunday of each month

Sunday Worship Captioned for the Hearing Impaired

Sunday School Online

Pastor: Rev. Glenn E. Fischer

Church Office Hours: Tuesday, Thursday,

and Friday 9:00 am - 1:00 pm

(352) 683-9731 8555 Forest Oaks Blvd. Spring Hill, FL 34606

forestoakslutheran.com

Food Pantry Open Tuesday

9:00 am - 12:00 pm

Not To Be Missed:

Thanksgiving The custom of ren-dering thanks to God at harvest time is as old as the fam-ily of man. It was part of the sacrificial liturgy of the ancient Jews to return to Jehovah a portion of their first fruits. It is fitting, then in a na-tion so blessed as

ours, that God’s people should joy-fully participate in a day of national thanksgiving to God in this season of harvest.

The world is materialistic. To “seek those things that are above” is seen as folly. Our world is tech-nologically oriented. To trust “in the mercies of God” is impractical and vain. And yet the Church recogniz-es that our heavenly Father is the giver “of every good and perfect gift” and we have so much for which we should give thanks to Him.

Thanksgiving is normally not a special day in that we have just been delivered from some titanic catastrophe. It is usually very

much an ordinary day, in an ordi-nary time. But this year is different as we are in the midst of a world-wide pandemic, our country is in turmoil and we see pitfalls and dangers all around us. As a result, we may not be able to gather with family and friends as we always have. But this in no way should dim the sincerity of our “thanksgiving.” As we look to the future, we remember that there are pitfalls and dangers which have faced man in ages before and God has brought us through.

Thus, thanking the God and Fa-ther of our Lord Jesus Christ, we remember the past and face our present, but we also commit to Him our future. “The merciful God hear our thanks; be with us and bless us.” Praise the Lord, all na-tions! Extol Him, all peoples! For great is His steadfast love toward us; and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord!

Thank you to all of those who have served our country, as we remember your sacrifice on Veter-

ans Day. Lots to do this month! Daylight Savings Time ends November 1

st - set your clocks BACK! Make sure you VOTE!

Come help set up for the Fall Festival and help decorate our Sunday School Angel Tree on November 13

th and then se-

lect a name from it. Attend the Fall Festival on November 14

th and join us for our Thanksgiving service on November 26

th and come

on November 28th to decorate the church for Advent and Christmas.

Your articles and photos make this newsletter, so email them to folc25news@outlookcom. For those unable to email, you may place it in the newsletter box behind the church office.

The deadline for the December newsletter is November 22.

From the Editor:

LEAVES FROM THE FOREST

Nov. Servant Schedule 2

How Would You Serve? 2

Financial Reports 3

How Would Luther Vote 4

Letter from Trudy 5

Women’s Guild/LWML 6

Quilting for Charity 8

Church Life 9

Thank God this year is... 10

Memorial & Honor Gifts 12

Birthdays/Anniversaries 13

Annual Voters Meeting 13

Calendar 14


As you fulfill your commitment to serve, you are ful-filling God’s words in 1 Peter 4:10: “Each one should use the gift he received to serve others, faithfully ad-ministering God’s grace in its various forms.” Thank you. May God continue to bless you as you serve.

Serving on the Altar Guild: Cindy Braun Dee Beard

Kathy Schmidt Carol Blue

SERVANT SCHEDULE FOR NOVEMBER

Serving as Greeters: We Need

Your Help!

Serving as Ushers: Ted Ryder

Help needed!

Serving as Counters: Darleen Keck

We Need Your Help!

Serving as Lay Readers: Temporarily Suspended

Watch for the sign-up sheet at the

Welcome Center.

HOW IS GOD USING YOU TODAY?

Really!! Use me?? Of course, He uses us to do His work every day! Although the pandemic has suspended many of our activities, there are still areas where you can serve. Plus, this has been an opportunity for you to reflect on where you can serve once we are again fully operational. Maybe you’d enjoy helping in Sun-day school, greeting worshippers, being a lay reader, serving as a church officer, helping in our food pantry, washing dishes and cleaning up after fellowship, quilting for charity, playing hand bells, singing in the choir, making crafts, decorating a bulletin board, visiting or calling

homebound members. Lots of ways to do God’s work to thank Him for His many bless-ings.

Right now and in the coming year, we are very much in need of the following: Church Officers Greeters Ushers Offering Counters We also need one or two people to coordi-nate the greeter schedule and the usher schedule. Prayerfully consider opportunities to share your gifts. Many hands make light work. See Norma Karpiscak if God calls you to use your gifts to serve and sign up at the Welcome Center.

Holy Spirit, we ask for guidance and the wisdom to know what we need to do to share your love. Amen

Advent begins on Sunday, November 29th. Advent, a Latin word that means “coming,” is the season that calls us to prepare for the Lord’s coming. The prophet

Isaiah tells us to “clear a path” and “make a road” so that we can welcome and receive God’s promised Savior.

Come on Saturday, November 28th

at

9:00 am to decorate the church for Advent and Christmas as we prepare for the Lord’s coming. A decision regarding Wednesday Advent services and soup lunches has not been made yet.

Announcements will be made in church, the December newsletter and on our Website as information becomes available.

Forest Oaks Lutheran Church September 2020 Financial Reports

Financial Report - September

Income for September was quite low while ex-penses were high due to an insurance premium. If you can not come to church, please don’t for-get to mail your contribution to the church. We are getting good contributions to additional Debt Reduction but remember initial contributions should be for the General Fund to maintain our church and any additional money go to your fa-vorite fund. Thanks to all of you for your support. Any questions, please contact Jesse Ward at 352-754-3041.

Our Worship Services

Attendance

Were you among these?


Children’s Sunday School

ONLINE LESSONS

August and September No in-person classes were held

August Sunday Services

2019 127 157 123 135

2020 107 91 96 97 110

September Sunday Services

2019 145 128 129 112 139

2020 6 96

13 101

20 98

27114

Pastor’s 2020 Bible Class

August and September No classes were held

Body and Soul Bible Study - Thursday 9 AM - Suspended

Listed below are the number of Communicants who worshipped at God’s Altar in 2020 to receive Christ’s body and blood.

Aug 9 95 Aug 23 109 Sept 13 99 Sept 27 112

We refinanced our mortgage earlier this year. If you are interested in helping to reduce our mortgage, use your Debt Reduction envelope each

month in addition to your regular General Fund envelope. The money donated to debt reduction is included in our mortgage payment each month to pay down our debt.

Please prayerfully consider becoming a member of the finance committee or accepting the position of Finance Committee Chairperson. The Finance

Committee Chairperson works with the property and finance committees including chairing the monthly meeting of the committee.

Accounting Fund Balances

General $68,652

Needy Family $923

Memorial Garden $3,885

LCEF CD $50,705

Major Rep. Income $505

Major Rep. Balance $39,801

General Fund Operations

Income $16,325

Disbursements $22,211

Year-to-Date Accounting

Income $226,666

Disbursements $236,588

Budget $198,072

Debt Reduction

Loan Principal $3,292

Additional Principal $3,055

Loan Balance (Nov. 1) $165,179


So who would Luther vote for? If Martin Luther were alive and well and living in these exciting times here in

this great land we call “The United States of America,” what bumper sticker would he stick to the rear-end of his automobile? Would he be Republican, Democrat, Independent, Bull-Moose, Federal or Wig? Or would he be noth-ing at all? Would he remove and distance him-self from the whole political scene saying that he was simply a parish pastor concerned pri-marily with the souls and spiritual welfare of his congregation and those in the tiny town of Wittenberg?

More often than not, when we picture Luther nailing his 95 thesis to the Castle Church door of Wittenberg Germany on October 31

st, 1517,

thus sparking and marking the beginning of the Reformation, we interpret that as a reli-gious event. Luther, coming to grips with the Gospel message and therefore griping about the sale of indulgences through his thesis so nailed to the Church door on the eve of All Saints. Little do we realize, however, that along with the 95 thesis being a religious statement, Luther was also making a political one as well. By attacking the Roman Catholic Church and their sale of indulgences, (buying God’s forgiveness with money), Luther was in fact, attacking the most powerful political force of his day. While his primary objective was to restore the sweet message of the pure Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Church, a side effect, if you will, was to call into question the role of the Church in the daily workings of the State. The basic question became “should an individ-ual’s faith play a part in how one rules and governs?” And just how far and to what extent should a ruler bring that faith into play as he makes and creates rules and laws which gov-ern how his people live?

For example, if the King is a Christian, should he require by law that all his subjects be Chris-tian as well? If a King believes the Ten Com-mandments are God’s rules for governing so-ciety, along with condemning murder and stealing, should he also require that business-es be closed and no work done on Sunday?

Should adultery be a crime? Should taking God’s name in vain be against the law, and if so, how are those who break this law to be punished? These are the questions Luther struggled with as suddenly, by his nailing of the thesis to the Castle Church door, he found himself on the front lines of debate in the re-making of society. Burdened with these questions, Luther did what he always did, he prayed and searched for his answer in God’s Word. Through his study of the Scriptures, Luther discovered what he would call “The Two Kingdoms,” something you and I call today “The Separa-tion of Church and State.” “The Kingdom of the Right” is God’s Kingdom here on earth, what you and I call the Church. Its twofold function is the salvation of souls and the welfare of hu-mankind.

The Church preaches the Gospel, encourages the weak, admonishes the erring and supports those in need, (our Food Pantry is a good ex-ample). The Kingdom of the Left is the State, established by God for order and peace in so-ciety. The State has the God-given authority to establish rules and laws and then punish those who break these rules and laws, (Read Ro-mans 13). The State also has the obligation to protect its citizens from those who wish to do them harm and do all that is necessary to es-tablish a peaceful place where prosperity may be enjoyed by all.

The founding fathers of this great nation of ours read and understood Luther well and used his thoughts and writings to establish our form of government, one of our cornerstones being “the Separation of Church and State.”

And yet Luther would readily admit the two are not totally divided. In order for good govern-ment to be established and maintained, good Christians must become involved in the daily workings of the government. The ruler, (be they King or President or Governor), serves God by serving the people. And in order to serve God, one cannot leave their faith at the door and then devoid of that faith, make deci-sions for the nation. (continued on page 5)

(continued from page 4) A good ruler, according to Luther, is one who is guided, not by political trends or even his desire to be popular with the people. A good ruler is one who continually checks his decisions to determine if they are in accordance with the Holy Scriptures. When a ruler fails to follow God’s Word in his deci-sions, it is the people’s responsibility to humbly

remind the ruler of his error so that the nation is blessed and God is pleased and glorified.

Plain and simple, while the government cannot force faith on the people, faith cannot be re-moved from government.

So which political party would Luther join? I’ll let you figure that one out.

Pastor Fischer

My dear Forest Oaks Family,

Here it is, the end of September. I moved away from you a year and a half ago, and fool-ishly missed my golden opportunity to return for a visit last winter. No, locked down inside 4 walls, I find I should have made the journey. Hindsight is always better than foresight, isn’t it?

I hope this letter finds you all well. As well as can be, considering our circumstances. The world is unimaginably different than it was when we last laid eyes on each other, and I think we’re still learning daily lessons. Among them, patience and gratitude. I knew that there’d come a day when my world would shrink, but it didn’t occur to me ever that it would be so soon, and so sudden, and so criti-cal that I respect those tighter confines, de-spite my still being strong enough to travel.

I moved to the north to be closer to my chil-dren and grandchildren. Imagine the disap-pointment and irony of it all, when I was “permitted” to enter my daughter’s house one last time on March 14, the day we were all scheduled to celebrate Jonah’s 13th birthday, but the day that the celebration was also can-celed. I was permitted entry because Grandpa Bob was visiting from Ohio, and it would be my only chance to say Hi to him in person, for who knew how long.

Since then, I am so grateful to be within 15 minutes of one daughter, and hour of the oth-er, but at the same time, so frustrated that we visit with one another outside. Fine for now, believe me, but what about November, De-

cember, and on into March of next year? I’ll be spending the holidays alone. Within minutes of my children, but out of reach for those pre-cious hugs. They’re so afraid they’ll make me sick, I’ve wept in loneliness for want of a hug. Just one.

So grateful and lonely. Near and far. Some-how, I’m sure there’s a correlation to my faith, but for the life of me, I can’t make that link. Pastor, that may be fodder for a sermon. If so, you’re most welcome!

I send you all my very best wishes. I’m sitting here at my kitchen table, envisioning the beau-tiful confines of Forest Oaks Lutheran Church. I see your beautiful and dear faces. I hear the organ and your lovely voices raised in song. I miss my choir so much, Cindy’s sweet voice in my left ear….. I chuckle at the thought of the occasional misinterpretation of the typing ma-chine that’s programmed for court but not nec-essarily Lutherans. You all spoiled me so much, I still haven’ committed to a church here. I literally live in “Lutheran heaven” here in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, with 4 Lutheran churches within a 10 minute drive, and many more just another few miles away, but none of them captured my heart. I’ll try again, but not now. For now, I watch my FOLC sermons, visit via computer, and wait for a bet-ter day. My heart holds my faith firmly. But it also yearns for your fellowship.

Praying for your well being, your fellowship, your health, your joy -

Trudy Ray

25 Sept 2020


As President of the Women's Guild, I would like to thank the brave 20 ladies who attended

our first meeting. We followed the rules to keep us safe and had a wonderful breakfast served by the Men's Club. A thank you to our chefs, Ed Wright, Larry Schmitz and Ted Ryder.

I would like to thank Betty Marshall for making the beautiful masks with religious symbols on them for every lady who attended our first meeting. Baby steps to going back to normal church functions. Pastor Fischer in-stalled our President and Treasurer, Bon-nie Wright and Dar-leen Keck, so we will serve for another 2 years.

Our 2020/2021 meetings and events program

was reviewed. Due to Covid-19 our Octoberfest and Trunk or Treat have been canceled.

Let's look forward to our FALL FESTIVAL on Sat-urday, November 14

th

from 8 am to 2 pm with vendors and our Quilt-ers and craft ladies. We will not have a Bake Sale or serve coffee and donuts due to the vi-rus. All vendors will be wearing masks and have hand sanitizers at their tables. Masks and hand sanitizers will be at the entrance for visi-tors to wear. Please tell your friends and neigh-bors to come and see all the goodies. Instead of our usual Bake Sale, we will have a No Bake Sale. Those who would normally bake up a storm for our fund raiser, will instead donate the cost of ingredients. This way the virus will not take away the usual $300/$400 we make on our Bake Sale and our charities will not lose out. Lil Heier will chair this event the first 2 weeks of November, so look for information on the Welcome Center.

The Guild’s next meeting will be on Wednesday, November 4

th at

10 am. There will be a business meeting, discussion of the Fall

Festival and committee reports. Norma Karpiscak will present a short Bible Study, sub-ject TBA.

Please come on Friday, November 13th at 9 am

to help set up for the Fall Festival and decorate the Angel Tree for Sunday School.

On Saturday, November 28th at 9 am please

come to decorate the church for Advent and Christmas.

The Christmas TOY BOX will be in the narthex for the food pantry children. An unwrapped toy for

ages infant to 12 years, no more than $10.00, so look for sales. The Christmas Party with Caroling has been canceled due to Covid-19 so it will be important to donate to the food pantry children. Thank you, and see you at the FALL FESTIVAL.

Your President Bonnie Wright


$96,093.85 MISSION GRANT SUMMARY 2020-2022

These are the Suncoast Zone LWML Mission Grants. You will find a list of the rest of the Mission Grants next to the large Mite Box in the narthex.

#11 Body and Soul Ministry Food pantry $10,000.00

The Body and Soul Ministry Food Pantry, Forest Oaks Lutheran, Spring Hill, FL,

requests a grant of $10,000.00 to replenishing our supply of large print and Spanish

translation Bibles - $2,500.00; replacing aging refrigeration - $3,800.00; and

replacing worn carpeting - $3,700.00.

#16 Holy Trinity Food Pantry $10,000.00

Our ministry is to bear witness to God’s love by providing food to families and

individuals thereby reducing hunger in the community. We pray and sing with clients

and share the hope we have through the saving grace of Jesus, as for most, it’s the

only church they get.

#18 God’s Closet Community Trailer #2 $3,400.00

The Mission Board of Christ Lutheran Church asks for $3,400 to expand God’s

Clothes Closet by adding a second mobile trailer. Making prayer, clothing, feminine

hygiene products and sundries accessible to many community members that do not

have access to transportation.

LWML Mite Boxes Over the years, many Lutheran Ladies Aid societies used a box to gather funds in support of local and synod ministries. Under the original 1928 Lutheran Women's Missionary Endeavor organ-izational plan, each woman in every congregation would receive a Mite Box if she participated in the Ladies Aid. Receipts from the 92 Ladies Aid societies totaled $6651.31 in 1930.

The Lutheran Women's Missionary League, formally recognized by the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod in 1942, required by the newly adopted constitution and bylaws, that 25% of all mis-sionary contributions be given to the national organization, shared from the districts.

St. Paul’s Counsel on Giving And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their abil-ity. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will. So we urged Titus, since he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part. But just as you excel in everything — in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us — see that you also excel in this grace of giving (2 Corinthians 8:1–7).

Mites are use to fund LWML Mission Grants. Please continue to donate $1.00 bills with the letters L for Lord, J for Jesus and C for Christ. Forest Oaks Lutheran Church Mite offering on LWML Sunday was $154.00.

Thank you for the gift to spread His word, and the gift of giving. Jodell Burgdorf, LWML Chair


http://www.bible.is/ENGESV/2Cor/8#1

A new month and so many important days to observe, that is November. May God grant that we will be able to give these days their due. While I write you, the news is filled with the horrors of the day. Gloom and doom are given too much attention by so many but, you and I know all things are in God’s loving wise hands for those who love him. Do not lose your focus on that undeniable fact. Turn to the Lord for your strength and hope. We are truly blessed when we realize all that he has done for us. Enjoy the beauty in life and give thanks. The evidence of his love is all around us so look for it. Be not afraid.

The day of the Fall Festival, November 14th,

approaches and the quilters are busily trying to complete our projects. We had a productive month and the following photos give testimony to that:

Look for the table with the quilts for our raffle in the Narthex each Sunday. The drawing will be held on November 14

th at the Fall Festival. You

can buy one ticket for $1.00 or 6 for $5.00 and any multiples there of. The funds raised will be used to buy gifts for homeless children in shel-ters as we have done in years past. Thank you for your support.

As a reminder to anyone who doesn’t know, the quilters meet in the Fellowship Hall every Monday afternoon from 1:00 until 4:00. We welcome anyone to come for as much time as you can spare. You need not be an experi-enced quilter or sewer to be a part of our ef-forts. We will find a purpose for your hidden talents and you can learn from us as well. All the supplies and tools needed are provided.

In closing, we look forward to the celebration of the coming of our Savior during the Advent season, the season of hope and expectation. May you be richly blessed now and always.

Karen

November 1st November 1st November 3rd November 11th November 26th

~~~~~~~~~ Runners and mats by Barb ~~~~~~~~~

Baby Blanket by Darlene


QUILTING FOR CHARITY

Bibs and a warm shoulder shawl by Dani

Raffle quilts by Barb and Alma

Advent begins November 29th


BODY AND SOUL FOOD MINISTRY NEEDS: cereal saltine crackers canned soup peanut butter jelly canned fruit canned chili stuffing mix canned yams canned sloppy-Joe mix pancake mix toilet paper canned beef stew canned potatoes bars of soap canned pasta (Spaghetti-os) plastic bags Volunteers

Christmas Gifts for Children

We continue to provide drive-thru service to our clients. In September with five Tuesdays, we served 274 families with a total of 741 people, including 156 children and 272 seniors. There were 243 repeat families and 31 new families. The families that we served in September came from the following zip codes:

34446 1 34606 84 34610 4 Unknown 6 34601 15 34607 14 34613 26 34602 3 34608 50 34614 10 34604 10 34609 47 Homeless 4 Please remember our food ministry and the people we serve when you shop and in your prayers.

I hope this letter finds our parishioners in good health. It has been a challenging year for all of us. I personally have not seen my new great grand baby due to the virus. We know this will pass and hopefully we can put it in the past. We have forgone many of our fall events, but hopefully we can resume them next year.

Blood Mobile: Last chance to donate this year. I don’t think the virus takes time off for emergencies. The first Sunday of December, the sixth, will

be our last blood drive of the year. We continue assisting people who, for a variety of reasons, need this life-saving procedure. Please consid-er donating at this time.

Food Pantry: We are doing a drive through to get the food to our cli-ents. We protect ourselves as well as the clients. As many of you might know, we receive a good portion of

our food from Feeding America Tampa Bay. During these troubling times we receive all of our foods free. What does that mean? We get deliveries five times a month which is fresh produce, milk products, frozen meats, pastries,

bread products and miscellaneous items. Our job is to move these items to all who come to the pantry. We try to give our cereal to families with children. At this time cereal has been scarce so if you happen to catch the bogo please help us out. When I receive an abun-dance of produce, I offer it to the church. So feel free about sharing these foods with us. The staff try to distribute all the food weekly. We have the occasional emergency during the week that we try to help. Volunteers: I can never say enough about our volunteers, without them there would be no pantry. We have had to redesign how we do things, but everyone’s opinion is considered. Some of you are aware of the Senior Boxes. We are one of the facilities that distribute these boxes to people on limited income. The gov-ernment furnishes the boxes but we still have to handle 80 boxes with an average of 30 lbs a box. One of our volunteers suggested a fork lift. Upon looking into it, we found we can bring 80 boxes in with no problem. We now have a fork lift and we will continue looking for ways of handling our food.

Joy of the Job: We all enjoy what we are doing and if there is anyone who would like to join us, please see Lonnie.

Lonnie Benmore

The Blessings in a Backpack pro-gram has started. This program pro-vides food for school children over the weekend. Forest Oaks sponsors the

Explorer K-8 school and this year we have started out with 37 children. People Helping

People provides all the food and backpacks, we provide the work. We do need one volun-teer to help pack on Thursday mornings and someone to help deliver the backpacks to the school that same Thursday. Please contact Ed or Bonnie Wright if you can help. Thank you.

We have temporarily suspended our on-line Sunday School classes while we await our or-der for new materials.

Once they are received, they will mailed to each student and we will resume the on-line classes.

if you would like your child to be a part of the virtual class, please contact the church office with the child’s name, age, address, phone number and an email address. It is our prayer that the children will continue to learn of God’s presence in their lives and that we will soon be able to meet with them in person.

Thank God this year is over.

Great is thy faithfulness!

Great is thy faithfulness

Morning by morning new mercies I see:

All I have needed thy hand hath provided—

Great is thy faithfulness,

Lord, unto me! Lutheran Service Book,#809

Thanksgiving time. Wow, 2020 is almost over and what a year it has been—a pandemic shuts down the entire world; the uncertainty of an election year; racial tension the likes we’ve never seen. Maybe the prayer we offer before Thanksgiving dinner should be, ‘Thank God this year is almost over.’

But hold on just a minute. I’ll bet we all share some blessing:

I’ll bet everyone has a loaf of bread in the cupboard, a jar of peanut butter on the shelf and some jelly in the frig—Thank you Lord for providing.

I’ll bet no one lives in a cardboard shack quaking from the slightest breeze, sewage running through the streets, and hotter than doughnut grease at a fat man convention—Thank you Lord for sheltering.

I’ll bet none of us cower in a hidden corner afraid police will arrest us for worshipping our God—Thank you Lord for protecting.

I read a devotional in the YouVersion Bible App—Joy, Church, and the Neglected Face of God. Joy drives our emotional wellbeing. When we’re full of joy, we’re on top of the world. When joy runs low, we’re in the dumps. Think about a time when a loved one showed up un-expectedly. When they walk in the door, I’ll bet your face lit up with joy. It’s a natural reaction. Joy surfaces when you’re happy.

Did you know God reacts the same way to-wards us? Jesus tells us, ‘These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.’

John 15:11

(KJV) But a richer interpretation of the text reads,

‘My Father’s face lights up when He sees Me because I’m so special to Him. I’m telling you this so you will feel how special you are to my Father and to Me. Our faces are shining on you with delight.’

The face of the Almighty God of the Uni-verse shines with joy when He looks as me, at you. Now that’s something to thank God for.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving,

and his courts with praise!

Give thanks to him; bless his name!

For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever and his faithfulness to all

generations. Psalm 100:4-5.

Submitted by Paul Schmidt



“In everything, give thanks. If you believe as I do that Scripture is the inspired Word of God, then we see this not as a random thought or an oddly clever idea of His servant, Paul, but as a loving command issued through the great apostle. “Generally, Christians understand that giv-ing thanks is good and right. “Though we don’t do it often enough, it’s easy to have a grateful heart for food and shel-ter, love and hope, health and peace. But what about the hard stuff, the stuff that darkens your world and wounds you to the quick? Just what is this everything business? “It’s the hook. It’s the key. Everything is the word on which this whole powerful command stands and has its being. “Please don’t misunderstand; the word thanks is crucial. But a deeper spiritual truth, I believe, lies in giving thanks in . . . everything. “In loss of all kinds. In illness. In depression. In grief. In failure. And, of course, in health and peace, success and happiness. In everything. “There’ll be times when you wonder how you can possibly thank Him for something that turns your life upside down; certainly there will be such times for me. Let us, then, at times like these, give thanks on faith alone . . . obedient, trusting, hoping, believing.

“Perhaps you remember the young boy who was kidnapped and beaten and thrown into prison, yet rose up as Joseph the King, ruler of nations, able to say to his brothers, with a spirit of forgiveness, ‘You might be spared.’ Better still, remember our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who suffered agonies we can’t begin to imagine, fulfilling God’s will that you and I might have everlasting life. “Some of us have been in trying circum-stances these last months. Unsettling. Unremit-ting. Even we sometimes think, unbearable. Dear God, we pray, stop this! Fix that! Bless us - and step on it! “I admit to you that although I often thank God for my blessings, even the smallest, I haven’t thanked Him for my afflictions. “I know the fifth chapter of First Thessaloni-ans pretty well, yet it just hadn’t occurred to me to actually take Him up on this notion. …“Why have I decided to take these four words as a personal commission? Here’s the entire eighteenth verse: “’In everything, give thanks . . . for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.’ “His will concerning you. His will concerning me. “This thing which I’ve taken as a commis-sion intrigues me. I want to see where it goes, where it leads. I pray you’ll be called to do the same.” (This is an excerpt from the book “In This Mountain” by Jan Karon. It is the seventh book in the Mitford Years series and is available in the church library.)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Meditation

Praise God for blessing us through those He’s placed in our lives! With Gifts in Memory and Gifts in Honor, you demonstrate your love and appreci-ation for someone, while contributing to “drawing people to Christ” and ex-

panding the reach of the Gospel through various ministries at Forest Oaks.

GIFTS IN MEMORY: A memorial gift is a meaningful way for you to celebrate the life of a dear one who has passed on, or express to their family how much they meant to you. We extend our deep-est sympathy to families who have recently lost loved ones. Hoping all things that made your loved one a special gift from God will forever bless your life in beautiful memories. God is our refuge and strength...Psalm 46:1.

In Memory of: Contribution for: Given By:

Nancy Guzelis Debt Reduction Ms. Vicki Jenkins

Clifford Hoyt Future Maintenance Ms. Margot Hoyt

Derald Kading Food Pantry Ms. Mary Lou Kading

Hans Mutschler General Fund Ms. Darleen Keck, Norma & Steve Stoeve, Mr. & Mrs. Jesse Ward

Will Robinson Debt Reduction Ms. Darleen Keck

Future Maintenance Mr. & Mrs. Gerry Stead

GIFTS IN HONOR: An honor gift marks a special occasion or acknowledges someone who has had a significant impact in your life or to praise God for His blessings. It’s a great idea for birth-days or anniversaries, or just as a way to say thanks.

In Honor of: Contribution for: Given By:

Wil & Lil’s 60th

Wedding Anniversary Food Pantry Mr. & Mrs. Will Heier

Betty Marshall Future Maintenance Mr. & Mrs. Lynn Postel

Chris & Chuck Prebay’s 70

th Wedding Anniversary Future Maintenance Mr. John Hock & Ms. Cathy Walter

Memorial and Honor Gifts - through October 18,2020


All Saints’ Day is November 1, the day before All Souls’ Day. It is normally celebrated the first Sunday in November and after Reformation Day, which is Oc-

tober 31. We celebrate All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day because of the spiritual bond be-tween those in heaven (the “Church trium-phant”) and the living (the “Church militant”). The Church remembers those who have died in the faith, looking forward in eager expecta-tion to being reunited with them in heaven.

Lutherans understand that there is great benefit in remembering the saints whom God has given to the Church. The Apology of the Augsburg Confession (Article 21) lists three reasons for such honor. First, we thank God for giving faithful servants to His Church. Second,

through such remembrance our faith is strengthened as we see the mercy that God extended to His saints of old. Third, these saints are examples both of faith and of holy living to imitate according to our calling in life. Lutherans especially remember on this feast that it is God’s grace, apart from our works, that makes us saints. We find lasting rest only in the mercy of God.

During our worship service at Forest Oaks, the names those who have died from the con-gregation within the last year are read during worship and a bell is tolled for each name read. While the dead are solemnly remembered dur-ing worship on All Saints' Sunday, the festival is ultimately a celebration of Christ’s victory over death.

* If you don’t see your birthday or anniversary listed or you prefer not to have the date included please contact the church office. Call, email, or write it down and leave it in Lyla’s box in the hallway. Thank you.

* Praying God will bless you with a very special day, and through all of your tomorrows, bring many more your way. God Bless your day!


ANNUAL VOTERS ASSEMBLY MEETING

Sunday, December 6, 2019

following the worship service Packets for the Voters Assembly meeting will be emailed and made available at the Welcome Center on or before November 22

nd. If

you do not receive one via email, please make sure you pick one up prior to the meeting, which is schedule for December 6

th. Detailed

budget information will also be available on November 22nd

.

Your attendance is important at this meeting as we consider the fu-ture of our congregation and our mission of “Drawing People to Christ”. In preparation for the meeting, please pray for our church, its people, and its mission.

01 Rev. Glenn Fischer 02 Carol Podstawski 03 Dan Burgdorf Florence Glimpse 04 Pat Horning 05 Darrel Olson Darrell Rott 06 Judy Hornfeldt 12 Mike Dollins 13 Gary Emke 14 Becky Harmon 19 Estella Garner Phil McKenna 20 Steve Arndt 23 Bronislawa Levy 25 Caryl Kellerman 26 Mary Lou Kading JoAnne Kokes

Birthday *

Blessings to:

November 1

November Anniversary * Blessings to:

28 Bob & Sharon Pavlik

November 14 8 AM to 2 PM

Lyla, our church secretary, is a Nota-ry Public and can notarize your doc-uments. There is no charge for this service, but PLEASE CALL FIRST,

if you want her to notarize something for you, to make sure she will be in the office and have her notary seal with her.

If you know of a FOLC member, a family member or friend who is ill or in the hospital, please let

the church office (352-683-9731) and Marilyn Nibert (352-683-0023) know right away. The names will be placed on the Prayer List for one month and will be removed if the office or Marilyn is not updated.

ATTENTION! All articles for the weekly Bulletin and slides MUST be in by 1:00 PM on Wednesday if you want it included for that week. Please send or give your item to Lyla in writing. Thank you.

We are still collecting the following items: 1. UPCs from Campbell’s soup la-bels. The Sunday School gets free stuff for all we send in.

2. Used ink cartridges 3. Used eyeglasses 4. Coupons for Food Pantry 5. Labels for Education 6. Aluminum cans 7. Box Tops for Education

8. Aluminum Tabs from soda cans Containers are outside the Fellowship Hall.

It is very important to check with the Secretary in the church office before you schedule a meeting or

event. Our members always take precedence over the outside groups/organizations that meet here. We just have to be sure and alert them to any changes that have to be made. Another reason for checking first before schedul-ing is that you may not be aware of another church meeting or activity that is already on the calendar.

Thank you for your kind consideration and coop-

eration in the scheduling process!

Have you moved? Did you dis-connect your land line? Did you change your email address? Did you get married? Did you have

a baby? Did you get a divorce? Do you wonder why the church has not been connecting with you? Please let us know when you have an address change, email change, phone num-ber change, change in family status, etc. If you have an email address, please send an email to our office: [email protected] and your name will be added to our email con-tact list. That way we can let you know of sick members and cancellations of church activities. You can also get our newsletter and send in any prayer requests or information to the church.

WE ARE ON THE WEB AT:

www.ForestOaksLutheran.com November 22

OUR OFFICE HOURS HAVE CHANGED!

Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday 9:00 am - 1:00 pm

(Monday is Pastor’s Day off) *Hours may vary occasionally.

If you must come to the office, please WEAR A MASK and PRACTICE SOCIAL DISTANCING.

Please note that our secretary is not in the office every day, but is able to work from home. She has access to phone messages and emails when working from home. If you call and get the answering ma-chine, PLEASE LEAVE A MESSAGE. Our messages are checked and your call will be returned. Particularly on Saturday and Sunday, when the office is closed, and you call on these days, no one will answer the phone. You will get our answering ma-chine, so please leave a message.


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Documents