December 2019 Vol. 13 No. 12 January 2020 Vol. 14 No. 01

“Ready for God’s Coming”We are now in a brand-new church year with

the start of the Advent season. God is on the move as he continues to “come to us.”

Advent means “coming” and we are now preparing for his coming in these ways: He comes to us through his Word as it is preached and proclaimed, and received in the Sacrament. He comes to us in a most personal and intimate way by sending his Son in the likeness of sinful man, though himself without sin. And we continue to prepare for his coming again, as we confess in the Creeds, “he will come again to judge the living and the dead.”

Indeed, God is on the move, and through our Baptism we have been called to keep in step with the Spirit of God – not to grow stagnet or fall behind in our response to his coming.

This is why the Scriptures call us to awaken from our slumber and “put on the Lord Jesus Christ,” and be ready to move with him where he leads us.

Ultimately, he is moving us all toward the promised land of heaven – we must never think that we will have permanent stakes in this earthly ground.

God is leading us to discover new trust in his grace, mercy and power. Sometimes we get to the point of just expecting the same old thing in our spiritual journey, and do not discover or see the new thing that God is doing on our behalf.

The Christmas cycle of the church year has much to do with light. This light is manifested in the person and work of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. When light shines in and through the darkness, there is new hope and joy. And with aged Simeon, we get to see the glory of God in the face of Jesus.

Perhaps in the new civil year of 2020, we could adopt this theme for our congregational ministry: “20/20: Vision for Ministry.” Within this theme we could explore the following:

“Seeing clearly with the Light of Christ” “Overcoming the Darkness” “Enlightened with the Gifts of the Spirit” “Seeing with the Eyes of the Heart” “Never Losing Sight of the Goal”

Let’s pray that our journey in this new year will increase our vision for ministry as God’s chosen and redeemed people. May we continue to receive our Lord as he comes to us; and follow as he comes and moves among us in this new year.

Peace,

Pastor Thomas Petersen

NOTE FROM THE PASTOR… If you have any time sensitive information such as prayer requests, hospitalizations or any emergency situations please use Pastor Petersen’s mobile phone number and voice mail at 608-334-5718, or email him atsotlpastortom@gmail.com.  Either of these will allow timely response.

PRAYER REQUESTS: If you have someone or something that you would like Pastor Petersen to include in either his personal prayers or in our public Prayer of the Church on Sunday morning, please fill out a prayer request card, located on the guest book stand, and place it in his box or contact him at the Church Office. It is important that all of our members receive pastoral care when it is needed, especially during times of sickness or other difficulty. If you know of an individual, even if it is a non-member, who would appreciate and benefit from a pastoral visit, please contact the church office or Pastor Petersen.

DECEMBER WORK SHEETELDER OF THE MONTH

Lee Lennander763-221-7484

USHERS OF THE MONTHArlen Kuehl

Bruce Sundberg

ALTAR GUILDJo Petersen

FELLOWSHIP SERVERS01st Ken & Jean Stokes08th Lee & Linda Lennander15th Jim & Darlene Stigen & Dolores Whipps22nd No Fellowship29th No Fellowship

We are in need of Fellowship servers in the coming months. If you are able to serve one Sunday it would be greatly appreciated. You will find a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board.

BIRTHDAYS03rd Cathy Buhlmann04 Shirley Kuschel08th Kim Spicer13th Faye Feltmann15th Bill Alleman18th Linda Lennander23rd Bonnie Ryg24th Sheila Anderson29th Marcy Schulze

ANNIVERSARIES08th Bob & Joan Wandersee14th David & Candy Larson16th Steve & Beth Lawrence22nd Gaylord & Bonnie Ryg28th Dale & Verdean Franklin

YOUTH BIRTHDAYS03rd Evie Rusnak

07th Taya Spicer

JANUARY WORK SHEETELDER OF THE MONTH

Ken Stokes320-692-5535

USHERS OF THE MONTHMike Raddatz

Bob Wandersee

ALTAR GUILD

FELLOWSHIP SERVERS05th

12th

19th

26th Voters Potluck

We are in need of Fellowship servers in the coming months. If you are able to serve one Sunday it would be greatly appreciated. You will find a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board.

BIRTHDAYS03rd Jan Sorell

Larry Tyler10th Ruth Hughley11th Vicki Kocina12th Mike Raddatz15th Russ McLaughlin17th Jean Peterson19th Terry Thorson22nd Bernice Ranallo24th Steve Kocina27th Darwin Beck

McKayla Smude

ANNIVERSARIES24th Russ & Jean Peterson

In an effort to support and build one another up to the glory of God (Romans 15:1-7), we include in our monthly newsletter birthday and anniversary dates for members and friends of the congregation. If your birthday date is missing or wrong please contact Sue Raddatz or leave your information in her mailbox at the church with the information. Thank you!

2020 YEARLY BOOKLET: Just a reminder that the office will be putting together an annual report summarizing what the Lord did through us, the elected servants of SOTL.In order for this to be done in the way we have recently done it, Sue will be needing an accurate and hopefully neatly-typed copy of your report for your area of ministry.  It would be nice to have a Header indicating the board that is reporting along with the names of the members of the board, if that applies to your board report.If Sue wouldn’t have to re format your report that would be a plus for her. If you could send electronically to Sue that would be the best.If you could complete and send in the early to mid-part of Dec. that would be best as well.Thanks so much.

Peace,Pastor Tom

LWML UPDATE: The LWML Ladies won’t be meeting in January, February or March. They will have their next meeting the second Tuesday of April.

TAKING DOWN DECORATIONS: On Sunday, January 5th following Fellowship, we will be taking down the Christmas decorations. All help with this project will be greatly appreciated.

EMERGENCY CHURCH CLOSING: It is that time of year again when we start thinking about bad weather, etc. The emergency closing of the church because of bad weather will be decided by Pastor and the Elder of the month. Members can check about closing of the church because of weather by listening to radio station KKIN 94.3FM in Aitkin, checking out our website, or calling the church.

QUARTERLY VOTER’S ASSEMBLY: Our next Voters meeting will be on Sunday, January 26th. We will have a Potluck luncheon after worship services followed by the Voters meeting. We hope to see you there.

CHRISTIAN EDUCATIONSunday Morning Bible Study-8:30a.m.

Wednesday Morning Bible Study-9:30 a.m.Confirmation Class-Wed. Evenings-6:30 p.m.

SHEPHERD OF THE LAKE’S WEBSITE: We invite you to check out our website at shepherdofthelake.org. We are now offering live streaming for Sunday’s message through Shepherd of the Lake face-book, linked to our website. Lee Lennander is serving as our web master. Please ask Lee if you have questions.

RECYCLING ALUMINUM CANS: We are accepting all donations of empty and recyclable aluminum cans to support our Sunday school program. Please bag the cans and bring the bags to the trailer beside the garage. Thanks!

PORTALS OF PRAYER: The new Portals of Prayer booklets starting in January are available and can be found on the table in the narthex. Please take one for yourself and take one for someone you know would like one as well.

CHURCH MAILBOXES: The church mailboxes have been updated and most boxes are in the same place. Please check out your mailbox soon.

COFFEE FELLOWSHIP: A little reminder about the coffee/fellowship donation basket. This is a free will offering and the money collected is used to help purchase the coffee, sugar, creamer, etc. and to help with the cost of the napkins and plates that are used. Thank you to everyone who serves the fellowship and who donate and help with the cost.

BUSY HANDS FOR LOVE: This Knit and Crochet Group have taken a break for the holiday season. These past three months the gals were busy making hats, scarves and mittens to donate to the needy. The Ladies knit or crochet all the time and would like to thank the people who have donated yarn to make the items over the year. We made items for LAPS and have other projects to make and donate to worthy causes. If you would like to donate yarn or if you know of someone who would like to donate please bring them to the church and we will set them out for the gals to pick up for their projects. The Ladies will be meeting on December 11th at “The Beanery” in Garrison at 11 a.m. The Ladies welcome anyone who would like to come and be a part of this group. They will start gathering at the Church the first Wednesday in March.

Our Christian sympathy is extended to Jerry Siemers and family at the recent loss of Jerry’s Mother. We also extend our Christian Sympathy to the family of Chris

Osier. Chris was one of the ladies who helped make the quilts donated to LWR. May our good and gracious Father comfort them all through this difficult time. Our prayers and sympathy go out to them all.

LABELS PROGRAM: The LWML ladies have decided to discontinue with their Labels Program as these items are no longer being accepted locally. They would like to thank everyone who participated with this event.

Thank you to everyone who helped with making this year’s Trunk or Treat event another success. There were lots of visitors who thought the church had done a wonderful job and the children had lots of fun.

Thank you to all who coordinated the LWML Fall Rally at Shepherd of the Lake and for all who helped in setting up, preparing, and clean up. The ladies are very grateful for all the help.

Thank you to all who helped with making Lefse for this year’s bazaar. You did a wonderful job. If anyone would like some Lefse, please talk to Marge or Linda, they have more packages to sell for $5 a bag.

Thank you to everyone who helped in any way with this year’s LWML Fall Bazaar. The ladies really appreciated everyone’s help with the bazaar and for all the donations for this event.

Thank you to everyone who helped with this year’s Community Thanksgiving Dinner here at Shepherd of the Lake, it was another success for the church and the community. We would like to thank Lance & Joanie Rengo for Coordinating this event.

Thank you to everyone who helped with mowing the lawn at the church this past summer, all of your help with keeping the lawn looking great was greatly appreciated.

Thank you to everyone who helped in any way here at Shepherd of the Lake this past year. If you helped with serving fellowship, if you helped with doing the annual spring cleaning, if you helped in any way, thank you, your help was greatly appreciated.

2020 OfficersPastor Thomas PetersenPresident Arlen KuehlVice President Bob WanderseeRecording Secretary Meryl GisselquistFinancial Secretary Barb ScherfenbergTreasurer Linda LennanderBoard of Education OpenBoard of Elders Gaylord Ryg (Chair)

Lee Lennander Steve Lawrence Jerry Scherfenberg

Board of Evangelism Cindy Kuehl (Chair)Board of Trustees Kurt Buhlmann (Chair)

Larry TylerJim Stigen

STAFFChurch Secretary Sue RaddatzChurch Janitor Bruce Sundberg

CD-PLAYERS: We are looking for more people to help with playing the CD’s for church functions. If you would like to learn more about it please contact Sue Raddatz.

NOTE FROM THE COUNCIL: All offerings must be in by 12/31/19 to be included in the 2019 offering statement. Any offering after that will be put into the 2020 offerings.

POINSETTIAS FOR THE ALTAR: Everyone is invited to bring a poinsettia plant to place by the altar in memory of a loved one or for a special occasion. Any color will work. You may take your plant home at the end of the holiday season.

Thank you!

GARRISON FOOD SHELF ANNOUNCEMENT: The Food Shelf in Garrison will be open one day a week which started October 15th. Due to the lack of volunteers, we will on Tuesday’s only. Sorry for the inconvenience. For now, the hours will stay the same (1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. please be there by 4:45 p.m.)

CHRISTMAS TOY DRIVE: This year LWML is organizing a Christmas Toy Drive to benefit the Garrison Care Givers. This is in lieu of Operation Christmas Child. New or gently used unwrapped items will be accepted and placed under our Fellowship hall Christmas tree beginning on the Sunday after Thanksgiving through Sunday, December 15th. Help your kids or grandkids sort through those many toys to share some with boys and girls in the local community who are less fortunate or make a trip to a dollar store and find something that will bring a spark of happiness at that wonderful time of the year.

FELLOWSHIP SERVERS are needed in the coming months. If you would like to serve, please check the bulletin board and see what Sunday would work for you. The new 2020 sign-up sheet is on the bulletin board.

USED CELL PHONES: Meryl Gisselquist is collecting old used cell phones to be donated to missionaries over seas. She will be done collecting the phones at the end of the year.

MIDWEEK ADVENT: Advent starts December 1st. There will be a Midweek Advent service on Wednesday, December 4th, 11th, and 18th at 6:30 p.m. There will be a potluck dinner starting at 5:45 p.m. each week. All are welcome to join us.

ADDRESS CHANGES:

Ms. Janice Sorell6670 Northwood LN Apt. 200St. Cloud, MN 56303-9509

Rev. Matthew & Heather Ruesch200 Pinehurst StreetKingsford, MI 49802-5442

A VERY SPECIAL CHRISTMAS PRESENT

Author unknown It was the day after Christmas at a church in San Francisco. The pastor of the church was looking over the cradle when he noticed that the baby Jesus was missing from among the figures. Immediately he turned and went outside and saw a little boy with a red wagon, and in the wagon was the figure of the little infant, Jesus. So he walked up to the boy and said, “Well, where did, you get Him, my fine friend?” The little boy replied, “I got him from the church.” “And why did you take Him?” The boy said, “Well, about a week before Christmas I prayed to the little Lord Jesus and I told him if he would bring me a red wagon for Christmas I would give him a ride around the block in it.”

ANNOUNCEMENT: The church secretary is planning on taking time off for the holiday season. She won’t be in the office December 23rd through January 8th. She will be working at home, so if you have any questions or if you need something done please call her at home @ (218) 764-3244 or you can talk to her on Sundays.

MANDARIN ORANGE CAKEFrom the kitchen of: In memory of Ev Wallentine

1 Yellow Cake Mix 1 can Mandarin Oranges w/Liquid4 Eggs

Mix and pour into greased and floured 9 X 13 inch glass pan. Bake at 325° for 35 to 45 minutes.

TOP WITH:1 (20 oz.) Crushed Pineapple 8 oz. Cool Whip1 pkg. Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix

Beat together and spread on cake; refrigerate.

*************************CHEDDAR BAY BISCUITS

From the kitchen of: In memory of June Kobs

2 ½ c. Bisquick Baking Mix ¾ c. Whole Milk1 c. finely grated Cheddar Cheese2 Tbsp. Butter, melted 1/8 tsp. Garlic Powder

Brush on top:

¼ c. Butter, melted ½ tsp. dried Parsley flakes½ tsp. Garlic Powder Dash of Salt

Preheat your oven to 400°. In a medium bowl, combine Bisquick with cheese, milk, 2 tablespoons melted butter, and 1/8 tsp of garlic powder. Drop approximately ¼ cup portions of dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Combine ¼ cup butter with ½ tsp garlic powder, parsley flakes, and salt. Brush this mixture over the tops of each unbaked biscuit. Bake for 14 to 16 minutes or until the tops of the biscuits begin to turn light brown. Serve warm. Make one dozen biscuits.

Happy New Year’s

Midweek AdventServices

Shepherd of the Lake Lutheran Church

Our 2019 Advent series will be“Yet in Thy Dark Streets Shineth”Wednesday evenings at 6:30 p.m.

The season of Advent calls us to a journey. We stand at a juncture here where we may look back to the past and what the Lord has done for his people there to make this present possible. We look to the future, to the time of fulfillment, when the Lord will come again. Advent is a time of

increasing light. Watch it begin to glow. Again we will be gathering as the family of Christ here at SOTL to make preparation together. We will have a potluck supper starting at 5:45 p.m. We will see that Advent is a “Time of Increasing Light” each week in December (leading up to Christmas).

Advent 1: Wednesday, December 4th “Nazareth”

(Luke 1:26-38)

Advent 2: Wednesday, December 11th “Jerusalem”

(Galatians 4:21-31)

Advent 3: Wednesday, December 18th

“Bethlehem”(Micah 5:1-5)

Shepherd of the Lake Lutheran Church Garrison, MN

December 2019 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

18:30 a.m.-Bible Study10AM-Divine Service w/LS 11AM-Fellowship Hr.Board of Elders

29AM-Circuit Pastor’s

3 49:30 a.m. Bible Study5:30PM- Ping Pong6:30PM-Confirmation 6:30 p.m.-Midweek Advent Service

5 6 7

88:30 a.m.-Bible Study10AM-Divine Service w/LS 11AM-Fellowship Hr.Board of Elders

9 101PM-LWML Meeting

119:30 a.m. Bible Study5:30PM- Ping Pong6:30PM-Confirmation 6:30 p.m.-Midweek Advent Service

12 13 14

158:30 a.m.-Bible Study10AM-Divine Service w/LS 11AM-Fellowship Hr.

16 171PM-Church Council

189:30 a.m. Bible Study5:30PM- Ping Pong6:30PM-Confirmation 6:30 p.m.-Midweek Advent Service

19 20 21

228:30 a.m.-Bible Study10AM-Divine Service w/LS 11AM-Fellowship Hr.

23 24 Christmas EveChristmas Eve Service6:00 p.m.

25

MerryChristmasEveryone!

26 27 28

298:30 a.m.-Bible Study10AM-Divine Service w/LS 11AM-Fellowship Hr.

30 31 New Year’s Eve

Shepherd of the Lake Lutheran Church Garrison, MN

January 2020

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday1 2 3 4

58:30 a.m.-Bible Study10AM-Divine Service w/LS 11AM-Fellowship Hr.Take Down Decorations

6 7 89:30 a.m. Bible Study5:30PM- Ping Pong6:30PM-Confirmation

9 10 11

128:30 a.m.-Bible Study10AM-Divine Service w/LS 11AM-Fellowship Hr.Evangelism Meeting

139AM-Circuit Pastors

14 159:30 a.m. Bible Study5:30PM- Ping Pong6:30PM-Confirmation

16 17 18

198:30 a.m.-Bible Study10AM-Divine Service w/LS 11AM-Fellowship Hr.

20 211PM-Church Council

22NO Bible Study9AM-Service in Aitkin5:30PM- Ping Pong6:30PM-Confirmation

23 24 25

268:30 a.m.-Bible Study10AM-Divine Service w/LS 11AM-Potluck LuncheonQuarterly Voters

27 28 299:30 a.m. Bible Study5:30PM- Ping Pong6:30PM-Confirmation

30 31

Vision Statement: “Share the GOSPEL” It is our mission to Share the GOSPEL as we Glorify God in all that we say and do, Offer Him our time, talents, and treasures, Share the good news of Jesus, Pray without ceasing, Engage the community, and Love one another.

P.O. Box 155

10583 US Highway 169Garrison, MN 56450

To Those Loved by Christ:

December/January 2019/2020

Email Addresses:Pastor’s email: sotlpastortom@gmail.com

Secretary’s e-mail: SOTL1982@gmail.comSOTL Website: shepherdofthelake.org

Phone Numbers:Church’s #: 320-692-4581

Pastor’s Cell #: 608-334-5718

FALL WORSHIP SCHEDULESunday Bible Study: 8:30 a.m.

Sunday School: 8:30 a.m.Sunday Divine Service: 10:00 a.m.

Fellowship Hour: 11:00 a.m.Wednesday Confirmation Class: 6:30 p.m.