Kay Michaelson

Nov 246 min read

Living Faith Weekly News (Week of November 24, 2024)

Kinley and Anniston Van Otterloo celebrate their first Communion on Sunday at Living Faith!

Last Week

Pastor David Halaas celebrated Christ the King Sunday with Living Faith in the sanctuary of the Presbyterian United Church of Christ! Pastor Halaas brought us a message of the origins of Christ the King Sunday: It is only 99 years old - instituted by Pope Pius XI as a countercultural observance to what was happening around the world with totalitarian governments in place. He felt Christians needed a reminder as to whom their allegiance was with. This Sunday celebrates the crucified and risen Christ who is the King of all. We should not separate our trust in Jesus with how we live in this world. Christianity is a way of life - involving both our relationship with Christ but also with others. Christianity is a faith practice living out the ways Christ lived - with justice, love, compassion and healing. See Micah 6:8.

Thank you to Dawn Richards for providing the piano accompaniment for our worship. Thank you to Kari Kopperud for reading Scripture, Yvonne Law for assisting with Communion, Tim Kass for ushering and running the sound system, and Angela Catton for live-streaming our service!

During worship, Kinley and Anniston Van Otterloo celebrated their first Communion. They are the daughters of Caleb and Jenelle Van Otterloo. Kinley is a first grader at Kluckhohn Elementary and Anniston is looking forward to preschool next year. Congratulations to the Van Otterloo family!

Next Week

Living Faith will be observing the first Sunday in Advent in the Sanctuary of the Presbyterian United Church of Christ (858 7th Ave. SE) at 11:00 AM. Pastor David Halaas will preside over worship which will include Holy Communion. Debbie Gibson will read Scripture and Angela Catton will assist with Communion. Dawn Richards will accompany us on the piano.

We will be lighting the first candle on the Advent wreath: the Prophet's candle or the Candle of Hope.

There will be a time of Faith & Fellowship at 10:00 in the Fellowship Hall of the PUCC. Come out to the PUCC early for refreshments and conversation with your Living Faith and PUCC friends!

Here's what's out on the sign up table for you to consider!

Sign up to help serve in worship. We are in need of readers, communion servers and greeters each week! Also, let Kay know if you would like to help with communion clean up after services!

Sign up if you would like to car pool to the Steeple Tour in Sioux City on December 7th. We will meet in the parking lot of the PUCC at 9:15 on that Saturday morning and leave promptly at 9:30. We plan to visit as many churches as possible between 10:00 and 2:00 with a break for a quick lunch together!

Sign up to go Christmas caroling with the PUCC on Sunday, December 15th! We will meet at the church at 3:00 and share rides to carol to our shut-in friends in town. Following the caroling, plan to stay and warm up with a soup supper back at the church. If you would like to provide a soup or dessert for this meal, sign up for this as well!

The sign up table has envelopes and information about the newly founded Living Faith Scholarship fund! Sunday, December 1st, is the deadline to make a donation to the fund which will be matched (up to $5,000) by an anonymous donor. To date, $2,200 has been donated to this fund for this match opportunity! We are thankful for our generous members and this investment in our Living Faith young people!

There are still these Thanksgiving activities on the sign up table that you can pick up for your expressions of gratitude this holiday season!

The sign up table has items for your Advent season - Advent calendars for young and old along with an Advent devotional which begins on December 1.

Here are ways you can help out at Living Faith during this season of Advent!

Living Faith Christmas Tree Decorating at Pioneer Village

Come on out to the Plymouth County Fairground's Century Hall at 6:00 PM on Tuesday, November 26, to decorate our tree for the Festival of Trees!

Living Faith's Second Annual No-Prep Congregational Christmas Program

On Sunday, December 15th, we will have our congregational Christmas program during worship. This year, the program will again be no rehearsal, no prep in nature. We are, however, in need of adults and children to volunteer for a few parts. Will there be lines to say? Perhaps - but very few and you will have a script to read from if you do have lines! Will there be costumes? Just for the children who volunteer to help out.

Here are the volunteers we need:

3 inn keepers

A song leader (to lead us (acapella) in the singing of 4 very, very familiar Christmas songs!)

Mary

Joseph

Sheep

Cows

Donkeys

Let Kay know if you would like to help with one of these parts and she will get you more information prior to the 15th!

Come help the PUCC decorate the church for Christmas!

There are opportunities for Living Faith to help our PUCC friends prepare the church for Christmas:

Wednesday, December 4th at 1:00 - Volunteers will unpack and fluff the garlands and wreaths in the Fellowship Hall.

Friday, December 13th - Time to be determined: The poinsettias will arrive at the church and will need to be unwrapped and other preparations will be needed as well.

Monday, December 16 - 23rd - Candles will be prepared for the PUCC Christmas Eve service. Day and time to be determined.

Monday, January 6 - Pack up and store everything from Christmas. Days and times to be determined.

Advent Season Mission Projects

Living Faith Cereal Drive

From now until Sunday, December 8th, Living Faith is collecting boxes of cereal for the Le Mars Backpack program. We have a big challenge to collect 380 boxes over the next two weeks for the Le Mars elementary students who take snack packs home over the Christmas holiday. All donations can be brought and put under the Living Faith Christmas tree in the narthex of the PUCC.

The deacons of the PUCC have created a giving tree in the narthex of the PUCC. The tree contains gift tags with needed items listed on the back of the tag for the residents of the two Pride Group homes on 14th Ave. NE. You are invited to take a tag, purchase the items and bring them back to the PUCC office with the gift tag attached by Sunday, December 15th.

The Friendship Circle of the PUCC has chosen Sleep In Heavenly Peace as the recipient of their Christmas Giving project. SHP is in need of pillows and they have set the goal of trying to get 400 pillows by December 14th. If you would like to donate to this endeavor, please bring standard-sized NEW pillows to the PUCC church office on or before December 8th.

So many good projects, this Advent season for Living Faith to be the hands and feet of Jesus for our friends and neighbors in need!

Thank you to all who came out to kick off our cereal drive by packing the snack packs for the Le Mars' Backpack program!

Thank you to Sharon Utesch, Karen Schroeder, Peg McAllister, Kay Allen, Caleb, Jenelle, Kinley and Anniston Van Otterloo, Tim and Gail Kass, Yvonne Law, Rich Ziettlow, Jill Grosenheider Rudd, Kari Kopperud, and Sue and Marley Stream for all their help last Wednesday!

Living Faith Helps to Decorate for Christmas

Thank you to all who helped put up our Christmas tree in the narthex, the tree in the Chapel, and the wreaths in the Chapel on Sunday after service: Tim and Gail Kass, Kay Allen, Kari Kopperud, Yvonne Law, Kevin Richards, Sue Stream, Karen Schroeder, Angela Catton, Sharon Utesch and Kay Michaelson. This great crew got the job done in no time!