“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” Psalm 118:1

Early on Monday morning January 19, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day; Maria and I received a phone call from Venezuela from family that her mother Carmen had passed away in the early morning. She had spent the weekend in a hospital in Caracas fighting an infection and dealing with complications from many years of Diabetes and high blood pressure.
Maria and I want to say thank you to our friends and family at ELC for your prayers, cards and kind words. Maria’s mother Carmen was a very special person that held a deep Christian faith and commitment to prayer and service to the church and family during her lifetime. She was a wonderful mother and role model and she will be deeply missed. We are comforted by the words and promises of Jesus and that great cloud of witnesses in the past, present and future.
God’s timing is always perfect. We give thanks to God for the two weeks that we spent with family in Venezuela during Christmas and the New Year! We give thanks for the opportunity for time with family and introducing Andrew to his Grandparents and family in Venezuela!
As your Youth and Family Minister at ELC, I want to thank you for the many ways you have been the hands and feet of Jesus. As we enter into this New Year of 2009 take time to enjoy the day and be sure to tell the people in your life how much you love and care for them. In Psalm 118:24 it says, “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

Each day is a gift from the Lord!

Peace, Joy, Hope and Love in Christ,

 

HERE ARE SOME UPCOMING DATES TO PUT ON YOUR CALENDAR.

 

January 7: Confirmation classes resume

January 11: Sunday school classes resume

January 11 and 25: Youth Group (7^th-12^th Grade)

* We meet at the Church House from 7:00-8:30 p.m.

January 25: Boundary Waters Wilderness Canoe Trip Meeting

* We will meet at 6:00 p.m. in Fellowship Hall.

Our trip to the Boundary Waters will be Saturday, July 25- Friday, July 31. We will be working with Voyageurs Lutheran Ministry in Cook, MN to outfit and lead our trip. This trip will be open to all youth entering into 9^th grade and older. Any adults interested in going should plan to attend this meeting.

 

Wishing you all a blessed New Year 2009!

 

Peace, Love and Joy in Christ,

 

“Each of you has been blessed with one of God’s many wonderful gifts to be used in the service of others. So use your gift well. “ I Peter 4:10 CEV

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

First and foremost I want to express my gratitude to God and for all of you who have been so faithful and generous in supporting the ministry of Evangelical Lutheran Church of Mt. Horeb. Because of your involvement and support our congregation is able to touch lives and bring God’s love to our neighbors, our community, and our world. We have all been blessed with many of God’s wonderful gifts, and so many of you have shared those gifts in the service of our church.

As we met in our congregational meeting, I hope you recognized the blessing that Ruby and Dorothy were able to provide by the wise use of their gifts. Because of their faithfulness we were able to take some actions, and begin making some plans for ministry in years to come.

Now I would like each of you to consider Peter’s instruction: “So use your gift well”. In the center of this newsletter you will find a response form. This form deals with the use of the financial gifts that have been entrusted to you for the coming year. (You will receive a separate time and talent response form later this year.) As we make plans for our annual meeting, and plans for ministry in the coming year, we need each of you to look at your management of God’s wealth, and commit yourselves to the support of ELC’s ministry.

What proportion of God’s wealth will you need to keep for yourself, and what proportion can you make available to support ministry which touches lives here at home and around the world?
Please return this form to church on Sunday, October 26th. As our young people make their affirmation of baptism on Confirmation Day, I ask each of you to commit to your involvement in ministry as well.

Peace,

Pastor John Twiton

“God spoke: “Light!” And light appeared. God saw that light was good and separated light from dark. God named the light Day; He named the dark Night. It was evening, it was morning-Day One.” Genesis 1:1-2

This year our Rotation Sunday school Design Team chose the Creation story in the book of Genesis to begin our Sunday school year. As you read through those first three chapters of Genesis, it is truly amazing to ponder at all that our loving God did. God created the heavens and the earth. Life was breathed into all the plants, fish, animals and humans. God called us his children and desired a relationship with all!

Our Confirmation class this year is studying the Old Testament and New Testament Bible stories in our Faith Inkubators curriculum. Our Confirmation class will also begin with the Creation story.

I want to encourage you today, to read those first three chapters of Genesis as a family. Take a walk outside, on a nice autumn day or on a star filled night, and look and ponder and give thanks for all that God has given!

Upcoming

ELC Youth Group Nights (7th-12th grade)

• Sunday, October 12 from 7:00-8:30 p.m. at the Church House
• Sunday, October 26 from 7:00-8-30 p.m. at the Church House

Bring a friend to Youth Group nights!

Fall Festival

On Saturday, October 4 from 9:00-5:00 p.m. our ELC Youth Group will be selling brats and hot dogs to help raise money for a future Youth Mission Trip.

Bucky Book

Our ELC Youth and Family Ministry is selling the Bucky Book through the month of October for $35/each. Purchasing a Bucky Book is a great way to save money on family meals and entertainment. Also, you will be helping support our our future Youth Mission Trips.

Peace and Joy in Jesus,

Jim