Council Happenings November 2009

’Tis the season... to worship the Christ child, to reflect on the past year, to anticipate the year to come, and to look forward with joy to the renewal of all things, beginning with ourselves.

So let’s take a moment to reflect. What a year it has been! It’s hard to imagine that a mere 12 months ago we were mired in a three-year senior-pastor vacancy that seemed like it might never end, nobody had yet conceived of our fall education series or Service Week, no controversial decisions had been made by the ELCA Assembly, and the Basket of Blessings hadn’t yet been set out in the narthex.

We have been so blessed this year! In a time of terrible financial need in our own area and across the nation, OSLC members have stepped up and given generously to our Lord’s work, to continue our ministries here at Our Saviour’s and to make Christ known outside our own walls. We have welcomed Pastor Dan and Pastor Trish to ministry among us, while bidding a grateful farewell to Pastor Olsen. We have tackled tough issues with love and mutual respect. We have begun new educational and service-oriented programs on an unprecedented scale. We have filled classrooms throughout the week in our hunger to learn more about God’s word and God’s world. We have spread out to bring God’s love to nursing homes, to our neighborhood, to the inner city, and to the world. We have supported missionaries abroad; we have provided Christmas food and gifts for the needy through the Bethel program. We have welcomed new members, confirmed our young people, taught our children, and joined in worship. We have provided food and shelter to our PADS guests, brought meals and communion to shut-ins, studied the Bible, and prayed with each other. We have laughed together at picnics and youth gatherings. We have wept together in sorrow and joy at funerals, weddings, and baptisms.

On behalf of the Church Council, I want to thank you for all that you have done throughout this extraordinary year of challenge and change. And I want to thank you in advance for all that you will do in the year to come: the sacrifices you will make for the sake of the Gospel; the time, talents, and treasures that you will share at Our Saviour’s and beyond; and the countless small ways in which you will make Christ known among the people you encounter in your day-to-day life.

The New Year will bring great wonders, great changes, and unexpected challenges. We will work together, learn together, grow together, and serve together. I can hardly wait. But first, in this holy Christmas season, let us pause to remember why we do it – and for whom we do it.

Fall on your knees. Hear the angel voices.

What your Council has been up to: In the month of November, Council approved the financial and administrative reports; discussed the possibility of putting the house at 1213 Dunton on the market; heard a report from Pr. Dan on his recent continuing education; heard a report from the Faith, Family, and Sexuality group; heard reports on the progress of the Nominating Committee, the Audit Committee, and financial commitments for 2010; and continued its study of How Lutherans Interpret the Bible. For complete minutes of the meetings, please see Jim Valentine.

Respectfully submitted,

Betty Birner

Council President