FriedensNotes
Week of November 16, 2003
"Our charity must be a real and costly love, with deep feelings for the sins in spite of which we love the sinner." — C.S. Lewis
Holidays Are Coming
There's lot in store at Friedens this holiday season. So mark your calendar:
- The Friedens family will celebrate Thanksgiving in a joint worship service at 7 p.m. on Nov. 26 at Christ the King Lutheran Church, 420 W. Whitefish Road, Port Washington.
- Children in Sunday School will present the Christmas musical, "The First Leon," at both the 8 and 10:30 a.m. worship services on Sunday, Dec. 7. Rehearsals have already started but there's still time for your kids to get involved if they aren't already. Rehearsals are held at 9:15 during the Sunday school hour and during the 10:30 worship service. Call Litha Mueller for more information, 284-1881.
- A Christmas caroling excursion and potluck dinner will be held Saturday, Dec. 13. Carolers will gather at the church at 3 p.m., leave in a school bus and visit shut-ins and several nursing homes and group homes in the area to sing Christmas carols for residents. A potluck dinner will be held at the church afterward, concluding about 6:30 p.m. Call the church office, 284-2471, for more info.
- A multi-media "Christmas Cantata" will be held at both worship services on Sunday, Dec. 21. The theme will be "I'll be Home for Christmas." Want to get involved? Call the church office.
- There will be two Christmas Eve services at 5 and 7 p.m. Christmas Day service will be at 10 a.m.
More (and More) Holiday Greetings
With the holidays here, Friedens is expecting more and more new visitors who are looking for friendship, fellowship. answers to life's big questions and a holiday that goes deeper than the crass commercialism foisted on us by modern secular culture. To help them, Friedens needs volunteers to serve as greeters, in the nursery, to man the information table and do other tasks. If you have a heart to serve others, talk to Pastor Don Zahurance.
Christmas Helper
Want to do more this Christmas than just send a pretty Christmas card to your friends and family? Would you like some help in communicating to them the power of the real Christmas story. Campus Crusade for Christ has created a Christmas card that doubles as a booklet containing various Christmas messages. You can take a look and order copies at http://www.campuscrusade.com/3081PE.
Escaping The Fire
During the recent wildfires in California, many fleeing the flames found refuge at local churches. Baptist Press reported, "Surrounded on three sides by roaring flames a mile (less than two kilometers) away, the church became a beacon of God's love to families in crisis." Southern Baptist Convention of California deployed mobile kitchens and a portable shower, and provided thousands of meals for displaced persons. Assist News Service reports on conversions that took place. To read more, go to http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/s03100151.htm and http://www.bpnews.net/bpcollectionnews.asp?ID=37
The Real Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is more than turkey, dressing and pumpkin pie. Go to http://www.gospelcom.net/content/thanksgiving/ to find links to various websites where you can read the story behind Thanksgiving at the Christian History Institute; read special Thanksgiving devotionals and Bible studies at RBC Ministries; browse tracts and articles about the holiday at American Tract Society and much more.
What Are Teens Thinking?
The majority of teenagers, 13 to 17 years old, recently told Gallup researchers that they feel "pressured and lonely." In addition, 23% are afraid to go to school because of violence, and 48% have experienced a bomb threat at their school since the 1999 Columbine High School tragedy. The survey reports that "the spiritual hunger among teens is remarkable ... perhaps most pronounced is their spiritual curiosity. The challenge for churches is to help channel teenagers' free-floating, often vague interest in spirituality into sincere religious conviction that grounds a life of faith." Among other survey details:
- Ninety-two percent consider their religious beliefs important.
- Ninety-five percent say that they believe in God and 67% place confidence in organized religion. But 44% also express a desire to learn about Native-American spirituality.
- Teen attendance at church is, on average, 10% higher than for all U.S. adults.
- The majority think parents and children should go to church together; just 27% thought otherwise.
- Eighty-two percent of teens say they want to learn more about faith. And despite the diversity of religions in America, "the number of non-Christian teens remains relatively small."
FriedensNote is the weekly e-mail newsletter of Friedens Evangelical Church, 454 N. Milwaukee St., Port Washington, WI 53074. For more information on the church, call (262) 284-2471 or visit our website, www.friedenschurch.org. If you'd like to subscribe, unsubscribe, or have questions, e-mail us at friedens@sbcglobal.net, with "FriedensNote" in the subject field.
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454 N. Milwaukee Street, Port Washington, WI 53074
(262) 284-2471