Road to Thanksgiving
“Be joyful always; pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
As we look ahead to our national day of Thanksgiving, there are many things we need to consider as we get ready for this special holiday, such as family, travel plans, meal preparation, house cleaning, work schedules, and even Christmas decorating. It can be a busy road we travel that leads to Thanksgiving, which can also cause us to forget about God in all of our Thanksgiving activities.
I ran across some words recently that I thought could have been written or spoken by someone in describing our country today. See if the following words sound familiar to you:
“We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven; we have been preserved these many years in
peace and prosperity; we have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has grown. But we have
forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched
and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were
produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success we have become
too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made
us.”
You might have figured out that the words listed above were written by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863 as
part of his Thanksgiving Proclamation. Amazing, though, how they could easily describe our nation today. God
has blessed all of us, especially our nation in so many ways, yet as I look at our own community, the words of
Abraham Lincoln really make me wonder at times, “Have we forgotten God?”
Therefore, during the month of November, I will be doing a 3-week sermon series titled, “The Road To
Thanksgiving,” in which we will seek to put God first in all of our Thanksgiving plans and preparations. Please
join us for the following worship services:
Sunday, November 5: “Finding Rest” – Matthew 23:1-12 (All Saints Sunday)
Sunday, November 12: “Being Ready” – Matthew 25:1-13 (Parable of the 10 Virgins)
Sunday, November 19: “Using Your Talents” – Matthew 25:14-30 (Parable of the Talents)
Also, I would like to invite everyone to bring some food with them to worship to support our Backpack Buddies ministry on Sunday, November 19. Each week we fill 30 backpacks with food for food needy children at East Clayton Elementary School. Listed below are the items we pack each week:
30 cans of meat – such as Chef Boyardee products 60 -100% juice boxes
30 cans of vegetables 60 small or 30 large cans of fruit
30 breakfast bars 60 small or 30 large packages of noodles
30 packages of oatmeal, or breakfast cereal 60 small or 30 qt size shelf stable milk
If you could bring some food from the list above to worship on Sunday, November 19 it would really help to restock our shelves.
In God’s Service,
Pastor Bill Beyer
Children's Ministry
Wed. Education: At 6:45pm in Classroom 4 & 5.
- Sign up your family to join us for dinner. https://bit.ly/498f0n5
- Children’s Church: Happens during the 8:30AM Worship after the Children’s Message. The children follow the
cross out of Worship to the Music Room for a service on their level. The children are brought back to Worship
during Sharing the Peace. - What is the purpose of Children’s Church? Our goal with this program is to connect children in a relationship with
God using lessons and activities that are on their educational and developmental level. The final outcome of this
ministry is for the child to go back into the worship service, ready to actively listen and follow along with their
parents. They are not meant to stay in children’s church forever. This program is designed to be a greenhouse
where the children grow in their faith and understanding, are active in learning and studying with the word, seek
to apply it to their lives, and learn more about praying and Scripture. If a parent would rather keep their children in
the worship service with them and use that as an opportunity to help them connect with the sermon, engage with
the service, and actively participate in worship, they are highly encouraged to do so! - Nursery: Open at both services for children birth – 3-years-old.
Youth Ministry
Confirmation: Wednesdays
CY1, CY2, CY3 Students: Class at 6:45pm. Bring your materials.
- Service Project: https://bit.ly/3FuE1LX Bring in Food for Thanksgiving Boxes
- 11/22: No class. Have a Happy Thanksgiving. Bring your materials each week.
- Save the Date: Confirmation Retreat: 11/10-12/23 5pm – 12pm
CY1 & CY2
- Confirmation Retreat: 11/10-12/23 5pm – 12pm
Youth Ministry
- Youth Group: Join us at 6:45pm in the Youth Room.
- Service Event: Assemble Bags for Backpack Buddies 11/8 in the Youth Room at 6pm.
- Service Event 11/15: We will go off site to Feed My Sheep Food Pantry
- 11/22: No class. Have a Happy Thanksgiving.
- Save the Date: Lock-In Friday, Dec. 8th 7pm – 7am
Fundraisers for the Youth:
Scrip Fundraiser Scrip is a great way to help raise funds towards youth ministry. Every church member can easily earn $1,000 or more for youth ministry by buying gift cards through us. BJ Johns is our scrip coordinator. If you want more information, please send her an email at bjkjohns@gmail.com.
