Wordle....Word Cloud.....What????

OSE NEWS  November 18, 2013    What's a "word cloud"?    Perhaps you've never heard of one either.   But I love what it is!   Here's what one looks like!           This particular "word cloud" (or wurdle!) came from the responses of various members of Our Savior who replied to the question "Why do I give money to the church?" All of those responses went into the computer and the key words came out in the form of a "cloud" with the more frequently used words being larger.  Isn't that fascinating!    I especially love the way it makes me think on this topic:  "Why do I give money to the church?"  Look at those words.  Those are the words that most came to mind to those sitting with you in worship when it comes to why we give.  Many of you received a letter with this "word cloud" on the cover with responses to that question inside and a plan for giving card.  This coming weekend we will have this same "word cloud" on the cover of our bulletin, since part of our worship will include receiving these plans for giving for 2014.     It seems fitting for this to be a part of worship this coming weekend since it will be the last weekend of the church year, Christ the King Sunday.  (The following Sunday being the first Sunday in Advent already!)  So, what better way to end the church year and recognize Jesus and King of Kings and Lord of Lords, than to include in that celebration a tangible plan for giving which underscores and reflects our faith in the One who is the source of all that is good and right and true in our lives!    Relatively new this year, but increasingly popular, is giving electronically.  With so much of our way of life being done electronically (mortgage payments, utility payments, car payments, credit card payments, etc.) it's easy to do the same with your church.  Just go to our website: www.oursaviorelca.com and click on the "GIVE NOW" to set up your plan for giving for 2014. How easy is that!?   And speaking of giving, a number of folks have asked how we can respond to the terrible typhoon in the Philippines.  Click on to the link below and that will show you how to make a contribution to help there.  Many thanks for your concern for those in such need.   Finally, since "the holidays" are soon upon us, this Wednesday, November 20 will be our last Wednesday night supper until after the holidays.  On the menu is meat loaf and mashed potatoes.  Mmm...one of my favorites!   The suppers will resume after the holidays.      For more information about life at Our Savior, including our holiday worship schedule and special events, please visit our website www.oursaviorelca.com.                  See you in church!      Gratefully,    Pastor Jack Diehl + Pacific Typhoon Response One of the most powerful storms ever recorded, Super Typhoon Haiyan, crashed across the central islands of the Philippines. Your help is needed to make a difference in affected areas. Through partnerships and as a member of ACT Alliance, Lutheran Disaster Response is responding to the most urgent needs of food, water, clothing, shelter, sleeping material and medicine.   Click Here to Donate Thru Lutheran Disaster Response.  This coming Sunday we will close our liturgical year with a celebration of Christ as our king. Come to worship, where together we encounter Christ reigning from his cross with mercy for us all. Weekly Devotions and Prayers: Taking Home Faith

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Happy Vererans Day!

OSE NEWS  November 11, 2013                      Happy Veterans Day!   I hope you all take the opportunity to thank a veteran today and remember those who continue to serve our country.  We are grateful to you all.  For me personally, I will be honoring my son-in-law, Percy Canteenwalla, a Marine, who served in the Iraqi Freedom Gulf War.   He and his wife (our daughter Katie) just bought a new house in Longwood, FL and I will be going there to help them move in.  This is a happy duty for me, and a happy occasion for them.  God bless all our Vets!   On this Veterans Day, and as the week unfolds, may we all see each other and ourselves, as Jesus saw Zacchaeus in yesterday's Gospel "short story"(Click Here for the Sermon).  Jesus didn't just see this chief tax collector as one labeled a "sinner" or "outcast", but instead, Jesus saw who God made him to be, a son of Abraham, a person of faith.  And that changed everything.  As legend has it, Zacchaeus eventually became a bishop of his region in the early church.   What a difference from being shunned and looked down upon by his own.  Many thanks to our Children's Choir and Handbell Choir for telling and celebrating this story in such a delightful way (Click to Listen)!   When we can see beyond the labels we put on people, and see deep down who God made each other to be, lives are renewed and communities of faith are born out of an amazing mixture of all kinds of folks who have experienced the grace of God!   Come to worship, gather around our Lord's table, and see what that looks like!   To get a sneak peak at that kind of community, you don't have to wait til Sunday.  This Wednesday we have our first potluck dinner of the season at 6pm.  What a fun way to experience community together.  Bring something to share and enjoy a meal together.     For more information about life in and around Our Savior, please visit our website at:  www.oursaviorelca.com.           See you in church!   Pastor Jack Diehl + How should Christians think about God's power, granting wars, earthquakes, plagues, injustice, and strife even within families? This coming Sunday the gospel holds these examples of human suffering next to the word of Christ, who will save us. Weekly Devotions and Prayers: Taking Home Faith

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More than a few tears......

OSE NEWS  November 4, 2013                    More than a few tears.  Every year there's something really special about All Saints Sunday. Most years we remember about 8 to 12 members and friends of Our Savior who have died since All Saints Day last year, but this year we named during our prayers and lit candles in memory of over 30 of those who have gone before us.  Even during the Sunday School hour, Pastor Shelly said the children talked about remembering all the saints who have gone before us, and how so many of the children came up and lit a candle remembering those who have died in the past year.  (One even lit a candle in memory of her dog who died this past year.)   In a world and a culture where so much effort is put into denying death and our mortality, how meaningful and healthy it is to be able to come to worship on a day like All Saints, remember with gratitude those who have died, look death in the eye and say, "You do not have the last word."  For God speaks a Word of hope and promise, a Word of Life that is stronger than Death.  This is a Life that is given us in our Baptism, which carries us through this life and ultimately into God's eternal Light and Life.     No wonder a day like this brings about more than a few tears.  For this is a day where God speaks to those most important things of the heart, where God meets us in our grief, where we acknowledge our sorrow and loss, but are also a part of a community that knows and lives out that Life which is our source of hope, comfort and peace.  And what a blessing that is!  No wonder a day like that brings about more than a few tears.  But they are good tears, and what better place to shed them.  See you in church!           Pastor Jack Diehl +       Please visit our website to see where and how you can be a part of living out and celebrating this Life that is stronger than death: www.oursaviorelca.com. Atlantic Ringers in Concert!      NEXT SUNDAY, November 10th, 7:00 p.m.    Please join us for an exciting concert of dances arranged for Handbells!  The concert features the Atlantic Ringers, one of the finest community ensembles in the state.  Several Our Savior musicians ring in the group and we heard a rumor that the concert includes accordion playing, wonder who will be playing that?     At some time in your life, you will feel as if you are up a tree. Come to worship this coming Sunday: join with Zacchaeus, first up in his tree, and then meeting and eating with the Lord. Weekly Devotions and Prayers: Taking Home Faith

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Are You Seeing Red?

OSE NEWS  October 28, 2013                      "Seeing Red" usually has a negative connotation but this past weekend it was anything but that.  The church was filled with red (symbol of the fire and working of the Holy Spirit) as we gathered to celebrate Reformation Sunday which included a baptism and the confirmation of 5 of our young people.    And what a great celebration it was!  For what we celebrated was, along with those things listed, the fact that God continues to be at work among us, renewing and re-forming his people, his church and the world.  That's the fulfillment of the promise God made in our reading from the prophet Jeremiah "I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.  I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts: and I will be their God and they shall be my people...and they shall all know me from the least of them to the greatest."  On Sunday evening I got a humorous glimpse of the unfolding of that promise at the "Fantasies and Fugues" concert, as Dr. Dan Kroger, the Cantor from Holy Cross Catholic Church greeted me with a smile and said, "Thanks for having us here on Reformation Day!"   Ahhh....all God's people coming together, to celebrate together.    Confirmation Sunday   This coming weekend (always following Reformation Day) is All Saints Sunday.  This is always a meaningful and moving service as we light candles and remember all the saints who have gone on before us since All Saints Day last year, as well as remembering other loved ones.  It's also a time to hear again the promise of Eternal Life which is ours through Jesus' Resurrection.     As this week unfolds, the celebration continues with our Wednesday supper, which will have an "Oktoberfest" feel.  On the menu is brats and kraut among other things, and maybe even a polka or two.   Should be fun!   Also that evening, the Youth Group will be having a Halloween party during their regular meeting time beginning at 6:30.    Looking a bit farther down the road, Saturday Nov. 23 is our Annual Bazaar Bake Sale.  So, attention all bakers and candy makers!  It would be much appreciated if you could bring something for the bake sale, and plan to drop it off before 5pm on Friday Nov. 22.   Also, if you'd like to get in on some of the craft making, join the ladies any Thursday at 9:30am in the Fellowship Hall.     On Saturday Nov. 9, attention all yard sale aficionados,  from 7am til 1pm, our sister congregation, Christ the King Lutheran Church in Sebastian (1301 Sebastian Blvd), will be holding a Fall Yard Sale Festival.  (And since our former parish nurse, Bonnie Lanyi is now an intern in that congregation, Free Blood Pressure checks will be offered!  What a coincidence!)  Half of the proceeds go the Ecumenical Food Pantry in Sebastian.   Have a blessed week, and always be grateful!     Pastor Jack Diehl +     www.oursaviorelca.com God has made into saints all who have been baptized into Christ, and on the festival of All Saints Day we honor especially those saints who have died in the faith. Their names may be unknown and their lives generally forgotten, but we sing our thanks that they are now held in God. Come this Sunday and sing those praises and remembrances. Weekly Devotions and Prayers: Taking Home Faith

Forward this email This email was sent to oslcvero.godsamazinggrace@blogger.com by info@oursaviorelca.com |   Update Profile/Email Address | Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe™ | Privacy Policy. Our Savior Lutheran Church | 1850 Sixth Ave. | Vero Beach | FL | 32960