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 Benefit
Spaghetti Dinner
A Spaghetti Dinner will
be held to support the First Saturday Food Distribution on
Friday, November 21st from 4:00 - 8:00 pm at the Celebration
Fellowship Church. Dinner prices are $8.00 for adults and
$4.00 for ages 10 and younger. There will be an auction at
6:00 pm and a raffle drawing at the end of the evening.
Come join the fun!!
The first Saturday
of the month food is distributed beginning at 10:00 am for a
donation of $20.00 per share.
Everyone is
welcome, no income or age eligibility requirements,
non-denominational. Please bring boxes or bags to haul
your food.
Volunteers needed
by 8:00 am.
Community Thanksgiving Dinner
Celebrate Thanksgiving with Our Lady
of the Lake Church in their social hall.
November 27th
11:00 am - 1:00 pm
Carry-outs and
deliveries available to the homebound. Freewill offering
will be accepted.
Are you craving Lutefisk?
Messiah Lutheran Church in Washburn is
having a "Lutefisk and Meatball Holiday Dinner" on Saturday,
December 6th from 5:00 - 7:00 pm.
Tickets are available here at Saron.
$10.00 for adults and $5.00 for youth under 12. Carry-outs
will also be available.
Habitat for Humanity
The Rummage Sale
raised $721.73 for Habitat for Humanity & $250.00 for Saron. Wow!
The crews have been working hard to get the house finished by
Thanksgiving. The drywall is up and soon we will be painting.
Everyone is welcome to join alongside Holly & the crew at 1515 5th
St. East anytime.
Site supervision
is provided:
Wednesdays, 5pm
- 9pm
Fridays, 8am –
5pm
Saturdays, 8am –
5pm
Join the fun
with this exciting project!
http://www.thriventbuilds.com/
 Gold
Rush!!!
Do you
have any broken gold chains or kinked necklaces? Maybe, one gold
earring because the other is lost?
We are
collecting 10, 14 & 24kt. gold jewelry pieces that you can no longer
use (white or yellow gold). They will be sold to a gold dealer for
cash for Saron’s General Fund. Gold prices are at a high so this is
a great time to clean out our jewelry boxes!
Please
put any jewelry in the specially marked box in the church
office. Thanks!!
Food Sunday
Almost every day, someone comes to the church looking for food,
or calls for help of some kind. The Social Ministry committee
wants to emphasize the need for food in our area. The third
Sunday of each month will be designated as Food Sunday. We are
asking everyone to bring non-perishable food items & cleaning
supplies on that Sunday and place them in the baskets as you
enter the sanctuary. (If you bring food on another day you will
find the baskets in the narthex by the coatroom.) A portion of
the food donations will go to the BRICK and the remainder will
be distributed from the church when people come to our doors.
Please take the time to help out someone who is hungry.
Faith In Action-Ashland County
HELP
WANTED:
Just getting an hour a week from a caring volunteer can make a
big difference for many senior citizens living independently.
Faith in Action-Ashland County currently has requests from
senior citizens in Ashland that are in need of help with basic
household chores for an hour or two on a weekly or bi-weekly
basis. The program is also recruiting volunteers willing to do
yard work, mowing, window washing and fix-it jobs or be an Arts
or Sports Buddy. Both ongoing and short term assignments are
available. If you are interested in volunteering or in need of
the help of a Faith In Action volunteer call the Ashland County
Aging Unit at 682-4414 ext. #3. Reach out and help an elderly
neighbor today!
Enter Into
the Circle of Grace
Mental health is
how we think, feel and act as we cope with life. Everyone feels
worried, anxious, sad or stressed sometimes. But with a mental
illness, these feelings do not go away and are severe enough to
interfere with daily life. There are various types of mental
illness, but all share in the common feelings of loneliness and
isolation. These disorders affect people of every race, ethnic
heritage, gender, language, economic status, age and religious
orientation. Mental illness impacts one in every five families
in the U.S.
“Circle
of Grace” is an alternate worship service for persons
affected with chronic mental illness and their families. It
meets the second and last Thursday of every month here at Saron
at 5:00pm. This worship service provides a message of acceptance
and hope to those who feel alienated from society. Saron, as a
faith community, reaches out to individuals and families by
sharing the message that all persons are worthy in the eyes of
God. For some, this may be the only place where they feel truly
accepted, valued and loved.
For persons who may find no other welcome in the larger
community, being welcomed into our house of prayer by a
concerned and caring community can make a critical difference in
their lives. As participants in “Circle of Grace” have journeyed
together over the past 5 years, they have grown in the knowledge
of God’s unending love for all of His creation. We have had one
baptism of a person who had wondered away from the church for
many, many years. . Participants now often read the lessons,
play guitar, contribute readings, assist with the distribution
of communion and continually reach out with God’s grace. It is
an incredibly powerful worship service—where the presence of God
can be tangibly felt.
After the worship service we share a meal, followed by a time of
fellowship and games. For a few hours, twice a month, no one in
this group is lonely. There are smiles where smiles seldom are
seen. There are caring, supportive relationships developing,
creating trust and love. In the words of one of Circle of Grace
participants, “At first all was darkness, now there is light…”
Saron Council Attends
Leadership Training
Several members of the Saron Church Council heard Bishop Duane
Pederson’s presentation on Mutual Ministry: Committees and Staff
Management at a recent council leadership training event in Hayward.
This workshop provided a brief overview of the concept of
congregations engaged in mutual ministry regarding staff management,
evaluation and support. The intent of mutual ministry is to keep
staff healthy and effective for the sake of ministry in Christ’s
name.
We are
now going forward into the call process for a new pastor. The
concept of mutual ministry is essential to this process. The
congregation is the priesthood of all believers and everyone’s
ministry is of value. Our mission is not pastor centered, but rather
mission oriented. Participants learned that we need to base our
decisions on a mutual mission of Saron. Our mission statement: The
mission of Saron Lutheran Church is to be a community created by
God’s grace, sustained by God’s grace through word and sacrament,
and living out that grace with one another and the world.
 Watching
Green Space
Confirmation students planted over 100 bulbs last fall in our Green
Space area. It was a beauty to watch them come up. The Green
Space committee has many plans. The labyrinth pattern will be completed as soon as
feasible and a dedication service will be held at that time. Saron
started outdoor services for the summer on the last Sunday of
each month. This space
will become an outdoor sanctuary and sacred place to meet God in
creation.
Saron’s
Mission Focus
Helping
One Month At A Time
In January at
the Annual Meeting the congregation voted on 12 missions to support
for the next 12 months. New envelopes are in the pews that say, “My
Special Offering” these can be used for any offering; just indicate
what you would like the money to be used for, how much & from whom.
Check what Mission we are focusing on for the month by viewing the
Calendar.
Cans for Saron
A pop/juice/water machine is in the fellowship hall! The aluminum
from the pop cans can be turned in for cash for Saron. There is a
container for clean & empty cans next to the pop machine.
Everyone is encouraged to bring your aluminum cans to Chicago Iron
and tell them to put it on the account for Saron Lutheran Church.
If you
don’t want to bring them to Chicago Iron then bring them to
church. The 1st Sunday of every month will be “bring
your cans to church”. If you need cans picked up at your house
please call the church office and we will make arrangements.
It takes only 32 cans to make a pound!
So far we have collected $510.00 from cans donated to the
church. If you have aluminum cans at your house but don’t want
to haul them to church, just call the church office 682-2376 and
we will have someone pick them up for you.
Thank you to Dan &
Sherri for donating the can bin in our parking lot.
Also, Thank You to Dave
for hauling all our collected cans to Chicago Iron for us.
We're Experimenting
If we have your e-mail address in the
church office we most likely have e-mailed you a copy of the
Saronews.
We are looking for feedback on this.
If you like the Saronews e-mailed to you every other month (we are
now doing a 2-month newsletter) instead of mailed in the paper form
let us know. If you don't like the Saronews e-mailed to you
let us know.
Also, if you have any suggestions let
us know. We're trying to make Saron Lutheran Church more
environmentally friendly.
Funeral Lunches - Some New Alternatives
One of the ministries of Saron in the past was the
provision of funeral lunches to bereaved families. There was a time
that regretfully we were unable to do that. As the need arose time
and time again, a group of women of the church recently stepped up
to volunteer to organize and coordinate this service for those in
need of it.
Six women have organized into chairwomen of the lunches
and will help to provide three alternatives to families;
-
a catered lunch served by the caterer and
provided by the family, or
-
just desserts and coffee provided and served by
the church, or
-
a simple lunch of ham, cheese and buns provided
by the family and served by the church along with providing
desserts and coffee.
This
group is hopeful that the congregation of Saron will be responsive
to their calls and help provide food and services as needed. Contact
Barb B., Elaine K., Char S., Fran L., Bev J. or Alice J. with any
questions.
Prayer Shawl
Ministry
Are you looking
for a ministry of prayer and care for those in great need?
If you are and
you enjoy knitting and crocheting, you are invited to join the
newly formed Prayer Shawl Ministry at Saron. It is our
desire to reach out with love and care to others during times of
illness or grief and also for times of joy and celebration.
This ministry of
compassion is open to levels of knitters and crocheters -
beginners, experienced and "wanna-bes". We will gather
once a month and continue working on our shawls at home.
The meeting time and place will be announced in future Sunday
bulletin announcements.
From more
information contact the Parish Nurse or call the church office.
715-682-2376.
We proudly support and use Fair
Trade Coffee in partnership with
Lutheran World Relief along with many other goods.
Check out the other goods
available online or in
the A Greater Gift catalog next to the display of Fair Trade
Coffee.
Hope and justice with every
purchase.
March For Peace and an End to
War meets every Tuesday at the corner of Chapple and Main Street
from 5:00p - 6:00p. Please plan to be there.
Memory Lane
Saron has entered into a new partnership
with Northwest Community Services Inc. We will be providing
space in our basement for them to carry out their mission: to
improve the quality of life for older adults with Alzheimer's
disease and other dementia by offering day services committed to
enhancing and maintaining self respect, dignity and maximum
independence; and to offer respite to families and caregivers who
are responsible for an adult in need of supervision and care.
This is
such a great program for families who care for a memory-impaired
loved one. Day respite programs are an affordable alternative
to nursing home placement or in-home care.
Participant benefits include: safe and
friendly environment, care by trained staff and volunteers, hot
lunch and nutritious snacks, planned social activities,
socialization, quiet time, and therapeutic activities.
Benefits to care-givers include: an
opportunity to run errands, time to schedule and keep appointments,
the ability to plan and take time for their own personal rest and
relaxation. While there are two
professional workers at Memory Lane, volunteers are the "heart" of
the program. There are several volunteer opportunities
available. Do you enjoy making a difference by helping others?
Learning new things? Crafts and cooking? Games?
Laughing and reminiscing? A free lunch? Sharing a skill
or talent? Meeting new people? If so, Memory Lane would
love to hear from you. Complete training is provided to all
volunteers. Volunteer opportunity times vary according to your
schedule.
Memory Lane is funded through
grants, donations, participant fees and community support.
Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays,
and Fridays from 9:00a -
2:00p, Saron Lutheran Church If you have some
time to participate or would like to take advantage of this
opportunity please contact Saron for contact information, 682-2376
2 Cents Offering
Please save your loose change for the
2 cent offering that is held on the last Sunday of each month.
Each month a different cause is selected to receive the offering.
Local Food Shelf - they
need you
Everyone is encouraged
to bring non-perishable food items on the last Sunday of the month.
The local food shelf is used by many families and comes at a time
when they are really in need of a helping hand.
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