My brothers and sisters in Christ,
I hope your Christmas was filled with Joy.
For us, it was filled with mostly ups, but also a few downs. At first, Christmas Eve started out as just another day for me. Hard to explain, but it didn’t seem any more special than the day before. I had to keep reminding myself, it’s Christmas Eve, and I have service at 3:00 p.m. There was also some concern about the new time for this service. I was wondering if it was going to work out?
But then my daughters and their families came. With three grandchildren arriving, the excitement for the day definitely increased. For the most part, they get along very well. Sometimes, one needs a little space to chill, but they were very excited for Santa to come.
My family, my sister-in-law, my nephew and his wife, and my niece and her family also arrived for church. They might have skewed the numbers a little bit. For those who attended, I hope you found the service to be meaningful. It was great to have Paul Baker assisting with both the service and the message.
We hosted a Christmas Eve party with family and a few friends. I felt sorry for my friends. There was a great deal of chaos, which only the young ones can bring. Six of them in total. Yikes.
This year, my family also experienced heartache going into this season. As you know, I lost my father in September, and my wife lost her younger sister in October. Their absence was definitely felt. I missed the long conversations with my father. We both felt extremely sad for the family that Sarah, Patty’s sister, left behind. Three children and a husband are no longer having their mother and wife. I know some of you know this pain.
We did something sort of cool when things quieted down. The adults got in a circle, and we said one thing we remember the most about the person who died in our family. First up was Patty’s mom, who died of cancer before I met her. Then we went to the one next and next, etc. It was interesting to hear the variety of memories from each of us and how we remembered the family member. In a way, we attempted to keep the memory of the family member alive and with us.
I have a couple of orders of business to take care of. First, I am sad to report that Lloyd Schrowang passed away last week. The funeral was last Saturday. For those who knew the family and were not able to attend the funeral, maybe a sympathy card to Loretta would be a good idea. Maybe even giving her a call in a little while just to see how she is doing.
The second order of business is our Annual Meeting is coming up on Sunday, January 25. We will discuss at least two orders of business during this meeting. First will be the budget for the 2026 church year. More news will come about this budget. I know we have a shortfall. Our expenditures are greater than the money the church brings in.
Second, is the ratification of our new Constitution. Some of you may be wondering, didn’t we do this already? And the answer is yes – sort of. A few years ago, the Constitution committee spent months bringing our Constitution up to present times. The Synod made a few changes, mostly on formatting for this year. Instead of waiting for a decade or more to make the changes, we quickly updated our Constitution. It was a pretty easy fix and was done quickly, saving a whole lot of time. The changes are available, as well as the new Constitution, for you to look at. They are located in the Narthex on the table where signups occur.
Every year, we worry about having a quorum. This is the only major change in the Constitution. Instead of a number, the Synod office wants a percentage. Our Constitution now says greater than 8%. Instead of 25 voting members to reach a quorum, it is now 26 voting members. Please plan on attending our Annual Meeting. Again, it is Sunday, January 25, right after service.
Crossed marked and spirit sealed,
Pastor Tom
815-223-1144
Readings for the Epiphany of our Lord – January 3 & 4
Isaiah 60:1-6 Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14 Ephesians 3:1-12 Matthew 2:1-12