HOLIDAY WORSHIP SCHEDULE

Blue Christmas/Longest Night

Wednesday, December 20 ~ 7:00 p.m. 

In-person and Livestream

Advent Worship Service

Sunday, December 24

9:00 a.m.

Christmas Eve

Sunday, December 24

In-person & Livestream (All Services)

4:00 p.m.
7:00 p.m. 

10:00 p.m. 

Sunday, December 31

Lessons and Carols

8:00 a.m. In-person

10:30 a.m. In-person & Livestream

Senior News

Thrivent Financial is sponsoring a workshop/meal where we will be tying fleece blankets with the CLC youth on Sunday, January 7, 2024.  We will be dining and working from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in the CLC Gathering Space.   

The Youth Group will be tying blankets for Living Hope.  Our Senior Group will have additional fleece blankets to tie, along with port protectors to be stuffed, on behalf of Phil's Friends, the group represented by Judy Earnshaw, our November meeting speaker.  Various other provided items will also be assembled at that time for Phil's Friend's cancer care boxes. 

We will meet at church at 6 p.m., with a meal of sloppy joes & chips kindly provided by Thrivent Financial.  Please come and enjoy the fellowship and a meal with our youth while we all work together for the benefit of these two great organizations. 

Please respond to Judy Boom at mbboom@comcast.net by December 30, 2023, if you are able to attend so that the appropriate amount of food may be provided.   

If a few could also provide desserts, that would be appreciated.   

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

January 25, 2024:  Thursday, 9:15 a.m.  Meet at church for our meeting as Pastor Erica will share with us her sabbatical experiences!  A sign up sheet will be on the bulletin board, and also indicate if you are able to provide treats for that meeting. 

Thank you for letting me know if you are able to attend this Sunday's gathering!  If needed call Beth Bigham at 219 477 3937, or please reach out to Sue Reinhold. 

Retreat 2024 - The Freedom of Forgiveness!  

Registration is open for the retreat, which will be held February 23-25, 2024. Congregation members will share how God has been at work in their lives through the practice of forgiveness; it's a great time to step back from our stressful daily lives into a time of respite and spiritual renewal at the beautiful Lindenwood Retreat Center near Plymouth, IN.  Follow this link to register: https://clcvalpo.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/2062067

Fleece Donations Needed!

Do you have fleece lying around that you aren’t quite sure what to do with? Consider donating it to the CLC Youth Ministries! In January, our youth will be making tie blankets to donate to Living Hope. We will be using fleece to create these blankets, so any donations would be greatly appreciated. Donations of fleece that are 2x2 yards work best, but we will also accept fleece pieces close to 2x2 yards. Donations can be dropped off in Kaitlyn's office. Thank you so much for supporting our youth ministries!
 

Youth December 2023 Schedule

December 3rd | Lunch Potluck with Senior Group | 12pm

High School (9th-12th)

December 3rd | Circle | 6-8pm

December 10th | Circle | 6-8pm

December 17th | Circle | 6-8pm

December 23rd-January 6th | Holiday Break (NO CIRCLE!)

Confirmation

Confirmation | December 6th | 6-7:30pm

Confirmation | December 13th | 6-7:30pm

Confirmation | December 20th | 6-7:30pm

December 23rd-January 6th | Holiday Break (NO CONFIRMATION!)

Fusion (5th-8th)

Fusion | December 3rd | 9:20-10:20am

Fusion | December 10th | 9:20-10:20am

Fusion | December 17th | 9:20-10:20am

December 23rd-January 6th | Holiday Break (NO FUSION!)

CLC Social Ministry and Mission

December 2023

Bethel Lutheran Church – Miller/Gary

• December’s Social Ministry emphasis is to provide monetary support, along with increasing partnership activities, with Bethel Lutheran Church, a diverse, urban ELCA congregation in the Miller neighborhood of Gary, Indiana (part of NW Indiana Conference of I-K Synod)  http://bethelmiller.org and http://facebook.com/bethelmillerbeach  Bethel’s Pastor is Rev. Joy Heine, and Greg Bueltmann is Director of Music. Bethel means "house of God" and members believe strongly “that the God of Jesus Christ truly is present as they regularly gather in fellowship around his Word and sacraments”.  CLC has partnered with Bethel over many years, including our 3^rd joint worship service at Lake Michigan this past summer, and it is wonderful to further increase relationships with a sister congregation.
• Help achieve our goal of $2500 in December (over and above giving combined with CLC’s budgeted amount of $1200).  By achieving our goal CLC will help Bethel Lutheran continue to thrive as a congregation with outreach activities to organizations such as Interfaith Action Network, Crisis Center, and Sojourner Truth House.  Use your weekly worship giving envelope mailed with check to CLC and indicate “Bethel” or contribute through Subsplash on the CLC website https://clcvalpo.org via the “Give” button.  Thank you to members for supporting monthly social ministry emphases.

2023 End of Year Contributions

As we approach the end of 2023, please take a moment to read the following guidelines for year-end giving.

All contributions received on Sunday, December 31, will be recorded in 2023.  Please remember to clearly write your name, the amount of the contribution, and the purpose of the donation (operating budget, social ministry, etc.) on your envelope.  (Tip:  Several of our members use return address labels on their envelopes – quick and easy!)

Our envelopes have preprinted lines for Operating Budget, Social Ministry Monthly Emphasis, and Special Offering (for any other offerings).  Please indicate the amount for each fund on the appropriate line.  If your gift is designated for something other than the Operating Budget or Social Ministry Monthly Emphasis, please indicate the amount and the purpose.  Please note that all contributions that are not designated will be put towards the Operating Budget.  If you don’t have preprinted envelopes, feel free to use one of our pew envelopes (located in the pews and on top of the indoor lockbox outside the church office).

The church can accept gifts of securities!  If you would like to transfer securities to the church, or if you would like to transfer the proceeds from the sale of securities to the church, please contact the church office for more information.

Thank you for your faithful contributions to the ministries of Christ Lutheran Church!  If you have any questions regarding your contributions, please contact the church office.

Weekly Prayers

Grief:

• Kevin Parsons, friend of Jen Bias
• Sharon Robbins, Mother of Melissa Summerville
• Jim Kish, friend of Linda Mapes

Global:

• Violence in the Holy Land
• Anti-Semitism hate crimes
• Tornadoes in TN

Hospice:

• Joi
• Janet
• Pat
• Julia
• Frances
• Norma
• Ramona

Long-term/ongoing:

• Ken
• Stuart
• Wayne
• Nancy
• Heather
• Joy
• Sally
• Letty
• Katrina
• Jimee
• Tim
• Mike
• Dawn

12/20

• Jacob

12/12

• Alicia
• Resa
• Astrid
• Gabi
• Joanna
• Denise
• David
• Amelie
• Joan
• Shawn
• Lissa
• Rosie
• John
• Ted
• Lus, Norberto, and family
• Maritza
• Laura
• Raven
• Ms. Leonelli