King of Glory StaffKing of Glory StaffKing of Glory StaffKing of Glory Staff

Ruth Ann Loughry, Pastor ruthann@aplace2grow.org;

Joe Jedrzejewski, Faith Formation/

Cross+Generational Minister joe@aplace2grow.org;

Kathy Gustad, Administrative Assistant/Editor

office@aplace2grow.org;

Kathy Pensack-Rinehart, Accompanist

Mark Manges, Band Director

manges@trumpetsource.com;

Stephanie Beyers, Choir Director

stephanie.j.beyers@gmail.com

Megan McClain, Nursery Attendant

Darrell Phelps, Custodian/Property Maintenance

2919 North Wilson Avenue, Loveland, CO 80538-2461

Phone: (970)669-5983• Fax: (970)669-5984• Email:.office@aplace2grow.org • Web: www.aplace2grow.org

From the Pastor 2

Upcoming Events 3

Joe’s Corner—Faith For-mation & Bridge Ministries

4

Endowment News 5

Calendar/Celebrations Insert

Studies & Group News 6

Financials/Extras 7

DDDDECEMBERECEMBERECEMBERECEMBER 2016201620162016

The MessengerThe MessengerThe MessengerThe Messenger

Inside this issue:

Nov. 27: Advent Kickoff L2F2* Event during Education Hour @ 9:40AM

(*Loveland Lutheran Faith Formation)

Nov. 30, Dec. 7, & Dec. 14: Midweek worship Holden Evening Prayer @ 6:30PM

Dec. 18: Children’s Christmas Program @ 9:45AM

Dec. 21: Blue Christmas @ Zion (L2F2) @7:00PM (Holidays difficult? This worship is for you. Pr. Ruth Ann preaching)

Dec. 24: Christmas Eve Worship

4:00, 7:00 & 10:00PM (new time!)

Dec. 25: Christmas Day Worship @ 10:00AM

(One Service)

Dec. 26: Church Office Closed

Dec. 31—New Year’s Eve—No Saturday Worship Jan. 1: New Year’s Day: 10:00AM Worship

(One Service)

Thanksgiving Eve WorshipThanksgiving Eve WorshipThanksgiving Eve WorshipThanksgiving Eve Worship————November 23 at 7:00PMNovember 23 at 7:00PMNovember 23 at 7:00PMNovember 23 at 7:00PM

Join King of Glory, Zion, Trinity and Mustard Seed congregations for a Thanksgiving Eve worship. We’ll be right here at KOG, 7:00PM, with a

service of liturgy, communion, harvest hymns and a joint choir. Pastor Chris Davis from Trinity will preach, and KidsPak will receive our offering. Afterwards we have a pie social! Join us! All are welcome!

FROM THE PASTOR

Page 2 Email: office@aplace2grow.org

Keeping the Faith in December Keeping the Faith in December Keeping the Faith in December Keeping the Faith in December –––– a Perfect Time for Faith Formation!a Perfect Time for Faith Formation!a Perfect Time for Faith Formation!a Perfect Time for Faith Formation!

When it gets to be this time of year, we sometimes speak of keeping Christ in Christmas or not neglecting the true meaning of our celebrations. The Vibrant Faith Frame* tells us that faith often gets formed in our own homes. It’s caught more than taught. Faith is formed by the power of the Holy Spirit though personal trusted relationships. We also know the power of rituals and traditions around the holidays. We gather with loved ones for caring conversations. This month, reflect on how you can pass on the faith to anyone who might enter your

home. Read the Christmas story out of the family Bible to your grandchildren. Say a prayer for the recipient of each letter or card you mail. Tell your family how much you love them. Light a candle each Saturday/Sunday of Advent and have a devotion as we wait for Jesus’ arrival. Take some cookies to a friend as Chris-tian service. Don’t miss the opportunities to demonstrate our Christian life and the joy we have in celebrating Jesus’ birth! The Holy Spirit will form deeper faith in you and in those you love!

Walking with you, Pastor Ruth Ann

Prayer Chain Prayer Chain Prayer Chain Prayer Chain

If you have a special prayer request please contact the church office and indicate

whether you want the prayer to be public or only for the confidential prayer chain. • Please keep the church office updated regarding your prayer concern.

You may call or email the church office (970-669-5983); office@aplace2grow.org, or Pastor Ruth Ann at Ruthann@aplace2grow.org

Reminder Reminder Reminder Reminder ---- December 4December 4December 4December 4 Annual Congregational MeetingAnnual Congregational MeetingAnnual Congregational MeetingAnnual Congregational Meeting

Hear About and Vote on the Administrative Hear About and Vote on the Administrative Hear About and Vote on the Administrative Hear About and Vote on the Administrative Council Slate and 2017 Budget!Council Slate and 2017 Budget!Council Slate and 2017 Budget!Council Slate and 2017 Budget!

Staff AppreciationStaff AppreciationStaff AppreciationStaff Appreciation

The Administrative Council invites members and friends of King of Glory to contribute to a “Staff Appreciation Fund” which will be divided among all our paid staff members this Christmas. Please make out checks to King of Glory with “ Staff Appreciation Fund” in the memo line. Cash in envelopes needs to be clearly marked. (Stay tuned to see if on-line giving can be set up for this effort.)

All contributions are due in the church office or the offering plate by SUNDAY, DECEMBER 4 (the date of the Annual Meeting). THANKS for showing your appreciation for our small and hard-working staff.

*www.vibrantfaith.org Five Principles for Passing on Faith 1. Faith is formed by the power of the Holy Spirit through personal trusted relationships—often in

our own homes. 2. The church is a living partnership between the ministry of the congregation and ministry of the home. 3. Where Christ is present in faith, the home is church, too. 4. Faith is caught more than it is taught. 5. If we want Christian children and youth, we need Christian adults.

The Messenger Page 3

UPCOMING EVENTS

NEWS from Lutheran Campus MinistryNEWS from Lutheran Campus MinistryNEWS from Lutheran Campus MinistryNEWS from Lutheran Campus Ministry

Please pray for students, faculty and staff as the semester comes to a close this month. Consider giving a Christmas or year-end gift to Lutheran Campus Ministry in honor of someone you love. Your gifts provide opportunities for students to experience a faith community, worship, Bible studies, service, retreats and more. For more infor-mation about Lutheran Episcopal Campus Ministry at University of Northern Colorado contact Pastor Deb Abbott at lcm.unco@gmail.com. For Lutheran Campus Ministry at Colorado State University contact Pastor Paul Judson at pastor@lcmcsu.org. Thank you for your sup-port!

P.S. King of Glory provides a meal once a month for LCM-CSU. The Lutheran Campus Ministry Team is in need of additional volunteers to provide dinner for 20-25 people on Dec. 11. If you are interest-ed in helping with this ministry, please contact Jan DesJardin.

Christmas Giving TreeChristmas Giving TreeChristmas Giving TreeChristmas Giving Tree

King of Glory is again be participating in the Larimer County Dept. of Human Services - Children, Youth and Family Division “Giving Tree” program. For the

last several years KOG has provided more Christmas gifts for needy children in this particular program than any other organization in all of Larimer County! We will continue this tradition with names available for choosing starting this weekend. Find a tag for a child on the bulletin board in the concourse. Gifts will need to be gift bagged or wrapped, labeled, and under the Giving Tree by Sunday, December 11. Please sign for your person so we know who has which child. Suggested spending limit is $50 per child. Thank you for bringing a bit of sunshine into the lives of these children!

King of Glory will again be designating its Thanksgiving Offering for KidsPak this year. Remember hungry children this Thanksgiving and donate to KidsPak! We accept cash, checks (made out to King of Glory with KidsPak in the memo line), and on-line gifts through our VAN-CO account. If you do not already have an online account, just use the QR Code below and your smartphone reader app to make a one-time dona-

tion to “Special Appeals Dona-tions — KidsPak Thanksgiving Offering.” Contributions can be made anytime. Thank you!

Volunteer at FoCo Café November 28Volunteer at FoCo Café November 28Volunteer at FoCo Café November 28Volunteer at FoCo Café November 28

FoCo Café provides meals to people regardless

of their ability to pay. If you would like to help at the Café, please sign up in the church con-course. We are in need of 2 people to help from 3:00-5:00PM on Monday, November 28.

Emergency Shelter for Homeless GuestsEmergency Shelter for Homeless GuestsEmergency Shelter for Homeless GuestsEmergency Shelter for Homeless Guests December 18December 18December 18December 18----25252525

‘And (Mary) gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.’ (Luke 2:7) Even Mary and Joseph found emergency shelter so that the infant Jesus could be cared for the night He was born. How fitting it is that we always open our doors to those who need shelter and warmth the week of Christmas. This year, like last, we’ll be creating Christmas gift bags for our guests. Watch the worship bulletin and you’ll have a chance to decorate bags, buy socks and fruit and cover them in prayers. May God bless our homeless guests, who won’t be homeless the week of Christmas!

JOE’S CORNER - FAITH FORMATION

Page 4 Email: office@aplace2grow.org

BRIDGE MINISTRIES

Bridge Ministry Christmas Social To Candlelight Dinner Theatre

Saturday December 10th - RSVP Needed!

We have an opportunity to attend the Candlelight Dinner Theater Matinee performance on Saturday

December 10 of "It’s a Wonderful Life.” As you can imagine the show is popular and selling out quick-ly. 20 seats have been set aside for us to sit as a group --- We still have seating available at our table. Consid-

er bringing a guest as a Christmas gift! We will car pool from the Church to

Johnstown. Price per person, which includes a meal, is $55.25. Your reply is requested to reserve a place at our table. Call Len Koch at (970) 988-3644!

Wednesday December 21 is Blue Christmas at Zion Church. (Holidays difficult? Maybe you are grieving a loved one. Or the holiday brings up unwanted memories of tough times. Not all of us are singing, “Joy to the

World.” This worship is for you. Pr. Ruth Ann preaching) Bridge Library –Books of Wisdom & Faith Do you have books that tell of Wisdom and Faith? Cathy Simmering calls these books “the kind you live in!” If so consider making them available for other members to read. A bookcase is available in the Bridge Coffee shop (Classroom B) for you to make books available and select a book to read. Please write your name in the front of books placed in the library.

Hello King of Glory!

Intergenerational Advent Kick-off Help kick of the Advent season on November 27 with the Intergenera-tional event at King of Glory. Both Zion and KOG will be doing the

same activities on the same days at both churches! We’ll make & decorate an Advent Wreath. Plus we’ll help you keep Advent days!. Show up to join in com-munity as the Loveland Lutheran Faith Formation (L2F2). Activities will be in the Fellowship Room be-tween services! . Email joe@aplace2grow.org with any questions.

First Bible Milestone- If you are in 3rd-8th grade and have never received your first bible, please consider taking our First Bible class on December 7 at 7PM. It will be a fun time of exploring God’s word and learning to how to navigate your bible.

We will also have a Milestone ceremony during the 8:30AM service on December 11 in which you will receive your new Bibles. Please talk to Joe if you are interested in coming to the class.

Middle School Christmas Party! If you are a middle schooler from King of Glory or Zion, please come and en-joy a Christmas party in the Youth

Room on December 10th at 7:00PM. There will be food, games, and a White Elephant Gift Exchange, so please bring a silly gift to give away. Hope to see you there! RSVP by emailing Joe at joe@aplace2grow.org. Children’s Christmas Program—December 18 at 9:45AM Come and see “The Mysterious Star!” “After hearing the Christmas story, Jamie wants to see the new star for herself. Her father tells her that she "will find the star but not in the sky." The next morning, Jamie decides to take a long walk to see if she can, indeed, find the bright star. Join the KOG children and adults as they present THE MYSTERI-OUS STAR to see Jamie's discoveries. This beautiful children's story provides every-day meaning to our blessed Christmas story.

Considering something special this year?Considering something special this year?Considering something special this year?Considering something special this year?

With warm November temperatures breaking records, it is difficult believing we are only a few short days away from Thanksgiving and nearing the end of another calendar year. But it remains inevitable many will soon be planning and organizing for another “taxing” experience. Okay, we both know that is a poor attempt at humor but we may as well attempt to make it as painless as it can be. Perhaps it may be beneficial this year for some of you to consider another tax deductible contribution to your congregation or a special ministry within the church such as the KOG Mission Endowment Fund. We assume most senior members are familiar with the term “QCD” as it relates to IRAs. It should not be confused with QCD or quantum chromodynamics, a term often bantered around by theoretical physicists. The IRA - QCD or IRA Qualified Charitable Distribution is undoubtedly much easier to understand as it simply allows a person 59 ½ years of age or older the opportunity to directly transfer a portion of an IRA to a charitable organization without having it included in your taxable income. It may be particularly beneficial if you take a standard deduction rather than itemize deductions. If you are 70 ½ and taking required minimum distributions (MRDs), you can also do a QCD to satisfy the MRD requirement. Your particular situation may benefit you even more by doing a QCD transfer this year and please understand this option was made perma-nent by the Congress in 2016 which allows you to consider future IRA – QCDs as well. And you thought Congress didn’t do anything this past year!! Alright, enough is enough so time to get serious… King of Glory has a history of being responsive to special needs within the congregation, the church-wide or-ganization and the local community. It is time we seriously consider growing our mission endowment fund as a testimony to our faith and our desire to continue outreach beyond our time here on earth. Our gifts will stand as an example and reminder of the fact we are all here only as temporary stewards of what we have been so graciously provided and we are forever understanding and grateful. Whether you are eligible to make a gift using an IRA – QCD transfer or not, we hope you will consider, as part of your year-end plan, making a special gift of any amount to the KOG Mission Endowment Fund this year. Thank you! If you would like to visit with someone about what might work for you or to simply share what you would like to accomplish through any type of gift to ministry, please feel free to contact Pastor Ruth Ann, the office or any of the endowment committee members listed below and they will connect you with a resource person to assist you. Endowment Committee members: Joyce Bosse- joycebosse@aol.com; Sharin Eggleston -sharineggleston@gmail.com; Darwyn Kietzmann- darwynk@yahoo.com; Roger Knuth- rogerknuth@gmail.com; Pastor Ruth Ann -Ruthann@aplace2grow.org; Ted Schmidt ted@langspeakbookcompany.com The examples and information provided in this article are for illustrative and educational purposes only and should not be consid-ered tax or legal advice. Please consult with your tax or legal advisor about proceeding with your gift plan.

www.aplace2grow.org Page 5

ENDOWMENT NEWS

Christmas Bazaar UpdateChristmas Bazaar UpdateChristmas Bazaar UpdateChristmas Bazaar Update

The 2016 Christmas Bazaar was a great success! We had 60 tables of goods committed to the event. Totals are not complete, but we are well on our way to matching last year, and our parking lot was full all

day! Many thanks go to the team that planned this event over the past year, as well as to all the crafters, basket makers, bakers, food prep crew, set up and clean up volun-teers and shoppers for their support of this fundraiser! We again received enthusiastic and positive response from our vendors and the community. All church proceeds will be given to House of Neighborly Service.

Page 6 King of Glory Lutheran Church, ELCA

STUDIES & GROUP NEWS

The next Messenger Deadline is December 15 �����

Note: This is a different deadline than usual!

Sonrisers Sonrisers Sonrisers Sonrisers

The men’s theological book study group meets at 7:00AM year-round every Thursday morning at Perkins on Eisenhower. For more information or the current book title, please contact Bill McDivitt (970-669-4090).

New members are welcome!

Pastor’s Bible StudiesPastor’s Bible StudiesPastor’s Bible StudiesPastor’s Bible Studies

* Thursday Morning Bible Study meets each week at 9:30AM. This fun group mixes books with studying the Biblical texts. Led by Pastor Ruth Ann. No need to sign up.

Please join us! * Sunday Morning Adult Faith Formation for Advent and December—9:40AM

November 27: Intergenerational Advent Kick-off: Join all ages in the Fellowship Room to learn how to keep Advent in your home this year! We’ll make a craft and be blessed by being together! December 4: Annual Meeting: We gather as church to affirm the 2017 budget and celebrate ministry! (Centrum) December 18: Be a faith former and support our chil-dren, youth , and adults as they present a Christmas program. 9:45AM (Centrum)

Prayer Shawl Team Prayer Shawl Team Prayer Shawl Team Prayer Shawl Team

Prayer Shawl will be meeting on December 5 at 1:00PM in

the church library. All levels of knitting and crocheting are welcome! If you have questions, please contact Barb Brackin-Bartel. (970-213-3256)

Peace Circle Christmas LuncheonPeace Circle Christmas LuncheonPeace Circle Christmas LuncheonPeace Circle Christmas Luncheon Peace Circle will meet at Noon on December 14 in the church Fellowship

Room for a Christmas Luncheon , fellowship, and

1:00PM Bible study. Please bring a dish to share. All ladies welcome. Please RSVP to our hostesses Barb (213-3256) or Joyce 646-5612.

Glory Readers Book ClubGlory Readers Book ClubGlory Readers Book ClubGlory Readers Book Club

Glory Readers will meet on Monday, Dec. 22 at 12:00PM in the church library. The book we are reading for December is The Miracle at Speedy Motors –Book 9 by Alexander McCall Smith. For more information

contact Barb Brackin-Bartel (970-213-3256) New members are always welcome, please join us!

Recommended Recommended Recommended Recommended

Monthly Donations for HNSMonthly Donations for HNSMonthly Donations for HNSMonthly Donations for HNS

House of Neighborly Services Request of the month (December—flour & baking mixes!) Please drop off your donations in the “House”

in the Octagon. Thank you!

The Messenger Page 7

FINANCIALS EXTRAS

2016 Church Council2016 Church Council2016 Church Council2016 Church Council

Officers Bob Bower,

President Scott Whitney, Vice-President

Carol McDivitt, Treasurer Leo Salazar, Secretary

Members at Large Tom Alpert Len Koch

Karen Miller Ted Schmidt

Financial Update through October 31, 2016Financial Update through October 31, 2016Financial Update through October 31, 2016Financial Update through October 31, 2016

Poinsettias for Christmas EvePoinsettias for Christmas EvePoinsettias for Christmas EvePoinsettias for Christmas Eve

Coming soon—you will have the opportunity to purchase RED poinsettias to decorate our church on Christmas Eve. The flowers may be taken home after the last worship service that evening or on Christmas Sunday. Orders with payment will need to be in by December 11.

King of Glory Lutheran Church

2919 N. Wilson Avenue

Loveland, CO 80538-2461

Sermon on the web:

www.aplace2grow.org

The MessengerThe MessengerThe MessengerThe Messenger

“As God’s People, Graced by Differences, Nurtured by the Spirit,

and Gi�ed to Serve, We Invite and Welcome All to Grow in Faith.”

Worship Schedule Saturday —5:30PM

Sunday — 8:30AM & 10:45AM Education Hour—9:40AM

Nov. 27—1st Sunday of Advent—Advent Kickoff Celebration

Dec. 4—Annual Congregational Meeting @ 9:40AM

Dec. 7 & 14—Holden Evening Prayer @ 6:30PM

Dec. 11—Deadline for Giving Tree Gifts

Dec. 18—Children’s Christmas Program @ 9:45AM

Dec. 18-25—Emergency Homeless Shelter

Dec. 24Dec. 24Dec. 24Dec. 24————Christmas Eve Worship @ 4, 7, & 10PMChristmas Eve Worship @ 4, 7, & 10PMChristmas Eve Worship @ 4, 7, & 10PMChristmas Eve Worship @ 4, 7, & 10PM

Dec. 25—Christmas Day Worship @ 10:00AM (one service)

Dec. 31—New Year’s Eve—No Saturday worship

Jan. 1, 2017—New Year’s Day Worship @ 10:00AM (one service)