“LIGHT FROM THE HEIGHTS”

Arlington Hills Lutheran Church

1115 Greenbrier St.

St. Paul, MN 55106

651-771-5501

December 2017 www.ahlc-stp.org

Christmas Eve Worship Services

9:30 a.m. Worship Service with Holy Communion

3:30 p.m. Candlelight Worship Service

10:00 p.m. Candlelight Worship Service

Christmas Day Worship Service 10:00 a.m.

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Joy to the World, the Lord is Come!

A hundred years ago Frederick Nietzsche said that God was dead. He was not suggesting that the

Almighty had ceased to exist, just that God did not matter anymore. It is difficult to see God’s grace in an an-

gry world. It is hard to believe in a benevolent God when there is so much violence and wrong. Even if God

exists, it seems God does not have much to do with our daily struggles.

And so life is what we make it. The only thing that really matters is doing the best we can. God be-

comes a nice fairy tale we tell our children, but has no bearing on real life. So it seemed in Galilee twenty-one

centuries ago.

Then the angel Gabriel visited a young girl in an out-of-the-way town and said, “Behold, you will

conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will call his name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called

the Son of the Most High… and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

The rest is history, “His story” of God so loving the world.

Merry Christmas!

Pastor Chris

Interim Update Dec. 2017

The Ministry Site Profile, the congregation’s résumé, is in its first draft. This is the document that will

inform and sway candidates for the pastor position. We still need to discover further the ministry opportunities

opening to us and what changes may be occurring in our neighborhood. To do that, the Strategic Planning

Committee is using a demographic tool supplied by the St. Paul Area Synod called MissionInsite. As we re-

ceive results, we will be bringing the to the congregation.

Our church constitution needs updating, mostly small changes to bring into compliance with the ELCA

model constitution. The task force working on the constitution hopes to have it presented to the congregation

at the upcoming annual meeting for approval, with ratification at the annual meeting in 2019.

The Council is recruiting for the Call Committee. If you are interested in what the Call Committee is

about or are thinking about serving, a brief description of the committee is available in the church office.

Your church staff are faithful to our Lord and dedicated to this church. I am finding it very easy to

work with them. I have great confidence in them and rely on their wisdom. Arlington Hills is tremendously

blessed to have such sound staff. This is by no accident, but by careful leadership over the years. Please thank

your church staff whenever you have a chance.

Pastor Chris

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One Question, Two Spiritual Giants, Five Days

Please read Philippians 4: 4 - 7, James 1: 2 - 4, I Thessalonians 5, 12 - 22 THE BOOK OF JOY is Douglas Abrams' record of five days of conversations with Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama. There are very brief biographies of these men on pages 353 and 354. Additional information appears throughout the book. The three men met in the Dalai Lama's residence in India. The agenda of their meeting was "How do we find joy in the face of life's inevitable suffering?" Their first conclusion, stated on page 3, was "Joy and happiness are not identical. Happiness depends on what happens around us. joy is created within us." In spite of this distinction joy and happiness are used synonymously many times throughout the book. The passage from I Thessalonians could be a summary of the discussions and conclusions of these men. Although the passages from Philippians and James are not quoted in the book they could be, because they summarize the first day's discussions (pages 27 - 78). Pages 73 and 74 contain a list of 15 words that identify feelings associated with joy. Each is accompanied by a brief explanation. One of those words is wonder, which is the result of observing something that was astonishing and admirable. Another word from the list is radiance, which refers to joy resulting from well being. Can you thin of other kinds of joy? Should we try to develop and practice all of these feelings that are listed? Is there one that should be avoided? Pages 81 through 88 are devoted to a comments about obstacles to joy. The Dalai Lama observed that much of our unhappiness occurs because of inappropriate reactions to events in our lives. Mental and physical pain are com-pared. How is the ocean a picture of appropriate reactions to serious problems. An interesting answer appears on pages 84 and 85. The subject of the discussions during the fourth and fifth days of the meeting as The Eight Pillars of Joy. According to the Dalai Lama: "Since we create most of our suffering, we should be able to create more joy. Clenching your teeth in an effort to be joyful isn't effective, our hearts and minds must be filled with positive thoughts and feelings" (page 193) The eight pillars are perspective, humility, humor, acceptance, forgiveness, gratitude, compassion and generos-ity. A chapter of 5 to 8 pages is devoted to each of them. These are quotations from the chapter about generosity (pages 263 - 275): "Every religious tradition prescribes generosity and has a term for it, the Christian expression is char-ity. Generosity is so important that areas in our brains become more active when we give than when we receive. Gener-osity is about giving time as well as money or material objects. To improve the future of all humans, teaching of com-passion and generosity must be included in formal education.". The final conclusion of these men is "Everyone is responsible for creating a happier world." Pages 306 through 348 con-tain descriptions of many practical ways to become more joyful. In a few days we'll be singing JOY TO THE WORLD, hymn 267 in the red hymnal. Is that hymn consistent with THE BOOK OF JOY? As this article was being finished the November, 2017 issue of NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC arrived. It contains an article about happiness. Do its conclusions agree with, disagree with or supplement those in THE BOOK OF JOY? The publications mentioned in this article are available in the book case near the church office door. Please return them promptly when you have finished reading them. Others will want to read them too. Thanks. Clair

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Arlington Hills Church— "Thank you so very much for sponsoring Amy and Adams visit to my house recently. They per-formed such wonderful music for me and my guest, Bubby Schaber. We enjoyed singing along and also learning about the backgrounds of some of the composers and songs. it was a truly enjoyable afternoon! It was much appreciated! Shirley Johnson"

Dear Friends,

Thank you for making my last Sunday with you so special. I felt loved and

appreciated with all your kind words and hugs. I love the Amy T. jewelry that

you gave me and will think of you all every time I wear it! Thanks also for the

cash gift which I will use on a special show or concert as you suggested. That

will be fun and will create another special memory for me of my 24 years with

you. The flowers ere beautiful both in the sanctuary and then in the reception

room. I am enjoying them at home. The cake and other treats were delicious and

so appreciated. I had a wonderful last Sunday with you all and will miss seeing

you every week. I know that our paths will cross now and then as my family

will continue to be members at AHLC. I will be asking Silvester for regular

reports.

With great appreciation,

Sharon Vicic

Dear AHLC—

Thank you for hosting our South Cluster event on Saturday October 20. The reception room at

Arlington Hills is beautiful and worked out so well for our group, Please thank the

custodian for all his help. It was good to work with you ladies from AHLC.

Sincerely,

JoAnn Hogenson ELCA SW Cluster

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FINANCIAL UPDATE

Month Amount Monthly Monthly Net Year-to-Date

2017 Received Expenses (Shortage) Net (Shortage)

October $25,869.96 $43,043.59 ($17,173.63) ($74,521.84)

November $19,297.67 $17,129.00 $2,168.67 as of 11/13/2017

Thank you for your continued support to the ministry and mission of Arlington Hills Lutheran Church.

If you are able to give a little extra, it will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Dear Arlington Hills Lutheran Church,

Thank you again so much for letting the Galilee Youth Group and me use your van.

What a blessing. Than you for raising me in the faith. Thank you for Sunday School, Confirmation

classes, camp and youth group adventures, your adult ministry, ministry to young families, and

baptizing our two babies and hosting my ordination and sponsoring us as ELCA Missionaries in

Peru. Sincerely,

Pastor Dana Nelson

January Book Club—

The book selected for January will be “The Song Poet” A Memoir of my Father

By Kaokalia Yang

They will be meeting on Monday, January 15 at 10:30 a.m. , in the Reception Room .

There will be no Book Club in December.

Alley Shoppe clean up is moving along. Restrooms, laundry room, painting and carpet have all

been completed. There is not an exact opening date yet but we are hoping January.

Strategic Planning is working on completing the Mission Site Profile. If you are inter-

ested being on the Call Committee, please pick up the requirements in the office.

Please see Mike Wiehe or anyone on the Executive Board if you are interested.

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USHERS

December 3

Ryan Henk

Dan Reed

David Lauver

Tom Brackey

December 10

Dennis and Florence

Rasmusson

December 17

Wayne

Hansen

Gerald and

Linda

McInerney

December 24

9:30

Bill Gustafson

Elaine

Rohrbach

Ryan Henk

December

25

December 31

Bill Gustafson

Elaine Rohrbach

Ryan Henk

COMMUNION

Jim Persoon

Roxanne

Larsen

Jim Persoon 9:30 a.m.

Florence

Dennis R.

Jim Persoon

LECTORS Lolita

Schaber

Jon

Helgason

Lessons

And Carols

9:30 Bev Lamb

10:00 a.m.

Pastor

Chris

Christine Anderson

GREETERS Jeanne

Beneke

Carol Hansen

Sven and

Marion

Anderson

Lolita

Schaber

&

Chris

Anderson

JoAnn Metling

and

Betty

Swanson

Jim Pavel

HOSPITALITY

Diane

Allmendinger

Cheryl

Hollman

Roxanne

Larsen and

Russ

Richards

Florence

Rasmusson

Joy Tkachuck

None

Joy Tkachuck

Roxanne Larsen

CHRISTMAS

EVE

Ushers

3:30 p.m.

Ryan Henk

10:00 p.m.

Lectors

3:30 p.m.

Mary Kowtiz

10:00 p.m.

Roxanne

Larsen

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Arlington Hills Lutheran Church Office Hours:

Monday – Thursday

9:00 a. m. – 4:00 p.m.

Friday 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Phone: 651 -771 -5501

Fax: 651-771-2898

E-Mail: www.info@ahlc-stp.org

Visit us at: www.ahlc-stp.org

Facebook

Arlington Hills Lutheran Church Staff

Ext.#

Senior Pastor Chris Hagen 17

Administrative Assistants:

Diane Allmendinger* 11

Cheryl Hollman 16

Chief Custodian: Jim Jaszczak 23

Alley Shoppe Director Pam Wiehe 12

Asst. Custodian: Indira Perez*

Organist & Choir Director: Barbara Rossow*

Handbell Director: Chuck Linderkamp*

Wedding Coordinator: Sharon Hanson*

Companion Congregation — Idegenda, Tanzania Open Door School ESL To Spread the Good News of Jesus Christ to all in word and deed.” OUR VISION: “Arlington Hills Lutheran Church Community, a Beacon for the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.”

Arlington Hills Lutheran

1115 Greenbrier Street

St. Paul, MN 55106

November 29, 2017

Non-Profit

Organization

U. S. Postage

PAID

Twin Cities, MN

Permit No. 1400 Address Service Requested