Christ the King Lutheran Church “Where We Are About God’s Grace For God’s People”

Special points of interest:

Ecumenical Prayer Ser-vice, Thursday, January 18th, 5:30 p.m.

First Communion Study Starting Soon

Christian Education Opportunities Scheduled

Stewardship Focus—Retirement Planning

Pastor’s Corner 2-3

Youth News 4

Hope at the Inn Update

5

Offerings & Attend-ance

6

Retirement Planning

7

Those Who Serve 10

Calendar 11

Inside this issue:

January 2018

Ecumenical Prayer Service Over the years, Pregnancy Services of Delta County has provid-ed a wonderful witness to the gift and preciousness of human life and also they have provided care for many families – men, women, and children – in crisis pregnancy situations. Christ the King has been a supporter of this ministry for years and will continue to do so in the future. This month Christ the King will be co-hosting an ecumenical pro-life service of prayer with the Pregnancy Ser-vices of Delta County and invite you to show your support and lift up the importance of some of the most vulnerable people in our country: The unborn. On Thursday, January 18th the service of prayer will begin at 5:30 PM and there will be time for fellowship both before, starting at 5 PM, and after.

Psalm 139:13-14 “For it was you who formed my inward parts;

you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made…”

Senior Luncheon Reservations are now being taken for the Senior’s Luncheon which will be held on Tuesday, January 9, 12:00 noon. The menu will include Meatloaf, Baked Potato, Green Beans, Cottage Cheese Salad, Dinner Roll, Beverage and Dessert. The cost is $7. Sign the back of your worship response card or call the church office to make a reservation. Do you like to cook? Would you be willing to serve a luncheon for approximately 30 people? Additional cooks are needed to help with the monthly Senior Luncheons. Check with Arlene if interested or would like more information.

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Matthew 2:10-11 – “When [the Magi] saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt

down and paid him homage. On the weekend of January 6th/7th we will be celebrating what is called “Epiphany,” the day in which the Magi – bearing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh – visit the young Je-sus. In case you haven’t noticed, the Magi have been missing from the sanctuary crèche precisely because of this rea-son. They weren’t there when Jesus was born, but came to visit sometime after, perhaps up to two years after the birth of Jesus. The reason this might be so is because of the edict the wicked Herod gave: “he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethle-hem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men” (Matthew 2:17). So the Magi (often called the “Wise men”) could have come up to 2 years af-ter Jesus’ birth OR Herod simply issued his edict to slaughter the Bethlehem children, up-ping the range to 2 years old to ensure any young boy wouldn’t make it to usurp his throne as “king” of Judea. When we use the word “epiphany,” we often use it in the context of having a sudden, new insight into something, a revelatory moment where we receive clarity, like a new light shin-ing in our darkness of uncertainty. We have an epiphany of how to fix the car or pay for the repair, of how to manage our personal budget better, of how to talk to our friend of family member about something they are struggling with, and so on. That sudden, new insight is kind of a part of how the Bible uses “epiphany”

but there’s also something else, a deeper meaning, attached to it: An “epiphany” is a physical or optical (seeing) or an aural (hearing) manifestation – an appearance – of the divine Presence of God. Here are some ex-amples: Exodus 3:2 – “…the angel of the Lord appeared (epiphany) to him in flames of fire from within a bush.” 1 Kings 19:12-13 – “…after the fire a sound of sheer silence. When Elijah heard it, he

wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 1 Timothy 6:14 – “…keep the command-ment unstained and free from reproach un-til the appearing

(epiphany) of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Titus 2:13 – “…we wait for the blessed hope--the appearing (epiphany) of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ…” We celebrate the Epiphany of God becoming man in Jesus. The great big God who made galaxies, stars, and planets became small in Jesus Christ. The incomprehensible majesty of God became comprehensible as Jesus lived, breathed, walked and talked for all too see yet, as John 1:10 reminds us, “He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him.” The Magi – astrologers – “wise men” from the East, knew something was going on and followed the signs to the manifestation of God in Jesus Christ.

Pastor’s Corner

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Thanks to everyone who made Advent and Christmas the special time of year it is! +Thanks to everyone who bought and brought gifts for the “Operation Christmas Family”! +Thanks to everyone who wrapped presents for “Operation Christmas Family”! +Thanks to all our Confirmation students who served on Advent Wednesdays and their families for bringing goodies to share for fellowship time! +Thanks to everyone who sung in our Advent/Christmas choir: You sounded so wonderful! +Thanks to Beth, our wonderful organist/pianist, who helped make all that music possible! +Thanks to Carrie, Beth, Roland, Sandy, Kim H., Kim B. Laurie, Susie, the Pascoe family, the Burroughs family, and the many others who helped make our Sunday School Christmas program so amazing – Jesus is indeed our greatest super Hero! +Thanks to everyone who helped serve on Christmas Eve & Christmas Day – Assisting minis-ters, acolytes, altar guild, ushers, counters, readers and communion assistants – lots of hands on deck!

Their lives were no doubt forever changed. May we continue to be absolutely blown away by the Epiphany of God in His Son. He was born to bring salvation and bring us back into fellowship with God. Your brother in Christ, Pastor Chris

Advent and Christmas Eve “Thank Yous”

Pastor’s Corner Continued

The Worship and Music committee invites you to come and help take down and put away our Advent and Christmas decorations for the year. Sadly, we cannot leave decorations up all year (which some peo-ple might do!) though we know the sanctuary is beautiful with all those lights and ornaments. Please join us on Monday, January 8th beginning at 11 AM to help “undecorate” from the holidays and know also this: We’ll feed you lunch too. Thanks in advance!

“Undecorating” from Advent/Christmas

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Faith Formation: Confirmation

+Be sure to…Turn in Sermon Notes, Finish the 10 Commandment Booklet, and memorize your Small Catechism! +Confirmation Classes begin again on Sunday, January 7th @ 9 AM +Sunday, January 28th – Houston Mission Trip Meeting

EVERYONE going is REQUIRED to attend +Saturday evening, January 20th – Chili Dinner and Trivia FUNdraiser! + Sunday, February 25th – Northern Great Lakes Synod Annual MARKED! Event Location: First Lutheran Church – Gladstone, MI from 4 PM to 7 PM

It’s going to cost about $1000 per student/adult to go to Houston for the ELCA Youth Gath-ering. This makes fundraising plans throughout the year challenging and all the more im-portant. Our December baked potato dinner helped raise $470 for our trip to Houston - thanks to everyone who came in support, ate and were filled, and gave generously! This month, on Saturday January 20th after worship, we’re planning a Chili Dinner and triv-ia fundraiser – some more good comfort food and fun times in the midst of the cold winter. Also, the Mission Trip students will be taking orders at the end of January for subs for the weekend of February 3rd and 4th. Fresh subs – ham, turkey, salami, etc. – will be made for you to enjoy on Super Bowl Sunday. Get one for yourself or a few for the whole party! Stay tuned for future FUNdraising nights and events in 2018: Casserole sales, a Texas BBQ, subs, Mexican food night, and who knows what else! Thanks in advance for your generosity and helping our youth make this dream possible!

Mission Trip Fundraisers

Baptized Into The Faith

On Sunday, December 24th Kane Xavier Rogers was made a child of God as he was received by way of the Sacrament of Baptism. His parents are Kelly & Lyndsey Rogers. Sponsors for Kane are Jaena Manson & Sam La-Marche .

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It was a challenge but well worth it! Christ the King opened their doors during the Christmas week and was the Inn for those in

need. During this time of cel-ebration of the birth of the Christ Child, we can also cel-ebrate that we

welcomed those who needed to experience some of the love and hospitality displayed by the gift of Jesus. It would not have been pos-sible without the support, gifts and prayers of so many in our church community. THANK YOU to all who gave of their time and treasure! Christ the King will again open their doors in March for a week of serv-ing those who are homeless – watch for more information about this and find a way to help this important program. Roland Jacobson and Nancy Norberg are the coordinators of the program and would be glad to answer any questions about the program and to give you suggestions as to how you can be involved. Happy and Blessed New Year to everyone.

Hope at the Inn Readings for January

January 7th—The Epiphany Of Our Lord Isaiah 60:1-6; Ps. 72:1-7, 10-14; Ephesians 3:1-12; Matthew 2:1-12 January 14—The 2nd Sunday of Epiphany 1 Samuel 3:1-20; Ps. 139:1-6, 13-18; 1 Cor. 6:12-20; John 1:43-51 January 21—The 3rd Sunday of Epiphany Jonah 3:1-5, 10; Ps. 62:5-12; 1 Cor. 7:29-31; Mark 1:14-20 January 28—The 4th Sunday of Epiphany Deut. 18:15-20; Ps. 111; 1 Cor. 8:1-13; Mark 1:21-28

Baptized Third Grade students at Christ the King have been re-ceiving their First Communion during Maundy Thursday in Holy Week. We continue that important ministry and tradition. Parents/Guardians are encouraged to sign up their students for First Com-munion instruction which will begin in late February. We will meet for four (4) Sundays in February and March to prepare our students for the precious gift of Christ’s body and blood in the bread and wine of Holy Communion. First Communion class begins Sunday, Febru-ary 25th after worship. First Communicants will be welcomed to the Lord’s Table on Maundy Thursday, March 29th.

First Communion Instruction

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Date 5 P.M. 10:30 Total S.S. Confirmation December 2/ 3 50 76 126 30 8 December 9/10 60 75 135 28 11 December 16/17 51 85 136 30 11 December 23/24 54 94 148 — — December 24 181 (4:00) 77 (8:00) 258 December 30/31 41 41 82 — __ Average attendance for December: 125

December 3 $4,814.19 December 10 $2,844.83 December 17 $3,528.98 December 24 $6,332.94 December 31 $6,975.83 Year-To-Date Income: $178,339,.73 Year-To-Date Needed: $176,680.00 Difference: $1,659.73

Offerings & Worship Attendance For December

Offerings For December

If you need a convenient way to make recurring contributions or plan to make an additional gift out of the generosity of your heart, we encourage you to check out our electronic giving options. As the pace of life slows down after the holidays, as new priorities are made for the New Year, you may find electronic giving a most welcome and easy way to make contributions to support the work and mission of Jesus Christ through our church. To set up a recurring giving schedule, visit us online at www.ctk-escanaba.org and locate the Online Giving button on the right side of the webpage. Thank you for your generosity and support of God’s work through us!

Thankfulness: An Online Opportunity to Give

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Stewardship Ministry

Faithful Stewardship: Ways to Give and Make a Difference Retirement Plans can lead to significant income taxes for heirs of a retiree. The fact is,

often retirees do not draw installments (called annuitiz-ing) from their IRAs or other retirement plans. This leads to substantial retirement plans passing at death to the named beneficiaries. These heirs will face ordinary in-come taxes at their frequently high income tax brackets. Changing the retirement plan beneficiary designation to

make Christ the King or an ELCA ministry the beneficiary of a portion of the retirement plan provides the dual benefit of being a gfit to ministry that also avoids income taxation on the portion of the retirement plan proceeds given to ministry. Utilization of a remainder trust may provide income to heirs, spread out the taxable income and ultimately provide a gift to minis-try. Think about the needs of your heirs and talk to a gift planner in our synod about whether a portion of your qualified retirement plan or IRA should be given to Christ the King or an ELCA ministry at your death.

Offering Talk Focus for January: The Sacraments

Romans 6:4 – “…we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.” 1 Corinthians 11:26 – “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”

This month we give thanks to God for what we call the “means of grace” – the physical ways in which the Lord be-stows his favor and grace upon us through the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. May our offerings, some of which are used to purchase wine and bread, candles and oil, certificates for baptism, First Communion, and confirmation, re-mind us of the Lord’s never failing care for His church and His people through the sacred gifts of the Sacraments.

Gratitude is our ability to see the grace of God, morning by morning, no matter what else

greets us in the course of the day!

2018 AM Bible Study: Gospel of John This month we begin our next round of diving into the sacred Scrip-tures. We will be patiently walking through the Gospel of John this year, going step by step through a dense, symbolic, yet also easy to under-stand and theologically rich book which recounts the glory of Jesus Christ in his incarnation, through his teaching ministry, through his signs/miracles, and the fulfillment of the Father’s redemptive plan through His Son’s death and resurrection. Here’s what we’re covering and when this month: January 10th – John 1:1-18 Prologue and New Creation January 24th – John 1:19-34 John the Baptist and Key Questions January 31st – John 1:35-51 First Disciples Called

Thursday Theology – 2017/2018 Winter Focus: Formula of Concord

We continue our 7 month focus on the Formula of Concord where we’ve been looking at some of the controversies surrounding Lutheranism after Luther died, and how the church worked together to come to important theological consensus which empowered the church for her mis-sion, public teaching, worship, and proclamation. We meet in the library at 11:30 AM on the fol-lowing Thursdays in January: January 11th – Article Five: Law and Gospel January 25th – Article Six: Third Use of God’s Law

One of the great treasures of our synod and conference of churches in Delta County is Lay School. Over the years, students have gathered from around our conference; brothers and sisters in Christ from Escanaba, Gladstone, Stonington, Trenary, Rapid River, and anywhere in between. They gather to dive deeper into their life of faith with God, covering some of the significant tenets of our faith, what the Bible means, and the joyful struggle to communicate those timeless truths. Lay School has been on hiatus for a se-mester and might be again this Spring. Might the Lord be

calling you to Lay School in the future? Let us know!

Lay School For Mission

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January 3: Alyssa Gafner, Ilene Solis January 6: Courtney Bowden January 13: Isabelle Braun, Karen Dillabough January 14: Linda Gafner January 15: Alexis Scheuren January 16: Kathy Gartland January 17: Jenna Smith January 19: John Herlik, Bud Irving, Jeremy Murray January 23: Marci Villaneuve January 25: Barbara Dahlgren January 26: Tara Braun, Mary Jo Johnson January 27: Charles Clark, Kurt Peterson January 29: Robert Smith January 30: John Anderson January 31: Bob Farrell, David Stasewich

Let Us Pray For those Celebrating Birthdays On:

I pray your Christmas season has been blessed with celebrating the birth of Jesus. We have such great fellowship especially at this time. Looking forward to a new year at Christ the King Church. God Bless you and your families in 2018. Mary Jo Johnson/Council President.

Dear Friends In Christ

2018 Offering Envelopes There are still a num-ber of offering envelopes in the church narthex that have gone unclaimed. Help us save on postage by picking yours up as well as a friends or family member. Thanks!

Elmer’s Charity Points Thank you to all who have donated their Elmer’s points to Christ the King’s account at Elmer’s County Market. Because of your generosity we accumulated enough points to cover the meal costs for our turn at serving the Bay Campus meal this past December. If you have not done this in the past and would like to you simply have to direct the cashier to transfer your designated points to our account. Again, thank you. We serve a meal at Bay twice a year and it was so nice not having to take the funds from our account.

Flowers & Newsletter Sign Up If you would like to provide the altar flowers or the cost of printing the monthly newsletter we invite you to sign up on the chart in the narthex. The flowers per week are $24 and the newsletter is $35.

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Readers

January 6/ 7—5:00 Lin VanEffen 10:30 Lance Lindstrom January 13/14— 5:00 Lance Lindstrom 10:30 Carrie Boudreau January 20/21— 5:00 Dawn Martin 10:30 Marlene Raeder January 27/28—5:00 Nancy K. Norberg 10:30 Fern Hedman Acolytes January 6/ 7—5:00 Elijah Berthaume 10:30 Brett Schlenvogt January 13/14— 5:00 Ian Burroughs 10:30 Colton Carter January 20/21— 5:00 Camree Bonifas 10:30 Brett Boudreau January 27/28—5:00 Elizabeth Brandel 10:30 Evan Burrough Altar Guild January 6/ 7— Lin & Bob VanEffen & Judy Anderson January 13/14— Laverne Picard & Connie Schmidt January 20/21— Diane & Bill Mitchell & Marlene & Tom Raeder January 27/28— Sandy Jacobson & Judy Anderson Assisting Minister

January 6/ 7—5:00 Bob VanEffen 10:30 Lance Lindstrom January 13/14— 5:00 Lance Lindstrom 10:30 Roland Jacobson January 20/21— 5:00 Mary Jo Johnson 10:30 Connie Schmidt January 27/28—5:00 Nancy K. Norberg 10:30 Lance Lindstrom

Communion Assistants January 6/ 7—5:00 Bob VanEffen 10:30 Lance Lindstrom & Pat Johnson January 13/14— 5:00 Lance Lindstrom 10:30 Roland & Sandy Jacobson January 20/21— 5:00 Mary Jo Johnson 10:30 Leigh & Connie Schmidt January 27/28—5:00 Nancy K. Norberg 10:30 Lance Lindstrom

Those Who Serve

2018 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 3

6:00 Executive Committee Meets

4

10:00 Coffee With The Staff

5 6

5:00 Communion Service

7

9:00 Faith Formation 9:30 Coffee Hour 10:30 Communion Service 12:00 Sabbatical Committee Meets

8

10:00 Worship & Music Meeting 11:00 Undecorating the Church

9

12:00 Senior Luncheon 1:00 Joy Book Club 7:30 Dartball

10

9:00 Quilting 9:30 Bible Study 10:45 Parish Life Committee Meets 12:00 Budget Committee Meets

11

10:00 Coffee With The Staff 11:00 Thursday Theology 6:15 Church Council Meeting

12 13

5:00 Communion Service

14

9:00 Faith Formation 9:30 Coffee Hour 10:30 Communion Service

15 16

1:00 Joy Book Club 7:30 Dartball

17

9:00 Quilting

18

10:00 Coffee With The Staff 5:30 Prayer Service

19 20

5:00 Communion Service 6:00 Chili Fundraiser with Trivia to Follow

21

9:00 Faith Formation 9:30 Coffee Hour 10:30 Communion Service

22 23

1:00 Joy Book Club 7:30 Dartball

24

9:00 Quilting 9:30 Bible Study

25

10:00 Coffee With The Staff 11:30 Thursday Theology

26 27

5:00 Communion Service

28

9:00 Faith Formation 9:30 Coffee Hour 10:30 Communion Service 12:00 Mission Trip Meeting

29 30

1:00 Joy Book Club 7:30 Dartball

31

9:00 Quilting 9:30 Bible Study

Annual Congregational Reports

are due in the office by Thursday, January 18th

1230 North 18th Street Escanaba, Michigan 49829

CHURCH OFFICE ………………………..…………………………………..…………….…786-7400 PASTOR Rev. Chris Johnson…………………………………………………………………………….786-7988 e-mail address: pastorchris.ctk@gmail.com CHURCH OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR Arlene Cody………………………………………………………………………….………....786-5949 e-mail address: c.lutheran@att.net Website: www.ctk-escanaba.org WORSHIP SCHEDULE: Saturday—5:00 p.m. Worship Sunday— 9:00 a.m. Youth Faith Formation; 9:30 a.m. Coffee Hour; 10:30 Worship Holy Communion is celebrated at every Saturday and Sunday service. At the 10:30 a.m. service communion will be distributed using continuous communion.

Address Service Requested Phone: (906) 786-7400

E-mail: c.lutheran@att.net

KING’S HERALD January 2018

We’re on the Web!www.ctk-escanaba.org

This issue of the King’s Herald is given in loving memory of Sandy Pakull by Mary Jo Johnson