A note we received from Tom Gundlach regarding the results from this year's Crop Walk
Hi Everyone...Phil Woodbury and I have completed the final tally for Crop Walk
2008. I guess the economic times impacted our walk as it has so many in the
country. The final total is $9,723. This is significantly down from previous
years but we should be most grateful to all our sponsors and walkers for being
able to send this sum to CWS and to be able to provide a portion of this to our
local food pantries. THANK YOU!!! Next year's Walk will be on Sat. Oct. 17th
from the United Methodist Church in Peterborough. Happy Holidays to you
all....Tom
Let's plan on having a good contingent of walkers for next fall!!
Jeff P
Thought this was interesting, from my home state:
Not your traditional Christmas Story, but one to enjoy!!
Alex is in his first children's Christmas "Cantata" at St. Luke's this year. They are singing all the classics, The First Noel, O Come Emanuel, etc. He had practice tonight and on the way home he said "Mom, I just don't get that one part about the egg shells". Cheryl said "What song has anything to do with egg shells?" Alex said, "You know, 'Glory in egg shells deo'" Jesus may be the reason for the season, but children really make it shine.
I had a rare Sunday afternoon to myself today, so I decided that when I got home from church, I'd grab a book and do some reading.
I got my book and I noticed a particular spot in our small apartment where the sun was streaming in and I positioned my chair right in that spot. I often find myself craving the sunshine at this time of the year. I do get a bit down when I don't get enough of it. The scientist call it Seasonal Affected Disorder. Cheryl calls it "just being a Baumgarten".
As I sat down in the beautiful sun and felt the warmth of it on my face, I looked the window and realized that if it weren't so dirty, all of those beautiful rays of warmth would get to me all the more. But, beyond making this observation to myself, I did nothing about it. Call it being a man, call it living in an apartment, but cleaning this window just wasn't happening.
It just so happened that the book I had chosen was of a spiritual nature and it was talking about how God is always there for you, but sometimes you just don't let Him in. It came to me at that moment that He is the bright shining sun and my sins and my selfishness are the dirt on the window that keep him out. He's always there, ready to warm me up, I just need to clean my windows to let Him in.
Happy Lent.
Joe.
Here are the meeting minutes from February 14th. Download 20080214--AdventCouncilMeetingMinutes.doc
B.T.W: Has anyone seen the entry on our Blog site where you can download and listen to the last recorded sermon? Please check it out and let Joe Baumgarten know how you fared. Also, is it something you think you'd like to see continued?
http://chrishalvorson.typepad.com/advent_lutheran_church/2008/02/readings-and-se.html
Sincerely,
Joe Baumgarten
joe.baumgarten@gmail.com
The Hands that made the world and gave the sun and moon their light
are the tiny Hands of a baby born one cold December night...
The Hands that stilled the wind and tamed the fury of the sea
are the calloused Hands of a carpenter who lived in poverty...
The Hands that held the power to break the binding chains of sin
are the gentle Hands that washed the feet of tired and dusty men...
The hands that cleansed the leper, healed the blind and raised the dead
are the praying Hands of one who cried, "Not My will, but Thine instead..."
The Hands that shaped the universe and flung the stars in space
are the nail-pierced Hands of a dying man who suffered in our place...
The Hands of the Creator, Lord and King of Heaven above,
are the Savior's Hands, forever reaching out to us with love.
--B. J. Hoff