Grace Notes, December 31, 2010

Wow … Where did the year go? It seems like the years are flying by with
ever increasing speed! Just a few months ago we were starting into 2010,
now a whole year has passed and we are beginning 2011. Highlights from
last year include:

A wonderful overnight staff retreat in January. In February Salem's Youth
Group went to Youth Zone in the Wisconsin Dells, we had a great Shrove
Tuesday Cake Auction and a moving Ash Wednesday Service to begin lent.
In March the 6th, 7th, & 8th Grade Students had a retreat to Lutherdale
and we had our Midweek Lenten services and Palm Sunday worship. In April
we had our Maundy Thursday Worship (with the dedication of the 2000 pairs
of shoes our youth collected for "Share Your Soles") and our moving Good
Friday and the Easter Vigil services – and of course the wonderful Easter
Services and delicious Easter Breakfast.

In May our Softball Teams began their season and we had a visit from
Carla's cousin from Sweden, Gunilla Backstrom. In June we distributed
Salem's Summer Devotional written by Salem members (it was great), our
representatives attended our Synod Assembly, our 8th graders attended
Confirmation Camp, and we helped North Grove School celebrate a milestone
anniversary.

July saw a week of Salem's Vacation Bible School. The quiet month of
August saw a coffee hour celebration of Marie Carlson's 95th birthday!
September began our fall programming with the blessing of hands, Rally
Day, the confirmation of another class, and presentation of Bibles to
Sunday School beginners and 3rd grade students. October saw healing
services and a mission trip to Ocean Springs, Mississippi. We also had a
visit from Martin Luther and his wife, Katie at our Reformation
celebration and Heavenly Hoedown.

In November we hosted a Peder Eide concert to benefit LOVE, INC. (it was
great, by the way) and Salem members helped pack food for "Feed My
Starving Children." We had a Thanksgiving service and pie fellowship
afterward. Then we came to December and our mid-week Advent services, our
beautiful "Thrill of Hope" cantata and the children's Christmas program
"Love Came Down at Christmas" and of course our unforgettable Christmas
Eve Candlelight Worship services.

I guess that's a brief summary of the year, but it doesn't include mention
the bible studies, the hospital and homebound visits and the flower
deliveries. It doesn't include the committee meetings the hours of
volunteer time needed for funerals, the Food Pantry, and upkeep of the
church. It doesn't mention the choir, puppet and bell rehearsals. It
doesn't include the planning or the organizing and the countless hours all
our volunteers put in during the year.

So let's finish 2010 with a big "THANK YOU" for all of you who help all
year to make Salem a community of faith that is "Living Christ's Love."

God's Blessings during the coming year,
Sue McMillan

Upcoming at Salem …
Saturday – January 1
No Saturday Service This Week
Sunday – January 2
WORSHIP – 8:00 & 10:30 a.m.
Sunday School - 9:15 a.m.
Grief Support - 3:00 p.m.
Have a Happy New Year!

Grace Notes, Dec. 16, 2010

GRACE NOTES December 16, 2010

Sometimes it's hard to contain oneself, right? Such joy overtakes you and
you just have to stand up straight, arms heavenward, and shout, "Thank
You, Lord!" And if someone asks you what in the world you're doing, you
just grin and say, "thanking God for all my blessings!" Look how blessed
we are in this grand country. I'm not talking politics here, I'm talking
the orderly process of law. We "demonstrate" by voting. We drive freely
from coast-to-coast. We shop at a variety of stores and have more choices
than we need. We go to school, beyond high school too, if we want. We
listen to a vast array of radio stations. And best of all, we worship
where we please.

Think of all the churches in our towns and cities. My Heavens! There are
big ones and little ones, fancy ones and plain ones. Temples and
synagogues, a few mosques even. Houses of worship of all kinds.
Glorious! Separately and together, they proclaim our faith in the
existence of God, the importance of God, the prominence of God in our
lives. Isn't that amazing? And these houses of worship can be ancient or
middle-aged or brand new. Each has different shapes and materials from
which it is made.

Think of the Blue Mosque in Istanbul which is completely tiled on the
inside in blue with threads of gold. Think of Mont St. Michel outside
Paris with its buttresses and spires. Think of the Methodist church in
Harare, Zimbabwe which could have been taken from Main Street, USA and
planted there it's so similar to a US church, except for the 19 or 20
drums just beneath the altar. Each of us could name a favorite. Some are
our favorites architecturally, some for the ambience within – so steeped
in prayer that one is enveloped in earthly holiness, like the National
Cathedral in Washington, D.C. We are so blessed to be able to see and
appreciate all the hundreds of thousands of different kinds of visions
built in stone or concrete or wood or whatever materials, all for the
purpose of worshipping God.

To describe a church is difficult. To describe its life is even more
difficult. Its people give it its vitality, its life. Whether or not we
worship, pray, sing, listen, create, serve, eat, drink or not decides
whether this building will be alive or not, whether it will be open to the
Holy Spirit or not. God loves us so much that we are given that choice.
But oh the glory, the full heart, when one says to our Lord, "Yes!"
May you appreciate anew your own house of worship this Advent season. If
you are far from home, may you find a new-to-you house of worship. And
then enter those doors in joyous thanksgiving for the very freedom to be
able to do so!

Judy Bergeson, Diaconal Minister

UPCOMING EVENTS AT SALEM:
This Sunday, December 19 at the 10:30 service the children will put on
"Love Came Down at Christmas" Program for everyone's delight.

At the Coffee Hour this same Sunday, Pastor John & Connie Seraphine will
lead a discussion of the DVD "A Thrill of Hope". All are welcome!

Grief Support continues on Sunday afternoons from 3 till 4:30 in the
Chapel Lounge. No registration required; just walk in.

Christmas Eve services are at 4, 7, and 11 PM. Candles will be lit at
each service. There will no 5PM service on Saturday, December 25, and no
Sunday School the 26th.

Grace Notes, December 8, 2010

Grace Notes December 7, 2010

I saw a shooting star. The first I have ever actually seen. Oh, I have
been with other people who saw a shooting star. But by the time I looked
the direction they pointed, it was gone. I couldn¡¦t miss seeing this
shooting star. We were driving home from a Thanksgiving Day gathering with
family, when the shooting star appeared straight ahead of us. There it
was, right in my view of the road ahead. For the first time in my life, I
happened to be looking the right direction.

Advent is a season of looking for something. Or someone. We look for the
coming of Jesus. We remember and retell the story of his coming foretold
by the prophets. We celebrate and retell the story of his birth as the
baby in the stable. We are reminded that he will come again.
Am I looking the right direction to see Jesus? In all the activity the
season brings, it is easy to become distracted or too busy¡Kto be looking
the wrong way. But I have been seeing Jesus many places in recent days. To
be sure, Jesus is in our worship. In the lessons, sermons, sacraments, and
music. In the fellowship of the worshippers. But I have been noticing
Jesus in other places.

I see Jesus in each recipient of a gift from the good deed tree, and in
the giver who is blessed in the giving. I see Jesus in the many people fed
by the Salem food pantry, and in the generosity of all who help to keep
its shelves stocked. I see Jesus every time I visit my mother at the
DeKalb County Home. Jesus is every resident I pass in the hallway. Jesus
is every caregiver who genuinely loves the one he or she is helping. Jesus
is the two elementary school boys who gave Mom a poinsettia and read a
Christmas poem to her, and all their classmates who shared the same gift
of themselves with other residents.

Most of the world wasn¡¦t looking the right direction when Jesus was born.
Some probably weren¡¦t looking at all. Those who were awaiting his coming
were looking for someone much more noticeable than an infant born in an
out-of-the-way stable. But God sent Jesus in a small package. Jesus
continues to come in the little ways his brothers and sisters love each
other. God bless us this Advent season and always, that we may have eyes
and hearts open to his coming. That we may be looking the right direction.

Ron Vanatta

ľ Midweek Advent worship continues each Wednesday of December at 7:00 pm
in the sanctuary. We sing and pray Holden Evening Prayer.

ƒæ This weekend, Dec. 11th at 5:00 and 12th at 10:30, Salem¡¦s Christmas
Cantata will be shared. ¡§A Thrill of Hope¡¨ brings the hope and joy of
Christmas to life with orchestra, bells, piano, and choir.

ƒæ Salem¡¦s Sunday school Children tell the story of Jesus¡¦ birth Dec.
19th at 10:30 worship: ¡§Love Came Down at Christmas¡¨.