DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017

FEBRUARY NEWSLETTER
ARTICLES ARE DUE JANUARY 18

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ST. THOMAS NEWSLETTER

REJOICE

REJOICE (continued)

O Night DivineDawn of Loves Pure Light

Adult Choir Christmas Cantata
Sunday, December 11 ~ 9:00 & 11:00 a.m.
Enjoy the musical offerings of our Adult Choir
Christmas Cantata during the worship services.

Christmas Poinsettias
Poinsettias to adorn our chancel on
Christmas Eve may be ordered through
envelopes in the pew racks. Plants may
be taken home after each service on
Christmas Eve. Cost is $8.00 for 6
single stem pots and $14.00 for 7
double stem pots. Colors are red, white,
marble and pink. Orders should be in by Sunday,
December 18.

Caroling to St. Thomas Shut-ins and

Neighbors
December 14 at 6:15 p.m.
Join us as we carol around town. Meet at the
church to carpool to different homes.
Refreshments will be offered.

SISTERS IN FELLOWSHIP
Christmas Eve Services
Saturday, December 24
5:00 p.m. Holy Communion
7:00 p.m. Holy Communion
11:00 p.m. Holy Communion

Blue Christmas Healing Service

Monday, December 21 - 7:00 p.m.
Christmas is not a celebration for everyone.
For some it may be the first Christmas without a
loved one, some may have recently experienced
the loss of a job, and some may just struggle with
the holiday in general.
The constant refrain on the radio and
television, in shopping malls and churches, about
the happiness of the season, about getting
together with family and friends, reminds many
people of what they have lost or have never had.
The anguish of broken relationships, the
weariness of ill health, the insecurity of
unemployment, the pain of isolation - all these
can make us feel very alone in the midst of the
celebrating and spending. We need the space
and time to acknowledge our sadness and
concern; we need to know that we are not alone.
On the longest night of the year we will
gather for worship at 7:00 p.m. to share, pray,
hear scripture, light candles to remember and to
honor that which we may have lost, and to
acknowledge Gods presence in those struggles
of life.

Wishing you all Advent Blessings as we journey

toward the manger. May you be filled with peace and
joy as you celebrate the holidays with family and
friends.
Events for December include:
OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD: Our heartfelt
thanks to all of you who filled an OCC box to make
Christmas a very special day for a needy child. We
thank you for your generosity year after year!
ALL WOMEN OF ST. THOMAS: You are invited to
our Annual Christmas Gathering & Ornament
Exchange on Monday, December 12th at 6:30 p.m.
Please bring a hors doeuvres to share, and a wrapped
Christmas ornament, valued at $5.
Mark your
calendar and come share in the fun, fellowship, and
yummy food!
IDEAS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME: If you have an
idea for a Sisters in Fellowship event, please talk to a
committee member. We are always looking for new
ideas!
DATES TO REMEMBER:
CHRISTMAS TEA - DECEMBER 3rd
CHRISTMAS GATHERING - DECEMBER 12th
NEXT MEETING: Watch for details in the bulletin

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year To All!

ST. THOMAS NEWSLETTER

GROW
Book Club

The Christmas Blessing

by Donna VanLiere
Come join us on December 5 at
5:00 p.m. ~ please note time
change
In The Christmas Shoes, young
Nathan Andrews was a child who lost his mother
to cancer. Now his deepest wish is to become a
doctor. When a stranger named Robert gave him
the money to buy his mother a pair of shoes for
her last Christmas, both Robert and Nathan
learned the deepest lessons of loves and giving.
Now a medical student in his third year, Nathan
realizes there are still things to be learned about
faith, blessings, and sacrifice. Discussion to be
led by Denise Schneider.
Sunday School
Preschool thru senior high youths are
invited and encouraged to attend
Sunday school at 10:00 a.m. on
Sunday mornings. Sunday School will
not meet on December 25 & January 1.
Adult Bible Study
Group discussion in the lounge on Sunday
mornings. During the months of
December, January and February, the
group will be discussing Creation: A
Divine Cycle by Chip Borgstadt from
Augsburg Adult Bible Studies.
Prayer Partners
Gather for discussion every other Thursday at
10:00 a.m. in the church lounge for Bible
study and sharing of concerns and joys.
We will meet December 1 and 15, and
again on January 5 and 19.
Making Sense of Scripture
Making Sense of Scripture will meet on
Monday evenings at 6:30 p.m.
December 19 ~ please note date change
January 16
February 13
March 6
April 3
May 8

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SUPPORT
Christmas Tea Advent by Candlelight
December 3rd - 1:00 p.m.
The smell of Christmas Tea, the
beauty of Christmas decorations, your
hostess setting a beautiful holiday table for you, the sounds of Christmas
music and other exciting plans are being finalized for our 16th Annual
Christmas Tea. The Christmas Tea Committee
and hostesses have been making special preparations for this day! Come.enjoy the holiday spirit.your hostess is expecting and awaiting your
arrival!
Youth Cookie Sale
The Youth Cookie Sale will be during the Christmas Tea on Saturday, December 3 from 1:00 3:30 p.m. Plan on buying cookies to help support
the youth of St. Thomas.
Craft Day
Wednesday, December 14 and January 11 & 25
at 11:00 a.m. Bring your favorite craft and enjoy
fellowship and crafting with other members of St.
Thomas.
Scrapbook Crop
Saturday, February, 11, 2017 from 9:00 a.m. 9:00 p.m. $35.00 before February 1 or $40 after.
Continental breakfast, lunch and dinner will be
provided. 6 foot table, various vendors and raffle
baskets.
Fellowship Cafe
The Fellowship Cafe continues to be a real
"gathering" place -- it is exciting to
see so many people enjoying the
great fellowship and the delicious
sweets provided.
The schedule for December is:
December 4 - Council
December 11 - Grommons Family
Decenber 18 - Staff
Decenber 25 - Closed

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ST. THOMAS NEWSLETTER

NARTHEX NEWS

SERVE

Scrip Program
Please consider using Scrip for some or all
of your Christmas gifts. The gift cards can
be given themselves or use them to pay for
Scrip
your purchases. They make great gifts for
paperboys, teachers, or the person whos
hard to buy for. The Scrip table is open
between services the 2nd and 4th Sunday of each month
in the narthex or you may contact Mary Rajczi.

Christmas Food Baskets

We are planning to help 17
families with Christmas food
baskets this year. The wishing well is in the narthex for
you to take a tag, buy the
item indicated and return to
the church by Sunday, December 11 to be included in the Christmas food
baskets. Thank you for your generosity for the
Thanksgiving and Christmas food baskets.

2017 Offering Envelopes

The 2017 offering envelopes will be out soon.
Please pick up your envelopes in the narthex,
the envelopes are in alphabetical order.
2016/2017 Flower Charts
Please check to see that you paid for dedicated flowers
during 2016 so we may clear the sheet for
2017.
There are flower payment
envelopes next to the chart in the narthex
which may be placed in the offering plate
for 2016, as well as dates you select for
2017 flower dedications.
Flowers for
Sunday mornings are $20.00 each week and may be
taken home following the 11:00 a.m. service. The
flowers are long stemmed and make a large bouquet
when taken out of the altar vases.

Noisy Offering
The next Noisy Offering is Sunday, December
18 at both services. In January, the noisy offering will be on Sunday, January 15.

Food Pantry
The items needed in the pantry for December
are cereal and syrup. Please place items in
the wicker basket on the Narthex table. Thank
You!

ANNUAL BUDGET MEETING

St. Thomas Annual Congregation Budget Meeting is
Sunday, December 4 at 10:00 a.m. between
services. The entire congregation is invited to attend
this planning meeting of our 2017 year.
ANNUAL CONGREGATION MEETING
Please plan to attend our Annual Congregation
Meeting on Sunday, January 29 following the 10:00
a.m. service. Annual Reports of the Congregation
will be available on the narthex table in January. See
you there.

PASTORAL ACTS

ANNUAL REPORTS
All Annual Reports from all directors and
committee chairpersons are due to the church
secretary by January 1, 2017.
WEEKLY OFFERING
It is very important that all of us bring our weekly or
monthly gifts of money to the church or send it through
the mail. During the closing weeks of this year, we
should catch up on our commitment which perhaps we
have let slide.

To the

and friends of
Lempi Maria Tervo
who passed away on
November 5, 2016

family

ST. THOMAS NEWSLETTER

Please remember our

shut-ins by your prayers
and with a card:
Mrs. Leona Cain
c/o Joanne Roosen
PO Box 276
Hessel, MI 49745
Mrs. Agnes Orman
41155 Pond View Dr.
Apt. 238
Sterling Hts., MI 48314
Mrs. Helen Sanson
Henry Ford Assisted Living
15101 Ford Rd, Room #108
Dearborn, MI 48126

Good Search
An opportunity to earn extra dollars for St. Thomas
by doing a search on the web - goodsearch.com.
Google this link and choose St. Thomas/Sterling
Heights as your cause - a penny each time you go
into this website.

Page 5
From the Church Secretary:
St. Thomas is truly blessed by all of
the volunteers who help around the
church. A sincere thank you to
Dolores Clark, Vivian Filipchuk,
Sylvia Aho and Geri Rochleau who
fold and stuff Sunday bulletins each
week, assist with special projects,
Thank You!
and also collate, fold, stuff, label
and bundle all newsletters each month. A
special thank you to Geri Rochleau and Vickki
Hicks who fill in for me when I take time off. I
also want to thank Ben Nelsen and Wally Aho
who change the hymn board on Sunday
mornings. Special thanks to Jim Erickson who
does small maintenance jobs around the church.

Snow Day Procedures

In the event of a snow day or especially bad
weather, please call the church office to see if
your evening event will still take place. Usually if
Warren Consolidated Schools are closed for the
day, evening activities are cancelled.

Church offices will be closed on

Friday, December 23 and Monday,
December 26 and also
Friday, December 30 and Monday,
January 2

Keeping us connected
By Facebook - St. Thomas Lutheran Church
By Twitter - stlcstheights

By Instagram - stthomaslutheran

A blessed Christmas and New Year

to you and your families!
Pastor Joyce and
the Staff of St. Thomas
Lutheran Church

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ST. THOMAS NEWSLETTER

DECEMBER/ JANUARY SERVANTS

ACOLYTES
9:00 a.m.
11:00 a.m.
CROSSBEARERS 9:00 a.m.
12/4
Lukas Speagle
Anie Szudarek
12/11
Alex Jack
Mia Sape
12/18
Calvin Hassel
Samantha Schatz
12/24 5pm ______ 7pm ______11pm _______ Crossbearer 5pm _______ 7pm ______& 11pm ________
12/25 10:00 a.m. _______
1/1
10:00 a.m. Mia Sape
1/8
10:00 a.m. Calvin Hassel
1/15 10:00 a.m. Anie Szudarek
1/22 10:00 a.m. Alex Jack
1/29 10:00 a.m. Lukas Speagle
ASSISTING MINISTER SCHEDULE
Prayers
Kyrie
9:00 a.m.
9:00 a.m.
12/4 Terrance Duncan Pastor Joyce
12/11 Lindsey Hassel
12/18 Terrance Duncan David Schade
12/24 5pm __________ 7pm __________11pm ___________
12/25 10:00 a.m. __________ Pastor Joyce
1/1
10:00 a.m. __________
Pastor Joyce
1/8
10:00 a.m. Lukas Speagle
David Schade
1/15 10:00 a.m. Samantha Schatz Sandr a Mar selle
1/22 10:00 a.m. Ter r ance Duncan Bob Mar selle
1/29 10:00 a.m. Lindsey Hassel
David Schade

COUNTERS
12/4 - Team #3
12/11 - Team #4
12/18 - Team #5
12/25 - Team #6
1/1
- Team #1
1/8
- Team #2
1/15 - Team #3
1/22 - Team #4
1/29 - Team #5

COMMUNION DEACONS
12/4 9:00 a.m. Peg Murray 11:00 a.m. Ron Hassel
12/11 9:00 a.m. ______
11:00 a.m. Leslie Rice
12/18 9:00 a.m. Peg Murray 11:00 a.m. Ron Hassel
12/24 5:00 p.m. _____ 7:00 p.m. _____ 11:00 p.m. Marge King
12/25 10:00 a.m. __________
1/1
10:00 a.m. __________
1/8
10:00 a.m. Ron Hassel
1/15 10:00 a.m. Peg Mur r ay
1/22 10:00 a.m. Leslie Rice
1/29 10:00 a.m. Ron Hassel
ALTAR COMMITTEE
12/4 (9 am) Dawn Havard (11 am) Meredith Family
12/11 (9 am) Gloria Potter (11 am) Judy Olson
12/18 (9 am) Gloria Schade (11 am) Jeannie McDowell
12/24 5pm, 7pm & 11pm Vickki Hicks
12/25 10:00 a.m. Marge King
1/1 10:00 a.m. Vickki Hicks
Please see Vickki Hicks for the January Schedule
LESSON READERS
9:00 a.m.
11:00 a.m.
12/4
Ben Nelsen
Joyce Haman
12/11
Gloria Schade Leslie Rice
12/18
Nelson Kelly
Jim Erickson
12/24 5pm _________ 7pm Ben Nelsen 11pm Gloria
Schade
12/25 10:00 a.m. __________
1/1
10:00 a.m. Ben Nelsen
1/8
10:00 a.m. Nelson Kelly
1/15
10:00 a.m. J im Er ickson
1/22
10:00 a.m. Leslie Rice
1/29
10:00 a.m. Glor ia Schade

ST. THOMAS STAFF

Rev. Joyce Partyka Staib
Sandy Stein
Chuck Reinhart/Sandy Stein
Christine Myers
David Schade
Sandra Marselle
Steve Pauling
Rev. Yonah Panga

Pastor
Administrative Assistant
Custodians
Organist
Director of Music/Adult Choir Director
Sunday School Coordinator
Praise Band Leader
Sister churchs Pastor-Endabash, Tanzania

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St. Thomas Lutheran Church

8771
PageE.
8 Fifteen Mile Rd.
Sterling Heights, MI 48312
(586) 268-2170
Fax (586) 268-0697
Email: givethankstogod@ameritech.net
Web Site: www.St-ThomasLutheran.org

ST. THOMAS NEWSLETTER

Dated Material!

Good news from

heaven the angels
bring, Glad tidings
to the earth they
sing: To us this day
a child is given, To
crown us with the
joy of heaven.
Martin Luther

ST. THOMAS NEWSLETTER

DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017

UPCOMING EVENTS
Dec. 3 Dec. 3 Dec. 4 Dec. 11 Dec. 11 Dec. 12 Dec. 13 Dec. 14 Dec. 14 Dec. 21 Dec, 25 Jan. 1 -

Saturday - 12:30 p.m. ~ Youth Cookie Sale

Saturday - 1:00 p.m. ~ Christmas Tea
Sunday - 10:00 a.m. ~ Budget Meeting
Sunday - 9:00 & 11:00 a.m. ~ Christmas
Cantata
Sunday - Nativity Blessing
Monday - 6:30 p.m. ~ Sisters in Fellowship
Christmas Gathering
Grosse Pointe Lakeshore Chorus - 7:00 p.m.
~ Tuesday, December 13
Wednesday - 11:00 a.m. ~ Craft Day
Wednesday - 6:15 p.m. ~ Caroling to our
Shut-ins and Neighbors
Wednesday - 7:00 p.m. ~ Blue Christmas
Service
10:00 a.m. Worship Service
10:00 a.m. Worship Service

Christmas Eve
Dec. 24 - Saturday
5:00 p.m. Holy Communion
7:00 p.m. Holy Communion
11:00 p.m. Holy Communion

WORSHIP SCHEDULE - FOR DECEMBER

Sunday Worship Services
9:00 & 11:00 a.m.
Education Hour
10:00 a.m.
Adult Education
10:00 a.m.
(10:00 a.m. service on December 25, 2016
& January 1, 2017
WORSHIP SCHEDULE - FOR JANUARY
Sunday Worship Service
10:00 a.m.
Sunday School
9:00 a.m
Adult Education
9:00 a.m.
Unstaffed nursery available during all services.
Christmas Eve Holy Communion
Dec. 24 ~ 5:00 p.m., 7:00 p.m. & 11:00 p.m.