Laurel High School is hosting the Eastern A Band Festival on February 7, 2011. There is a need for housing out of town students who will be attending. 300 students are expected to attend and only rooms for 70 students have been found. 

• Students would stay overnight on February 7th - You would feed them DINNER
• Deliver them to the school in the morning on February 8th - You would feed them BREAKFAST

If you and your family would be able to host one (or more) of these students for the one night, picking up the student at the school and delivering them there the next morning, please give Rhonda Miller a call at 839-3852. 

November  28th marks the first day of the 2010 Advent season. Accordingly, the Sunday school handed out wreaths and at-home worship guidelines for the family, and the Advent wreath was up and the first candle lit this morning in church.

First Advent Reading (Isaiah 60:2-3)

For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will rise upon you, and His glory will appear to you. Nations shall come to your light, and King to the brightness of your dawn. 

Reading during the lighting of the first Advent Candle

We light this first candle as a symbol of Christ our Hope. May the light sent from God shine in our darkness to show us the way to salvation. O come, O come Emmanuel.  
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Scripture Readings from the November 28, 2010 Worship Service: 

                      Isaiah 2:1-5
                     Matthew 24: 3-27
                     Luke 17:20-21
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Announcements: 

• Items for the newsletter are due Monday morning (11/29) in the church office - preferably via e-mail, if possible. 
  
• Wednesday, 12/1/10 - Christmas Program Rehearsal from  6:00 - 7:00 p.m. 
• Friday, 12/3/10 - Ruth Circle will meet at the church at 10:00 a.m.  to go to Red Lodge
• Saturday, 12/4/10 - Hanging of the greens! Bring the whole family to help decorate our church for Christmas. There will also be activities for the smaller children in the church basement. *Lunch will be provided* 9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. (lunch to follow)
• The Community Thanksgiving meal was a huge success with all who attended going home with leftovers. 
• Next Sunday, 12/5/10, is Community Hope Sunday. Please bring your canned food items to church. 
• Dress Rehearsal for the Christmas Program will be on Saturday, 12/11/10 from 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. We will feed the kids. 
• Sunday, December 12th - CHRISTMAS PROGRAM during church service. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Even with the C-O-L-D weather and terrible roads, the pews were not left to fend for themselves. It was wonderful to see everyone in church today; especially since we were gifted with a baptism and a new member during Worship. We'd like to extend a special welcome the Fischer family, and thank you for allowing us to be your church family!

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
REMINDER: The Community Thanksgiving Worship Service is this evening, November 21st at 7:00 p.m. Don't forget, all are welcome to lend their voices to the choir. If you'd like to do so, please arrive at 5:00 p.m. for practice. 

Community Thanksgiving Dinner - There will be a pre-planning meeting held at Our Saviors Lutheran Church on Thursday, November 4, 2010 at 6:30 p.m. The dinner will be held at Our Saviors this year. 

If you're interested in helping or perhaps would just like to learn more, please attend the meeting. It in no way commits you. 

Family Ministries - As listed on the front page, Family Ministries will be collecting food for Thanksgiving dinners to be donated to Community Hope. For more information, please go to the Family Ministries page. 


Administrative Council - There will be an Administrative Council meeting on Monday, November 1, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. 


Daylight Saving Time Ends - Don't forget to set your clocks back next Saturday, 11/6/10 before you go to bed!

Note from website - If ever there is an event or anything that you'd like to see featured on our website, please e-mail Becca. 

On Saturday, October 30, 2010, we held our first annual Fall Carnival in the church basement. Nearly all the various groups/committees of the church pitched in to make this Sunday School fundraiser a success. We had a steady flow of families for the entire three hours of the carnival. I hope to have some pictures posted soon. 

Activities offered: 

• Mission's Mysteries - This had the children locating various places on a map of the world. Barb Karst commented how impressed she was with the kids' knowledge. 
• Cake Walk - As anticipated, this was a big hit. Thank you to all who baked cakes and other goodies for this activity. There was some fairly fierce competition for certain items, which only added to the fun. 
• Duck Pond - A game I personally remember loving as a child; it was a must-have for our carnival. 
• Bean Bag Toss - This awesomely decorated game offered the kids the chance to show their pitching prowess as they tried to toss bean bags through the holes. The younger kids were able to stand a little closer and had great success. The older kids had a pitching point further back. Occasionally it looked like it was going to be a lot further back, as Preston urged them to move further back, around the pole...
• Penny Toss - This game also had to pitching points for the younger and older kids. A highlight of my day was watching one toddler with one foot firmly planted on the line, while he lunged and reached forward for a better shot at tossing his penny into one of the many targets. You better believe I took a picture!
• Fishing Hole - Who didn't love this particular game as a child? With each prize the kids fished out was an accompanying picture of a fish on one side and the Christian fish symbol on the other side. It was a big hit! 
• Pin the Nose on the Pumpkin (and accompanying craft) - A Halloween take on the classic, Pin the tail on the donkey. 
• Bobbing for Apples - A game that certainly provided a great deal of entertainment throughout the afternoon. Some of the kids were practically deep-sea diving for their opportunity to snag an apple. 
• Cookie Decorating - It was great to see the kids and their creative works as they left the little kitchen. 
• Fun House - This room was designed as a place especially for the younger kids to go who might not enjoy the Scary Maze. The fun house included; face painting, arts & crafts, a small maze, and technically separate, but in the same room: Name that Tune. Members of the choir would hum familiar children's songs for an opportunity to win a prize. 
• Steer Roping - Since we were blessed with a beautiful day, we were able to have this activity outside. 
• Scary Maze - This elaborate maze was designed and run by the Youth Group. They did a phenomenal job and it seemed to be a HUGE hit with all the kids. They even offered 3 levels of scariness. 

Food: 
In addition to the lunch specials we offered, we also had a popcorn machine courtesy of Ace Hardware. We offered hot dogs, chili dogs and meal deals including those along with chips, a cookie, and soda. Thanks to Kara and Jenny for running that all day long. 

It really was a wonderful day. I cannot thank those who came and cheerfully worked the booths all day long, enough! We earned over $500 thanks to the support of our church and the community. Here's hoping this is the first of many Fall Carnivals to come. Oh, and the kids in their costumes? SO cute! 

Please keep the Sunday School in your prayers as we now turn our sights towards the Christmas Program now. 

Community Caring Note: 
We also kicked off the Sunday School's canned food drive at the Carnival. Please keep this in mind, as the kids will be collecting cans until the Sunday before Thanksgiving. 

See you in church!

Several important announcements were made in church today: 

United Methodist Women Fall Meeting - The UMW will be holding their Fall Meeting on Thursday, October 28th from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. in the church basement. A meal will be served and all women of the church are invited to attend. Laura noted even if you've never attended a meeting or don't belong to a Circle group, they welcome anyone interested. 


Fall Carnival - Hard to believe the Fall Carnival is now less than a week away, but it is. There were several inquiries regarding our need for cakes and if you're so inclined, we could definitely use some more (cake walk). Please bring them to the church sometime on or before Friday, 10/29. 

* The Fall Carnival is on Saturday, 10/30/10 in the church basement from 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
* There are NO ADMISSIONS FEES
* Tickets to play games will cost 25 cents each, however, if you bring any number of canned food items, you will get 3 tickets free. (This marks the Sunday School kick off to our Fall Service Project to collect as many canned food items as possible for Community Hope. We will be collecting cans until the Sunday before Thanksgiving). 
* Concessions will be available. We will be offering hot dogs, chili dogs, chips, cookies, soda, and popcorn. There will also be a "meal deal" available. 
* You are invited to wear your costume to the carnival. 
* If you're interested in donating to or helping with this event, head over to the Fall Carnival page for that contact form. 


Community Thanksgiving Dinner - Plans for the Community Thanksgiving Dinner were announced today. The dinner will be held on Thanksgiving at Our Saviors Lutheran Church. I'll have more information available to you soon!