Thursday Thought

"I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. In other words, if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc. is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little.

"If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our charitable expenditures exclude them.”
—C.S. Lewis

What do YOU think? Leave a comment, below.

Cereal drive update

Our stack keeps growing and growing

As of September 20th we have 139 boxes/bags of cereal collected.
Our goal by the end of the month is to have 300 boxes/bags of cereal collected for the Gallatin Valley Food Bank.

Thank you for the on going support of this effort to help hungry people in Bozeman and the Gallatin Valley.

Cereal drive update

Thanks for your generous response to the boxed cereal food drive for the Gallatin Valley Food Bank during the month of September.

As of today, September 13th, we’ve gathered eighty eight boxes and bags of cereal for the food bank.

Our goal is to collect 300 boxes and bags of cereal for 2011.

We collected 275 boxes and bags of cereal in 2010.

With your help, we can reach our goal.

To God be the glory!

A dark September anniversary

The day began beautifully. It was late summer. The trees had hints of orange and yellow color, waiting to turn vibrant red by end of fall.

I did not suspect what was coming next.

I would fall that day, crippled by the heartbreaking news.

And one day I would stand again, lifted up by the strong arms of our crucified and risen Lord.

September 11th is coming, but that’s not what this blog post is about.

I am talking about the death of my first marriage, which began the third week in September 2001. It is one of two dark September anniversaries in my life.

I wish someone who had attended the wedding on September 1st, 2001 had spoken the truth to me in love.

You see, no one did speak the truth to me in love about my distorted attraction to a person who was not ready to get married. No one spoke to me about the misgivings they had the week prior to the wedding or the night of the wedding rehearsal. No one spoke to me, and my marriage ended three weeks later when Karen told me “she was unsettled.”

It took another thirteen months for the divorce to go through and to be finalized.

I may start asking couples preparing for marriage “May I speak to the members of your wedding party to see if any of them have objections to you two being wed?” Maybe my first wedding would have stopped before it began if Pastor Susan had asked my wedding party the same question. At least three people in the wedding party had their doubts about Karen and me, but kept it to themselves.

St. Paul writes in his first letter to the Corinthians, the thirteenth chapter: “Love does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth.”

Rejoicing in the truth sometimes means speaking the truth in love to a friend.

Will you speak the truth in love to a friend before they make a big mistake?

Summer 2012 High School Adventure = ELCA Youth Gathering in NOLA!

After feedback from CtK youth, the Family & Youth Team decided last night to keep the Team's current rotation for summer high school events (it's a 3-year rotation: Youth Gathering, Mission Trip, Outdoor Adventure/Camp). This means that next summer, youth and adults from CtK will be joining with thousands of other Lutherans in New Orleans for the ELCA Youth Gathering.
Wonder what the fuss is about? Check out this great video explaining the history of the Youth Gathering.



Registration opens October 9th, so 8th-12th graders: look for info coming SOON. And save July 18-22, 2012 for NOLA!

Share the Harvest this coming Sunday

Share the bounty of your garden on Sunday, September 4th after worship.

We’ll have a green salad “starter’ present. Bring peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, onions, peas, beans, and other tasty vegetables and fruits to share with your fellow members and friends of Christ the King.

Bring extra produce to put on a provided table to share.

If your household has a hard time putting food on the table, bring an empty sack and take home some of the bounty that will be present.

“Give thanks to the Lord for He is good. His mercy endures forever!”