PB&A - THANKS!

THANK YOU!
Many thanks to all involved for making CtK's Second Annual Potato Bar & Auction a huge success. $7757 was raised in support of CtK's Family & Youth Ministry!

Special thanks to those donated items to the auction, to those who purchased them, to potato bakers and food providers, and everyone who came out to enjoy one another and have a good time! Monies raised will help send six CtK high school youth and two adults to the 2015 ELCA Youth Gathering in Detroit, AND send CtK middle school youth to Christikon next summer.

The youth of CtK decided to tithe 10% of their PB&A receipts to the Freedom in Christ Prison Ministry in Deer Lodge. Freedom in Christ is in need of financial AND prayer support, and the youth are glad to help make a difference in the lives of prisoners and their families.

Souper Bowl of Caring soup collection update

We had additional cans of soup come in AFTER weekend worship. The additional cans brings our collected soup can total to 615-almost double our goal. Praise God! And thank you for your generosity.

Results from the Souper Bowl of Caring

Members and friends of Christ the King collected 593 cans of soup for the Souper Bowl of Caring. Thank You!

Hungry families and individuals in the Greater Gallatin Valley area will benefit from such generosity.

Your offering at work

Earlier this week we learned in the church office of a young person who out of the kindness of her heart, took in an elderly person who had no immediate family.

The elderly friend has now become ill and is in need of life saving surgery.
The kind young person wants to accompany her friend to the city where the surgery will take place.

Using resources here in Bozeman and elsewhere in the state of Montana, we were able to secure lodging for the kind young person, so she could support her new elderly friend as this person prepares to undergo surgery.

None of this could have happened without your generous weekly offerings.
A portion of the monthly offering (less than one percent) is set aside in our “Good Samaritan Fund.”

Members and friends of Christ the King have benefitted from this fund to help people in need. And total strangers, too! Bags of groceries, tanks of gas, a month’s rent, a late electric bill, and emergency shelter have all been made available through the Good Samaritan Fund.

A colleague who helped coordinate the assistance said, “Last week both these persons were feeling like their faith was being tested. Your assistance will help to remind them that there are caring people in Montana who are willing to lend a hand, and to help restore someone’s shattered faith.”

This is your Christ the King offering at work, bearing witness to the hope we have in Christ Jesus.

Guest post - A GREAT idea to spread the good news of Christmas

This post comes from the blog of the Lead Pastor of my home congregation, Sammamish Hills Lutheran Church, in Sammamish, Washington.

John says,

Good day! It isn’t my usual custom to forward mass emails, particularly the ones that come in a “you must pass this on…”, however, a request came this morning that tore at my heart. The request is simple. When you do your Christmas mailing (even if that is an “if” or by electronic means), please set aside a card of
encouragement and good cheer and send it to:

A Recovering American Soldier
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue NW
Washington, D.C. 20307-5001

As a person who spent more than one Christmas in the armed forces, as well as a month or so in an Army hospital, I can bear witness to either one being a lonely experience on their own. To combine the two, being hospitalized at Christmas, could be heart breaking.

Therefore, take a few extra minutes, fill out a card, mail it,and send the light of the manger to what might otherwise be a dark and lonely place. What do you write? Just a little bit about yourself, but, the most important words to write are these: thank you.

Thank you!

Grant and I are finally beginning to work on our Christmas
card list. I'll be sending at least one card to Walter Reed. Will you,
too?

Alleluia! Christ is Risen!

Alleluia! It feels good to break out that word of praise again, to remember that death doesn't win and that God is indeed for us.

Thank you upon thank you to all who helped make today such a wonderful celebration of hope, grace and love here at CtK: the musicians, the folks who got communion ready, those who moved all the pews to get ready for this season, all the worship helpers, the brunch cooks, the servers... Thanks to those who did the good work of set up, clean up, greeting others, extending a welcome, helping with the egg hunt, etc. Thanks to those who donated - flowers, food, the paschal candle, etc. And if I've forgotten anyone - THANKS!!

If you visited CtK for the first time on this Easter Sunday, we hope the service of worship was a blessing to you and that you felt welcomed in our community. Please know that we look forward to getting to know you better and walking together in faith with you. If you have any questions about the Christian faith, about Lutherans in particular, or about this congregation, please don't hesitate to ask! Leave a comment here and we'll reply - perhaps someone else has the same question!

May God bless us all with faith and hope during this season (remember, it lasts for 50 days!!) of new life and the promise of the resurrection! We'll see you on Wednesday night for BLAST (dinner from 6-6:30pm, worship at 6:30, and classes and activities from 7-8pm) and next Sunday for worship at 8:30 & 11am!!