The Beginning of a Great Tradition

It's gonna be great!!

The Family & Youth Ministry Team is launching what is hoped to be the "first annual" PB&A - a baked potato bar and silent auction. Come and eat all you want (suggested donation is $5/person)
and bid on some great items - lots of handmade and homemade gifts (perfect for Christmas gift-giving - things you can't find at the mall!), gift baskets, service items, gift certificates (weekend in a Big Sky condo, anyone?) and MORE!

All funds raised will support the Family & Youth Ministry of the congregation, especially summer 2014 camps for middle and high school youth.

Please invite your friends and neighbors to join you - this promises to be a great event!

All Saints' Sunday

Blessed All Saints' Day!
All Saints’ Day is November 1st each year, but since the first doesn't always land on a Sunday, many churches celebrate All Saints' Sunday on the first Sunday of November. This year, we celebrate All Saints on November 3rd.
The word saint comes from the Latin word sanctus and refers to the holy — that is, “set apart for the service of God.” In some of St. Paul’s letters to the churches he founded, he called all the members “saints.” Later, Christians who distinguished themselves by their zeal for Christ, especially the martyrs, were honored after their death by being canonized as saints.

The word “saint” was placed before their Christian name. The pages of Christian history books are filled with the stories of these very special servants of God.

Several became the patron saints of countries. Ireland’s saint is St. Patrick, England’s is St. George and Scotland’s is St. Andrew.

While the United States has no particular saint, Christians here should appreciate all the faithful people who served Christ courageously and delivered the faith to us to follow. We should also remember that in baptism, God names us "set apart for the service of God" - we, too, are saints.

This Sunday, those present in worship will have the opportunity to light a candle in honor or remembrance of saints in their lives. There's something about the concrete action of lighting a candle and letting the light of its flame shine that touches people deep in their souls. Candle lighting is a wonderful ritual action for families to do together, especially in concert with conversation about those who have gone before us, and those who strengthen our faith now.

Reformation Day 2013

            By the end of the seventeenth century, many Lutheran churches celebrated a festival commemorating Martin Luther’s posting of the Ninety-Five Theses, a summary of abuses in the Roman Catholic Church in the year 1517. At the heart of the reform movement was the gospel, the good news of God that it is by grace through faith that we are justified and set free.

            On this Reformation Day, let us celebrate the witness of Martin Luther, and the continuing work to make the gospel be heard clearly by all Christians.

Trunk or Treat!

Trunk or Treat is THIS Sunday, October 27th. Trunk set up will begin at 4:00pm, and more trunks are needed! Bring some treats to hand out (candy or otherwise - we've got some erasers to hand out from our trunk) and dress up in costume if you'd like. There just might be a prize for the best trunk decorations. At 4:30pm the Trunk or Treating will officially begin, and there will be games for kids in the social hall as well.
Invite your friends and neighbors - the more the merrier!
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A word about Halloween, from one of my ELCA clergy colleagues:
At this time of year, many Christian parents wonder if they should allow their children to take part in Halloween activities. The Christian history of Halloween (All Hallows’ Eve) ties it to All Saints Day (the following day). It is a part of a celebration of Christ’s victory over sin, death, and the devil.
Far from acknowledging Satan’s power or “worshiping the devil,” Halloween actually is a way of making fun of the devil and celebrating the truth that Christ has been victorious and evil has been defeated. Let your kids know this.
Use Halloween for fun; put on the masks, walk with the little ones, and have a good time.

Don't lose heart

Last Tuesday evening I attended an event sponsored by HRDC at the Emerson Center. The event was centered around the screening of a documentary produced by HBO called "American Winter."

The documentary follows eight families in the Portland, OR area who find themselves homeless because of unemployment, health issues with loved ones, low pay, and lack of available social services.

Frankly, it was easy to lose heart watching the families lose their homes, their jobs, and their sanity.

It didn't seem fair to see honest, hardworking people like you and me end up suddenly without shelter, food, electricity, water, and security.

Our gospel reading for this coming Sunday, October 20th is Luke 18:1-8

18"  Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. Luke 18:1

After feeling helpless halfway through the film, I began to feel hope and not lose heart. Up on the big screen in the Emerson Center were churches in the greater Portland area, including First Immanuel Lutheran Church, opening their doors and their hearts to families in need. I saw church members staff food pantries and overnight shelters. I saw church members display compassion to the families depicted in the documentary with mercy and tenderness. I saw church members living out their calling as disciples of Jesus Christ, loving God and loving the neighbor in need. And then it dawned on me, we do the same for the homeless here in Bozeman.

Christ the King, in its Rooted in Faith, Growing in Giving capital campaign over the past two years, has given over $1000 to the HRDC to address homelessness and hunger in Bozeman. Our dollars support the warming center and the transitional housing unit. Our dollars and volunteer hours help keep the doors of the Bozeman Community Café open 365 days a year, to feed hungry neighbors in need.

Christ the King participates as a partner church in Family Promise of the Gallatin Valley. Four weeks out of the year we house homeless families on campus with safe and comfortable shelter, so families can concentrate on the hard task of finding work and permanent housing.

Losing heart and despairing are common themes in the Bible. All you have to do is read some of the psalms to hear deep songs of lament. But you will also find in the Bible stories of hope and compassion, rooted in the love of God as expressed by God's Son Jesus Christ.

"American Winter" does not have to be the predominate season in Bozeman, or the world for that matter.

 

CROP Walk 2013

The annual Gallatin Valley CROP Walk is this Sunday, October 20th. Participants will gather at the Food Bank at 1:45pm and the walk kicks off at 2pm. There are a handful of walkers from CtK signed up. You can still join the fun on the Christ the King team! Or support the cause.
Thanks!

A new Presiding Bishop - video of the Bishop Elizabeth Eaton's installation

The ELCA has a new Presiding Bishop! The Rev. Elizabeth Eaton was installed this past Saturday, October 5th, at the Rockafeller Chapel in Chicago. Below is the video of the service of Holy Communion with her installation.






If you want to skip ahead to the sermon, preached by the Bishop of the Montana Synod, the Rev. Jessica Crist, the video is here:



Enjoy!