• 8:30 a.m. - Simple Eucharist
• 9:15 a.m. - Choir Rehearsal
• 9:30 a.m. - Holiday Fair Trade Bazaar
   9:30 a.m. - Adult Forum and Sunday School
• 10:30 a.m. - Sung Eucharist
• Music: Children's Choir
   
• 11:45 a.m. - Holiday Fair Trade Bazaar

Sunday Forum

Icons: Touching the Sacred
Ryan LaHurd - 9:30 a.m. (St. Mark's Room - upstairs)
Unlike most other Lutheran churches, Holy Trinity displays a series of religious paintings called icons as a part of our worship life. Icons are common in the Eastern branch of Christianity and represent the oldest form of Christian religious art. In this forum we will discuss why icons look the way they do, how they have historically functioned in devotion and liturgy, how they differ from the kind of art more familiar in the West, and how they can deepen our experience of the sacred.

Sponsor the greens and poinsettias that will decorate our church at Christmas in honor or in memory of a friend or relative. To donate now, head to our online donation page and enter an amount from $20 - $100, as well as a designation. You can also bring or send a check to the office or place it in the offering plate on Sunday morning, just indicate "Christmas Greens" in the memo line.

This exciting sale will be after each service on December 12. This year we will be offering hand-selected goods from SERRV through the Lutheran World Relief Handcraft Project - Divine Chocolate advent calendars, toys for kids, cards, serving pieces, jewelry, ornaments and more! By buying Fair Trade you are supporting a more equitable distribution of the world's resources, promoting global economic stability and world peace. So give your loved one a beautiful hand-made item AND the gift they've always wanted: a bit of Peace on Earth.

If you have not taken the Holy Trinity online survey, click here. It will take 5 - 10 minutes. All the responses will be used at a leadership retreat on January 22, 2011 as we develop an umbrella strategy to guide our future planning.

PAWS Chicago has a Pet Food Bank to keep pets with their families during these difficult times and out of shelters. So far, PAWS has been able to keep over 400 dogs and cats with their owners, and the numbers grow everyday. To help support this mission during Advent, Team Trinity is having a PAWS Chicago Pet Food Drive. Please bring in any kind of dog or cat food that is unopened and unexpired, cat litter, and newspaper and place it in the collection area in the back of the church through and including New Year's Day. If you have any questions, please contact Beth Morris.

Next Wednesday, December 15, 7:00 p.m.
A service based on the the O Antiphons (the O Antiphons are the basis of the beloved hymn, "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.") Music by the St. Cecilia Consort, recorder ensemble, led by Holy Trinity member Andrew Fredel.

Julie B. Sevig will be selling and signing her two books, Peanut Butter and Jelly Prayers, and Laughing with Lutherans after the 10:30 a.m. worship on Sunday. Peanut Butter and Jelly Prayers, filled with table prayers for families with children, is $10. Laughing with Lutherans, featuring the best of The Lutheran magazine's "Light side" page sells for $9. Great gifts for Christmas!

For the Peace of Jerusalem: Christians for Israeli-Palestinian Peace Now is a national pan-Christian campaign led by Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) to promote the importance of achieving a just peace for Israelis and Palestinians. The first phase is a massive mailing of Christmas greetings to President Obama. See the list of sponsoring denominations.

Send President Obama an online Christmas card.

Or, better yet, sign one of the printed ELCA-specific Christmas cards after worship or Lessons and Carols on Sunday, Dec. 12. We'll mail them in one big envelope to CMEP for delivery to the White House.

In a video message released earlier this week, ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson asks for your generous support of ELCA World Hunger.

"There are more hungry Americans now than in the past 15 years. In this harsh economy, families are hurting. They are hungry... Your gift to ELCA World Hunger could mean more than it has ever before."

Thanks to a group of generous donors, now through Dec. 31, 2010, all gifts from individuals will be automatically matched, dollar for dollar. Give now and double your gift to ELCA World Hunger. Here's how you can help:

• Make a donation online now.
• Give over the phone by calling 800-638-3522.
• Encourage your congregation to have a special offering on behalf of ELCA World Hunger.
• Pray that we do all we can to make sure no one goes hungry, here or around the world.
• Spread the word to friends and family.

What better way to spend an Advent afternoon than meditating on the prophecies about the Messiah's coming and His passion, set to beautiful music? The Apollo Chorus of Chicago presents Handel's Messiah in its entirety, with fantastic soloists and orchestra musicians, on Saturday, Dec. 11 at 3:00 at Orchestra Hall and Sunday Dec. 19 at 3:00 at Harris Theatre. It's a Chicago tradition dating back to 1879. And great discounts are still available if you subscribe to Apollo's full season, which also includes the magnificent German Requiem by Brahms and a Cathedral Concert in the spring called All Things Bright and Beautiful. To learn more and order tickets, check out the website or call 312-427-5620. Holy Trinity members Beth Milnikel and Paul Reineck sing with Apollo and would love to have you in the audience!

Please consider joining Team Trinity today!  VOLUNTEERS NEEDED on 12/15 at Lakeview Pantry: Check the 'Team Trinity' site for upcoming opportunites.  It is Holy Trinity's goal to register as many members on-line to assist in helping with our ministry projects within the community.  Simply log-in now and sign-up online to volunteer today: http://holytrinity.volunteerhub.com.  Let's serve those in need together!

• Sunday, December 12 - Lessons and Carols for Advent (4:00 p.m.)
• Saturday, January 22 - VOICES Retreat (9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.)
   

• Christ the Lord Lutheran Church, Elgin IL
   
• The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hong Kong, Bishop Dr Nicholas Tai
   
• Metropolitan Chicago Synod, Bishop Wayne N. Miller