Advent Appeal
 

We are now half-way through the Advent Season. We hope you have been enjoying the gift of Advent Reflections recorded by your synod staff and council members. 

We are also half-way through using our matching gifts of $8,000. To date we have received 45 Advent gifts for a total of $4,239. Your gifts will help fund local ministries like Lutheran Campus Ministry, seminary education, and keep the cost of the Equipping Congregations Day low so more people can attend.

Your Advent gift will be doubled and provide you with a glow from Christ's light brightening the way for ministry through Southwestern Minnesota.

You can mail a check to: SW MN Synod Advent Gift, PO Box 499, Redwood Falls, MN 56283 or click here to give online. 

Thank you in advance for your generous support.

Big Grove Crow River Grace Parish, Belgrade:

3, considered 2, become 1

+Carla Klawitter

Big Grove and Crow River Lutheran Churches, Belgrade, have a long-standing agreement to work together as a two-point parish sharing one pastor. How is it, then, that Grace Lutheran, Belgrade, and they decided to work together to form a three-point parish sharing two pastors? Some of you might be thinking, "Two's company; three's a crowd."

Big Grove and Crow River were looking to call a new pastor. Their parishioners had noticed that one pastor was spread pretty thin with a lot of people to care for and a lot of territory to cover. Sometimes that one pastor would meet the pastor from Grace while they were both calling on people at area hospitals and care centers.

Grace had a pastor, but they were finding things a little tight financially as a solo congregation. And so, with the help of synod staff, the discussions began about a three-point parish possibility. Working together could be beneficial for all three congregations by improving the use of time, money, and energy. The call process for two pastors followed.

Pastor John Dalen started his call at Belgrade on June 8, 2014; Pastor Ann Zastrow began July 1, 2014, nearly a year after the three-point parish agreement became effective August 1, 2013.

Pastor Ann said it was important that the call committee was made up of members from all three congregations, that all three had representation. There's a feeling that the parishioners are glad to have two pastors they can call their own and that the arrangement is permanent.

"It has been very positive...Click here to read more. 

On Friday, November 21 a group of youth and a superstar adult volunteer joined me for a night of Random Acts of Kindness.  In less than 2 hours and with funding from the Thrivent Action Team program we were able to spread joy all around St James. 

This is what we did:

• Delivered treats to the animals at the Humane Society
• Taped quarters to all the soda machines in town
• Taped a microwave bag of popcorn to the Redbox machine
• Paid for family meals at both McDonald's and Pizza Hut
• Delivered cookies to the Police Department
• Bought and brought poinsettias to the patients at the hospital
• Gave cookies to the ER staff
• Moved furniture for someone who couldn't lift alone
• Candy caned the VFW parking lot and handed them to people outside
• Filled the washing machines with quarters at the Laundromat
• Wrote thank you cards to military personnel
• Filled boxes to overseas military personnel
• Wrote thank you notes to parents