Nora Unitarian Universalist Church December, 2004 December 5 – “When Political Pundits
Become Theologians” – December 12 – “Blue Christmas, Easter & Independence Day” – December 19 – Children’s Christmas
Program December 24 – Christmas Eve Candlelight Service
- 5:00 PM December 26 – No Service Services Resume January 9, 2005
DON ON VACATION Don will leave for Ohio on Christmas Day and return on Thursday,
December 30. Members of the Board will have his contact information in the
event of an emergency.
CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICE Join us in a family Christmas Eve service at 5:00 PM. Come
prepared to sing, laugh, reflect and celebrate! FINANCE TEAM MEETING Our first meeting will be held after church, this Sunday,
December 5th. Think about the broad areas of responsibility like fundraising,
investments, bequests,
budget-building, etc. (The team is open to all.) PROGRAM COMMITTEE MEETING The next meeting of the Program Committee is scheduled
for Tuesday, November 30 at 7:00 PM, at the church. New committee members are
welcome. THE ALMOST CHURCH Our next discussion of Michael Durall’s book, The Almost
Church, is set for Thursday evening, December 2. We’ll meet at the church
at 7:00 PM to discuss chapters 5, 6, & 7. Note: The group is open, so feel
free to join us even if you haven’t been at previous sessions.) BOARD MEETING Due to the change in our regular schedule, the Board of Trustees
will meet on Sunday, December 12 at 8:30 AM at the church. Agenda items may
be sent to Sheldon
Rieke. NORA WOMEN’S SOCIETY The Nora Women’s Society will not meet during
the winter months unless there is some special business to be addressed. LUNCH BUNCH The LUNCH BUNCH will meet at 11:30 AM on Tuesday, December 7, at the
Mexican Restaurant in New Ulm’s Marktplatz Mall. Remember, this group is
not limited to women! BOARD NOTES The Nora Church Board of Trustees met with Prairie State District Representative Nancy Heege on Saturday, Nov. 20, to help the board members understand their roles in implementing the new mission statement and committee/team structure and working with a new minister. At its regular monthly meeting, the board approved Rev. Rollins using Nora Church as a sponsor for a monthly coffeehouse event in New Ulm and exploring the possibility of sponsoring a similar event in Hanska at the Community Center. The board discussed developing a membership packet and placing another order for nametags for new members. Gil Hanson will be asked to get a cost estimate for the nametags. The board will work with the Sunday School and Social Justice
team to develop a plan for helping Iraqi children. Lee Schmitt, who is stationed
in Iraq,
will advise them. CONGREGATIONAL MEETING At a special congregational meeting following services on November 21, the congregation adopted the proposed vision statement. They also voted to adopt the new Committee on Ministry model. The COM will consist of five members, initially appointed by the board, later to be elected at the Annual Meeting. The first members are drawn from the Search Committee. They are: Doug Anderson, Jeanie Hinsman, Anne Makepeace, Kristine Paulson, and Beverly Wellmann. The COM will monitor how well the church is implementing its Mission and Vision statements and will act as mediator in conflict resolutions. Its role is advisory only. The congregation
also authorized expenditure of $4,600 for the purchase and installation of
a new sound system for the sanctuary and Fellowship
hall. TO KEEP IN TOUCH Lorraine Becken is at home recuperating following surgery in Rochester. Joanne Saxton reports that her husband, Neil, is recuperating after surgery. We wish them a speedy recovery. Congratulations to Christine
Schmitt and Anthony Erickson on the birth of their son, Carson Anthony on November
8th. Gr’pa Lee was fortunate to be home
on leave from Iraq to see his newest grandson. NAME TAGS Please contact Algot Blomquist by December 20th if you wish to purchase
a new or replacement name tag. Cost is approximately $5.00. OAK HILLS LIVING CENTER AUXILIARY The Oak Hills Auxiliary is sponsoring a Holiday Bazaar, Bake Sale and Raffle on Saturday, December 4th from 9:30 AM to 11:30 AM at Oak Hills Living Center in New Ulm. Refreshments will be served and there will be pictures with Santa. Monetary donations, craft items or baked goods are welcome
by 9:00 AM on Saturday. Proceeds from the Holiday Bazaar, along with matching
funds of
up to $500 from
NU-31200 Chapter of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, will be used to fund
the purchase of a new Medication cart for Station 1. RELIGIOUS EDUCATION Lee Schmitt visited our RE Wednesday group in November. He shared about time in Iraq and talked about the Iraqi people and their culture. The girls are all very glad they live here. The kids then packed Ziploc bags of toys, candy, toothbrushes and toothpaste to send to Iraq. The bags will be sent to Lee to be distributed to the children in Iraq. The money the kids earned from their Easter breakfast and Smorgasbord games were used to purchase the supplies. Dentists from New Ulm donated the toothbrushes and toothpaste. There are extra copies of curricula in the closet downstairs. The Wayzata UU Church has loaned us two copies of “How Can We Know What To Believe, Stepping Stones,” and one copy of “Celebrating Me and My World.” If you want to use a curriculum, please sign it out. There will be a sign-out sheet by the curricula. Thank you to John and Anne Makepeace for obtaining these curricula. We will return them to Wayzata in May or June. Our next RE Wednesday will be Wednesday, December 8th. Since it is the second night of Hanukah, we will be learning more about the holiday. We will also have a gift exchange. If you are planning on coming to December RE Wednesday, please bring an inexpensive ($5.00 or less) gift to exchange. Please keep in mind the wide range of our group. We will start at 6:30. Preparations are under way for our December 19th winter service. The Coming of Age kids are looking for music and have made selections for parts of the service. Anne will visit the Nursery, Juniors and Tweeners classes on December 5th to give them their parts for the service. We will all practice on December 12th. Thank you for sharing your families. Have a joyous and peaceful
winter holiday season. ST. PETER REGIONAL TREATMENT CENTER SPRTC Volunteer Services works to provide a little bit of Christmas for mentally ill individuals from our 10 county area. 100% of the gifts and monies donated go directly to the patients. Your gifts will help to provide a warm and beautiful holiday for the men and women receiving treatment from SPRTC, both in hospital and in the community. Please deliver gifts or money by December 10 between 7:00 AM and 3:30 PM at 100 Freeman Drive, St. Peter. Some items need are toiletries, bedding, pots & pans, dishes, towels, pajamas, jackets, sweaters, socks, gloves/mittens, craft kits, games, billfolds, writing tablets, books, and jewelry. Call 507-931-7250 for more details. FREE PACKING MATERIALS The United States Postal Service is offering free packing
materials to spouses and families of military members who are deployed overseas.
To take advantage
of this service call: 1-800-610-8734. They will send you a free kit that
includes 10 boxes, packing materials, priority mailing tape and mailing labels.
These
products are to only by used to mail care packages to service members. You
must still pay normal postage. HAPPY HOLIDAYS
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