Two months out
‘Gifts for Jesus’ 0
embers of St. George Lutheran Church, Edin-
burgh, Ind., for years celebrated the gifts of the magi every Epiphany by offering their own gifts. Called “Gifts for Jesus,” members were invited
to share something they had created in place of the sermon on the Epiphany of our Lord Sunday. Alice Curry, chair of the worship and music com- mittee whose idea this was, has since died. But for years after, organist Ken Hauan took up the mantel. “It was enormously popular since it gave the
rest of the congregation some insight into other members and what they do outside of church as an avocation or hobby,” Hauan said. Members have shared original poetry, songs
or art. Some brought quilts or other homemade items. Others even described volunteer work they do. Hauan remembers two “gifts” that had a par-
ticular impact. One was a woman who went to Camp Atter-
bury, a base for the Indiana National Guard near Edinburgh, when thousands of troops were in the final stages of training before deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan. The woman told about going to help with meals and taking more than 1,000 cookies she had baked. Months after, her son was killed in action. Another time, two sisters, ages 4 and 5 at the
For more information, contact
khauan@aol.com
time, taught the congregation a new hymn they liked. “All we did was ask
the congregation if there was anyone who
wanted to share. There was never a problem get- ting enough,” Hauan said. Larger congregations might want to set a limit
on the number of offerings and a presentation order if they’re concerned about time and pacing, he added.
Send congregational stories—those for a specifi c month/holiday or your best timeless idea—to
julie.sevig@
thelutheran.org.
58
www.thelutheran.org
Good one! 2
ne Monday morning, Twila Schock, pastor of Christ Lutheran Church, Belvidere, Ill., was in for a pleasant surprise when she opened her work email. A mother wrote to thank her for the free ice cream provided by the church’s evangelism effort that weekend. “My daughter and I had been going through some
An ice cream truck makes its way down the streets of Belvidere, Ill., as part of Christ Lutheran Church’s evangelism prior to Rally Day. Below, Don Skadow and Sheryl Grimstad serve up free ice cream from the rented truck’s rear window.
really tough times. … When my daughter heard the ice cream truck, she was so excited. I didn’t know what to do because our finances are so tight. … My only option was to grab my 5-year-old’s coin purse to buy her a treat.” Moments later, the mother learned that the church was paying for ice cream for everyone. She said it felt like a big “I care for you from God.” The idea for the ice cream truck came up during an evangelism team meeting three years ago. The congre- gation rents the truck, which makes its way through the neighborhood handing out $400 worth of free ice cream to strengthen Christ Lutheran’s presence in the neighborhood.
For more information, contact
twila@makingchristknown.org
Members are invited to fol- low the truck, and youth group members ring doorbells and invite folks out. Many people know Christ Lutheran as “the church with the ice cream treats,” Schock said. Recipi- ents are also given a flier invit- ing them to Rally Sunday. “We tried to find a truck that had ‘Amazing Grace’ or ‘A Mighty Fortress’ in its jingle repertoire,” Schock joked, “but alas, we were stuck with ‘Turkey in the Straw.’ No problem, that’s just how we Lutherans roll.”
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