Working Together So That All Experience Gracious Invitation Into Life-giving Christian Community
Welcome to the Gethsemane Lutheran Church Newsletter. As you may have noticed, we have been on a bit of a break, but we are back to give you all the information you need on what is happening at Gethsemane. As the end of this year unfolds, and we continue to bring you information virtually, we welcome all who are members of Gethsemane, as well as those who are discovering us for the first time, to join us in our mission journey. We hope to keep you up-to-date in these times of amazing change for our church community. Feel free to forward the newsletter to others and give us the emails of those you think my wish to connect with us and see what great things God is doing with our church each week!
News/Upcoming Events
This holiday season, we have many exciting events and news to share with all you readers. Below are just some of the amazing things Gethsemane is doing within it's walls and out in the community.


Turkey Distribution

This Newsletter will be coming out one day before our annual Turkey distribution. Make sure this Sunday the 20th, after service, you stick around to receive your thanksgiving turkey!


Upcoming Quilting Event

This coming December 13th from 9am to 2pm, the lovely ladies of Gethsemane will be holding their next quilting event. Stay posted for more details!


God Provides

Praise be to God! The city of Minneapolis has given Gethsemane a $75k grant in order to pay for staffing in our foodshelf. This comes at a time where food needs are high. Especially during the holiday season, Gethsemane continues to provide for the community and do God's work to feed those who are hungry. Thanks to this generous grant, we are able to continue to do this work and pay those who work within the foodshelf.


Come Hungry, Leave Happy

Here is a gentle reminder that we will continue to serve lunches Monday through Friday 12-2pm in the fellowship hall. This food is hot, free, and tasty. All are welcome into the Lord's house to eat, stay warm, and break bread.


Christmas Ham Registration

Christmas is just around the corner, and with it comes registration for Christmas ham pickup. This registration starts December 4th and will run until December 12th. These hams will be distributed December 18th. All are welcome to register, and we are happy to assist in giving more information as we get closer to December 4th.

Upcoming Christmas Service

Lastly as we talk about the Christmas season, there will be no Christmas Eve service. Instead, there will be a Christmas Day service for the first time in 7 years. Sunday 12/25 at 10:30 will be our church service. We hope to see you there in celebration of the the birth of the Christ child.
The Camden Shop is Open


The Camden Shop is now open! After a short prayer of blessing, we opened the doors and shoppers found clothing and housewares that they needed. We are so excited about how this place will help our friends in the Camden neighborhood! Spread the word, and come say hello!


We are open the 1st & 3rd Saturday’s at Gethsemane from 12-3pm
The Camden Promise: Weekly Food shelf Schedule

Food Giveaway Schedule into 2021:
The Camden Promise Food Shelf feeds boxes of food to community families 6 days a week at noon: Monday through Saturday.

All are welcome!
Gospel of the Week: Luke 10:1-23
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10 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two[ others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 

He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. 

Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 

Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.

“When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ 

If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. 

Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.

“When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. 

Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 

10 But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, 

11 ‘Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.’ 

12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.

13 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 

14 But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. 

15 And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades.

16 “Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.”

17 The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”

18 He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 

19 I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. 

20 However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

21 At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.

22 “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

23 Then he turned to his disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. 

24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”

Writer's Corner: Pardon the Turkeys
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According to a reporter in 1865, the origin of the official White House turkey pardoning began with President Lincoln in 1863. Yet others argue the tradition didn’t take hold until the Truman administration in 1945 with the encouragement of “poultry-less Thursdays during the fall of that year that brought the gifting of crates called “hens for Harry” by poultry growers. Or still, that the first “real official” ceremony took place with George W. Bush in 1989, who with animal rights activists nearby, announced the Presidential pardon of “Tom the Turkey”. But whether you believe the White House tradition began with Abe, Harry or George, the fact is that the turkeys who were pardoned received a better life. Over the years, presidents and First Ladies sent the pardoned poultry to local farms and children’s zoos, so they never ended up on someone’s Thanksgiving dinner table.

This past week, as hundreds of frozen turkey came in and out of our food shelf via van and truck donations (ironically while dozens of live turkeys perused the neighborhood full of feathers and clucking), it made me the think of the symbol of the turkey and what it means at this time of year. When a turkey is donated to a hungry family by stores and food shelves, it is a symbol of God’s love in the world through the generosity of those willing to put in the work to coordinate and carry-out such a big endeavor. And, of course, the blessed birds who gave their lives to feed those who would otherwise live in food scarcity with an empty table. Praise God, thank you Tom the turkey, and all gratitude to all those who gave of their time to make sure the birds found their homes.
Then, there is the realization of what the actual act of pardoning means: the act of forgiving or being forgiving of an offense(s) and wrong-doings. Now, when a turkey is pardoned, officially or not, it is obviously symbolic and not literal—as rare there is a turkey pardoned that has committed any offense. Their fate was simply that they were a delicious source of protein, a symbol of the original Thanksgiving meal between pilgrims and indigenous people in our county. Now, of course, there are many renditions and historical conflicts over this first meal, and what happened, what was served, and the outcome of the intended peaceful gathering, but that is not what we are talking about here. What we are addressing is that the turkey is usually sacrificed for human nourishment, to feed ourselves and our families. The turkey has done nothing wrong.

Yet, think about a different sacrifice made for us by God, in Christ Jesus, who did nothing wrong, did a lot of good, but was still hung on the cross none-the-less. Jesus did not receive a “presidential pardon” by Pilate. But Jesus, through this act of sacrifice, pardoned the rest of us of our sins, our offenses, our acts of wrongness. And through this supreme sacrifice, God showed us the importance of forgiveness in our own lives: the power it holds for us when we forgive others. We have the power—albeit not officially presidential, but indeed sacred—to pardon others who may have wronged us. Yes, this is a tricky thing; it is not easy. But considering the amount of forgiveness God gave us all in the ultimate sacrifice of his Son, we should at least give it a try.

So this year, at Thanksgiving (whether you have poultry on your table or not), consider pardoning those in your life who are in desperate need of your pardon. Consider asking for forgiveness of those you have wronged. And, give your gratitude to all those who have pardoned you throughout your life, especially our Lord and Savior whose supreme sacrifice is the ultimate pardon of all. In God’s pardon and grace, we are assured a better life; not on a farm or in a children’s zoo, but in the arms of our Lord for all eternity.

Amen. 

The Prayer Corner
A Prayer During Thanksgiving: Psalm 100
Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before
His presence with singing. Know that the Lord is God: it is He that has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting; and his truth endures to all generations.
Sunday Worship
Please join us every Sunday for our Virtual Zoom Worship Service. Online "fellowship starts at 10:00 am and Worship Service Starts at 10:30 am.
Gethsemane Lutheran
Building Hope Together
4656 Colfax Avenue North
Minneapolis, MN 55412
612-521-3575