Spirit of Hope Weekly Newsletter

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CONTACT INFORMATION

Phone: 480-396-8300

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.spiritofhopelutheran.com

Office Hours are Monday to Thursday 9:00 to 1:00 pm

Services are cancelled for this weekend, December 19th and 20th as we have been advised of two Covid-19 positives within the attending congregation.

Operation Christmas Cards

Thank you to all who brought in Christmas Cards to be delivered to The Summit Assisted Living and Memory Care this week. Hope they will give cheer to the residents. Thanks Duane

for delivering them.

Saturday Advent Children’s Message is cancelled

Christmas Eve

Services 2020

This year’s services will both be candlelight.

The services will be at 4:30pm and 6:30pm

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2020 Contribution Deadline

Checks and cash must be mailed and received at the Spirit of Hope Office on or before Sunday, December 27^th in order to be credited to your 2020 giving statement and claimed as a charitable contribution deduction for 2020. 

Due to the challenges of COVID and mail pick-up, we are asking for an earlier cut-off this year than the normal December 31 deadline, so that we have time to process all of the end of year donations. Online gifts are subject to business hours processing and must be processed prior to December 31. Thank you for your support.

Note From Wendy/Senior's Rock

Welcome Our Friends From The SUMMIT !!

My name is Wendy. I am from Spirit of Hope. I have a group that meets once a week called Senior's Rock. We have not been able to meet because of the Covid, but that does not stop us from helping others. Right now we are collecting household items for a place called the Justa Center. The Justa centers helps Seniors and Vets get into housing. These are folks that have been down on there luck. So this is where you can help out. You can write a letter of encouragement to them. The letter will be given to them when they are going to their new place to live. I think it would uplift their spirits on so many levels. They help so many people so you can write one letter each or as many as you like. Contact the church office for more information. 480-396-8300.

Welcome to our friends and family at the Summit

Our Spirit of Hope weekly newsletter will be distributed at the Summit each week and help share the love of Christ with all who read our articles. We have added a few messages from our small groups such as the Seniors Rock group and the Women’s Afternoon Bible Study. Special thanks to Wendy and Dar for your input each week! We invite those of you to attend any event you might be interested in here at Spirit of Hope! We look forward to meeting more of you!

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A note from the Justa Center loves how we keep on giving and want to thank all of you for helping with their seniors.

Tags are hung on the tree in the narthex. What we are looking for are:

Comforters Twin or Full

Pots and Pans

Toaster,

Shower curtain with liner & hooks Twin sheet sets

Dishes,

Kitchen Utensils

Kitchen linens

Glassware

Silverware

Amazon Gift Cards.

Coffee with the Pastor – ONLINE

Every Wednesday at 9:00 am

You are invited to join me on a ZOOM call… this is how you do this. Open your internet browser, Copy and paste the link below into the address line. We will go live starting at 9:00 am

https://zoom.us/j/6401061099?pwd=L1luVWlPcnRreDYzeTdMRks1ZEp1UT09

or call into the meeting, using your phone to one of the following numbers:

Please add – phone numbers = 1-346-248-7799

When prompted add the following information: Meeting ID: 640 106 1099

Grocery cards

Needed!!

It’s that time of year again where we find many people in our community that are without the basics to get through the holiday season. If you are able please pick up a few cash cards and bring them to Pastor Tony to distribute as needed.

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A Word from the Women's Bible Study

By Dar Stucke

Third Week of Advent. We light the candle of JOY. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great JOY for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.” Luke 2:10.11

The scene is a familiar one in Christmas pageants everywhere. Kids dressed up in bathrobes with tall staffs in hand, representing the shepherds who heard the good news of Jesus’s birth from the angels. Maybe it’s the bathrobes, maybe it’s that we’ve heard the story so many times, maybe it’s just that they’re being little boys, but in all honesty the shepherds are often distracted and waving their staffs around or creating some kind of chaos. Yet imagine the terror the shepherds must of felt on that first Christmas as they sat on a dark hillside and suddenly witnessed the arrival of real angels. The Bible doesn’t say the shepherds were surprised, or vaguely interested; it says they were “terrified.” Who were these angels? Where did they come from? What does this mean? But the angel’s message to them was “do not be afraid.” Instead the angel brought good news that would cause great JOY. Despite the terror the shepherds felt, the angel promised that joy would be stronger than their fear.

Our world today is full of fear. A quick read of the headlines is enough to scare all of us and to prove that many people are driven by their fears. The mere mention of the Covid 19 Virus puts us all in a pandemonium of fear. Our day to day lives are in upheaval and turmoil because of it. Nothing is quite the same. But the angels message to the shepherds is for us as well: “Do not be afraid.” As we wait for the arrival of Jesus this Advent season, we can take a long, hard look at our fears and then allow them to be replaced by the JOY of the coming of Jesus the King. It is a joy that will always be much stronger than our fears.

Dear God, Sometimes I must admit that I do have real fears. But help me to allow my fears to be overtaken by JOY as I spend time anticipating and celebrating the arrival of my Savior, Jesus. I want to always surrender my fears to You so you can replace them with unmatched JOY, believing always in Your promises. In Jesus name, Amen

The gals in the office would like to thank the

Christmas Elf that left a box of chocolates for

them to munch on.

Prayers –

We pray for the spouses and families of those church members who have passed into the church triumphant this past month.

Prayers for rhe family on the loss of Brigette Seman, the mother of Cathy Walters & Eddie walters.

We pray for those church members who are struggling with many health issues this week.

Please pray for healing for Frank Salazar who is struggling with Covid-19 and Don & Sandy Bethkye who are struggling with health issues.

Prayers for Herb Rauworth and family on the loss of his wife Sharon.

Please keep Larry Wilox, Butch Schleiher, Alice Lundquist, Barb Kearns, Frieda Pyles, Vicky Kuehl, Kevin Hicks and Marilyn Flood in your prayers

Prayers for Debbie Traynor's son-in-law's aunt Carol Villareakl and also Nick who is struggling with Covid-19.

Prayers for Bonnie Gunderson's brother, Dwight MacMonagle,fighting the corona virus and Hodgkins.

May the God of good health and happiness restore all who are struggling this week with the many situations people in our lives are struggling. Thank you for your presence and give us the joys of everyday life!

AMEN

A word from our Financial Secretary

How can members remain faithful in their giving responsibility and thus continue to invest in and fund the continued mission and ministry of our church?

1. Continue giving weekly through your personal banking

online bill pay service.

2. Use the Spirit of Hope online giving option at: https://soh.breezechms.com/give/online

3. Use the Spirit of Hope texting option at (480) 725-1140.

4. Send your donation through the U.S. Postal Service at:

If you need help with setting up or amending your current offering, please reach

out to our Financial Secretary, Kianda Addo ([email protected]).

Fry's Community Rewards

Did you know you can support nonprofit organizations in your community just by shopping at Fry's? It's easy when you enroll in Fry's Community Rewards. To get started, sign up with your V.I.P. Card and select Spirit of Hope as the local organization you wish to support. Once you're enrolled, you'll earn rewards for your church every time you shop and use your V.I.P. card.

www.fryscommunityrewards.com

SOH Organization number is 80606

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Home Communion

If you are an at risk member who would like to have the Pastor bring Holy Communion to your home, please call the church office (480-396-8300) and request / schedule a home communion visit. Pastor Tony will bring communion wearing a mask, medical gloves, and practicing social distancing. If it is a nice day, perhaps we can be outside.