Because Lil' Lutherans are thankful: We appreciate the Day School PreK Three Class sharing their gratitude on our second floor hallway. Family is at the top of their lists, as well as dinosaurs and horses! We are better together.

Announcements

ADVENT AND CHRISTMAS DECORATING will take place over a couple of weeks this year, November 18-22 and 25-27, with our big work day on Saturday, November 30. Whether you can give 15 minutes to tie bows or fluff wreaths or an hour to unpack and setup trees, we would love to have your help. Saturday’s work day will begin at 9am in the Sanctuary. Donuts and coffee provided! FOOD, FUN & FELLOWSHIP will meet on Sunday, November 24th at noon in the Women’s Ministry Room. Single, divorced, or widowed friends gather monthly for food and fellowship. Everyone is asked to bring a favorite dish to share.  CHURCH OFFICE CLOSED for Thanksgiving on Thursday, Nov. 28 and Friday, Nov. 29 , 2019. SALVATION ARMY BELL RINGING hosted by Emanuel’s on Friday, November 29 . We are seeking bell ringers for a 2 (or 1) hour shift between 9 AM and 5 PM at Walmart. Great family activity! The annual Christmas Kettle Campaign is a MAJOR funding source for the Seguin Unit. If you can help, call Frances Vinyard at 830-379-5041. ADVENT WREATH MAKING is Sunday, December 1 at 9:00 a.m. Celebrate the Advent season by crafting a personal Advent wreath. Join us in the Fellowship Hall for our annual workshop. Supplies provided! All ages encouraged to participate! Greens, and all the decorations, will be blessed before worship.

Advent is a season of waiting, but is idle waiting what God wants of us? In preparation for the coming Messiah, we wonder together- what things can't wait? What demands our immediate attention? What requires our work and preparation? What is it that God can't wait for? Is it our praise, reconciliation, and proclamation? Is it the end of suffering, isolation, and fear? We hope our Midweek Advent Prayers and the 2019 Daily Devotional might awaken you to the ways God can't wait to create hope, peace, joy, and love. We invite you to carve out time to listen for God speaking to you through art, poetry, music, silent reflection, and embodied prayer. As we are called to action during this season, may we also be mindful of what can wait- for we are also called to rest and receive the gifts of Sabbath. This Advent, join us in imagining, prioritizing, and preparing. As we wait, what can't? MIDWEEK ADVENT PRAYERS: WHAT CAN’T WAIT Tuesdays, Dec. 3, 10 & 17 at 12:05 p.m. in the sanctuary. Join us for a time of prayers, song, and food as we prepare for Christmas. Luncheon to follow in the Women’s Ministry Room Copies of the 2019 Advent Devotional WHAT CAN'T WAIT are in the narthex and office. Pick up a booklet full of art, reflections, and prompts for the season of waiting.

FRIDAY NIGHT ADVENT GATHERINGS are for everyone! December 6 at 7:00 p.m. AN EVENING OF PIANO AND ORGAN MUSIC Emanuel’s Director of Music Tom Engler will be joined by keyboardists Evelyn Dittmar and Johnana Clark in a program of congregational hymns as well as musical settings of seasonal music for organ and piano.  December 13 at 6:00 p.m. CHORAL MUSIC AT THE BIG RED BARN Emanuel’s Jubilation Singers, supported by a group of instrumentalists, will sing music of the season. This event will be held at the Texas Agricultural Heritage Museum as a part of their annual Country Christmas Celebration.  We will sing in the beautifully restored Lutheran Church located behind the Big Red Barn.  December 20 at 7:00 p.m. PUB THEOLOGY & HYMN SING Join us in the Fellowship Hall where we will sing favorite carols of the season as well share stories of the carols’ origins. You are encouraged to bring your favorite beverages and munchies. It sounds like a good time is brewing already! Childcare provided.

HOLIDAY MEAL DELIVERY on Saturday, December 7 . Join us for the annual delivery of holiday meals to our shut-in and elderly members. Volunteers are needed at 10 AM in the Fellowship Hall to package the turkey and dressing dinners, and drivers are needed to deliver meals. Contact Steve Anderson at 830-305-4542 or sanderson@tlu.edu. HOLIDAY TAMALE SALE Emanuel’s Youth are selling Delicious Tamales this year to help fund their summer activities. Place your order from any youth starting November 10 in the Narthex, or in the office. Orders due by December 8 with pickup of frozen tamales on Sunday, Dec. 15. Chicken, Bean & Jalapeno, Traditional Pork, and Jalapeno Pork Tamales only $12/dz. HEALING THROUGH CONVERSATIONS, a support group for those who have lost a loved one to death, will meet on Thursday, Dec 12th at 10 am in the Family Life Center. This month’s topic will be the Holidays and how to get through them without our loved ones.   QUILT RAFFLE tickets a re now available! The quilters of the Emanuel’s Ladies Aid are raffling a queen-sized, hand-quilted quilt for the annual bazaar. The drawing for the winner will take place at their annual Christmas luncheon on Wednesday, December 4.  Tickets are $1 ea. or 6 for $5  from any Ladies Aid member, in the Narthex on Sunday mornings, at the Sausage Lunch, at the Bazaar, or in the church office.

SHARE THE GOOD MOOs! Poinsettias will grace the sanctuary of Emanuel’s this Christmas and ELCA Good Gifts will make a difference throughout the world as your kind donations honor friends and loved ones.   With 50 giving options- from 10 little chicks to help a family escape poverty to a scholarship to help a young leader attend an ELCA seminary- there’s something for everyone on your list. You are invited to select an ornament from one of our advent trees near the sanctuary. These ornaments may be given as a gift or taken home as a reminder of your giving. General fund donations in any amount to use where needed the most are also welcome.   You may honor or remember a loved one by supporting the ELCA Good Gifts Project (any dollar amount or as indicated on the specific ornament) and/or with a poinsettia ($10.00 each). Forms and payments may be put in an envelope and placed in the offering plate, given to our advent tree attendants, or delivered to the church office. The deadline to ensure poinsettias for Christmas is Monday, Dec. 16, 2019.

Poinsettia and ELCA Good Gifts Order Form

We See You!

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS!

Caroline Bower with Shepherd Karen Koepp Randy and Eileen Johnson with Shepherds Pastor John and Faye Van Deusen Bobby, Hannah, and Nathan Pridgen with Shepherds Pastor Marcus and Kristen Bigott Lacey, Nathan, and Gunner Lavender with Shepherds Pastor Marcus and Kristen Bigott

Not pictured: Jason, Crystal, and EllaClaire Waclawzyck; Faye and Robert Huebner

SWTX MIDDLE SCHOOL YOUTH GATHERING AT CAMP CHRYSALIS Pastor Kelsie trekked to the Texas Hill Country with our youth for a weekend of study, climbing, canoeing, and snuggles. They learned about the theology of the Cross- It's not what we do, it's what God did! They had a GREAT time!

Youth Gathering Pictures Here

Stewardship 2020

At Emanuel’s Lutheran Church, our mission is "To be the church God is calling us to be by declaring God's love, serving others, and embracing all." We are blessed with a beautiful campus that serves not only as a place to give thanks and declare God's love, but also as a gift to our community! We serve our community by sharing this blessed space. We have many opportunities to share our campus with others in need but are limited by challenges to safety and modern needs of the organizers that want to use the facilities. Withe a successful Creating Generous Generations stewardship appeal, we will improve the WiFi, replace the floor in our Fellowship Hall, and will increase the safety and accessibility of our campus by adding cameras and door code keypads. The Generosity: Creating Generous Generations stewardship appeal has a goal of increasing offerings by $55,000 or more ($1, 058 per week). Next week we will continue to share how this increased generosity will be invested. Please pray for a generous response, and please prayerfully consider increasing your gift for 2020. CORINTHIANS 9:11 "You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce thanksgiving to God through us..." (NRSV)

Opportunities in the Community

ANNUAL COMMUNITY THANKSGIVING SERVICE First United Methodist Church Tuesday, Nov. 26 7:00 PM Join the Emanuel's family and our neighbors for an evening of thankful praise in music and word. Our own Emanuel’s Heavenly Ringers Bell Choir will participate in the service. TLU FAIR TRADE FAIR Alumni Student Center Friday, December 6 10:30 AM - 6:00 PM  Buy a gift that "gives back"! Texas Lutheran University is once again hosting a Fair Trade and Global Gifts Fair. Featuring high-quality, fairly-traded handcrafts from artisans in developing regions around the world, the sale will be held Friday, December 6, from 10:30-6:00pm in the Alumni Student Center on the TLU campus. Call 830-372-8160 for more information.

Meals on Wheels Needs YOU! Five Simple Requirements: Drivers License Auto Insurance Ability to sign up online A little daytime A giving heart Volunteer applications are available in the church office or from Kathy Villarreal at kvillarreal@nbsenior.org. Meals on Wheels serves people at their home on weekdays. Drivers pick up the meals at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Seguin at 10:15 a.m. and are usually done before noon. Volunteers pick the days they choose to drive- once a week, once a month, whatever works for you- and sign up though signupgenius.com. Help is urgently need in Guadalupe County. We'd love to hear from you.

Council News

SPECIAL CALLED ANNUAL MEETING Sunday, December 29th The meeting will immediately follow the celebration of Holy Communion. This meeting will take into consideration with potential action the 2020 budget, 2020 Council members, and updates and changes to the Constitution. Two working and information sessions, for budget and constitution, will take place December 8th and 15th during the 9:15 am education hour in the Women’s Ministry Room.

Christian Education Opportunities

SUNDAYS AT 9:15 The Assembly Class (Family Life Center): DVD Series on the Beginnings of Judaism. The Heritage Class (307): Augsburg Fortress Quarterly Adult Bible Study. Intergenerational Study (Fellowship Hall): Lessons for young and old the last Sunday of every month. Explore God's word with song and play. The Joy Class (204): Bible stories and songs for adults with intellectual disabilities. Preschool to High School Ministry Rotations This is the general schedule. Please check the calendar to confirm. 1st Sunday: Children’s Church, Preschool to 4 years old (during worship) 2nd Sunday: Sandbox Stories, Kindergarten to 4th Grade (during worship) ELYO, High School (9:15 - 10:15 a.m.) 3rd Sunday: Bible, Faith & Science 5th -8th Grade (during worship) 4th Sunday: Intergenerational Study (9:15 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall) Confirmation: 6th-8th Grade (after worship, schedule varies each month) ELYO: High Schoolers meeting monthly at 9:15 on the 2nd Sunday in the Youth Room off the Fellowship Hall for breakfast, discussion, service, games and fellowship. We also gather once a month for a fun outing. Check out the calendar for fellowship events!

WEEKDAY STUDIES Tuesday Morning Bible Study (Family Life Center): on a break. Faith Circle (Women's Ministry Room): Third Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. Joy Circle (Women's Ministry Room): Second Thursday at 9:30 a.m. Ladies Aid (Women't Ministry Room): First Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. What Would Jesus Brew? (The Warehouse): Young Adults meeting First Fridays at 7:00 p.m. Pub Theology meets on the Third Friday of the month.

Visit our website Visit our calendar Worship Leader Schedule (830) 379-5046  info@emanuels-seguin.org Follow Us ‌

Announcement to share? Submit a brief, yet detailed description of your event to info@emanuels-seguin.org before noon on Tuesdays for consideration for that week's email news. Late submissions will be considered for the following week's email and/or social media posts.