NEWS & EVENTS

November 11, 2026

Thanksgiving Pie Sales

Order your Thanksgiving pies now through Sunday, November 15! Resurrection youth are selling Double Crust Apple, Caramel Apple Pecan, and Pumpkin pies again this year in order to raise money for their activities.

Paper order forms on clipboards in the narthex will be available on Sundays, Oct. 25, Nov. 1, 8, and 15, or you can email Kurt at office@lcr-elca.org with your orders. Suggested donation for each pie is $30. Pies will be available for pick up on Sunday, November 22. Thank you for your support!

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Help Bake Thanksgiving pies!

Calling all youth and families and any other interested folks! We need your help on Saturday, November 21 (time to be determined), to make the Thanksgiving pies. We have the supplies and the recipes, but just need your help to execute the baking and tagging. Please consider coming to help and email Terra Swisher with any questions: terraswisher@gmail.com

November 15 - Pentecost 25

Hymn of the Day: "O Christ the Same" - ELW 760

Today’s gospel is from Matthew 25: 14-30. The story is of a master going away on a journey, and he chooses three of his slaves to whom he gives 5, 2, and 1 talents respectively. A “talent” was a sizable sum of money, possibly equal to a year’s wages. With no instructions, he leaves on his journey and the slaves each try to figure out what to do with these talents. The five-talent slave uses them to trade and consequently doubles his amount. The two-talent slave did the same, doubling his amount. The one-talent slave (who apparently needed a financial planner!) “dug a hole in the ground and buried his master’s money. Of course, that yielded an increase of 0%! Upon return from his long journey, the master meets with these three slaves. He is extremely pleased with the first two, for they have increased his net worth and he gives them a promotion! The third slave gives him back the one talent and accuses him of being harsh and admits of his fear of him. The master proclaims the slave worthless for not investing his money to earn interest. The culmination of the parable is that to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. The problem with this third servant was not that he had fewer gifts, but that fear and complacency paralyzed him into doing nothing. Our mission is to be in active engagement, risk-taking in faith, and multiplication of the resources, talents, and energies that God has given us. If we hear this story in its relevance to stewardship, we can see that God gives us great treasures (talents). If we choose to invest those talents, resources, labor, and money in a way that reaps benefits in doing God’s work, then we have chosen wisely..If we choose to be fearful of losing those same gifts, talents, and resources and do not invest them in ways that yield increases, then we have chosen poorly.

Today, we sing a Timothy Dudley-Smith (1926-2024) text; “O Christ the Same”. He was a bishop of the Church of England and a noted hymnwriter. He was asked to write this hymn for a service that was “to mark the opening of the new premises of the Cambridge University Mission in Bermondsey”^[1], a district in southeast London. The original building, from 1906, was a medical mission and residence for boys. It had undergone an earlier reconstruction phase in 1972. During this era, the facility underwent an operational shift that ultimately paved the way for its official 1995 renaming to the Salmon Youth Centre.

“O Christ the Same” is based on Hebrews 13:8 (“Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and forever”), as well as several others; “King eternal, of ages” (1 Timothy 1:17), “Prince of Life” (Acts 3:15), and “Lord of Love” (Ephesians 5:2). Stanza one refers to our fears like the third slave in our parable today, “O Christ the same, through all our story’s pages, our loves and hope, our failures and our fears”. Stanza three lists things of our lives that come from God; “our lives and loves, our days and years remain, our work and rest, our waking and our sleeping, our calm and storm, our pleasure and our pain: O Lord of love, for all our joys and sorrows, for all our hopes, when earth shall face and flee, O Christ the same, beyond our brief tomorrows, we bring our thanks for all that is to be.”

We acknowledge all we have as given to us by God and we are grateful for all our yesterdays, the present hours, and all that is to be!

Peace!

Deacon Gary Butler

^[1] Westermeyer, Paul, “Hymnal Companion-Evangelical Lutheran Worship” (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress Pub. 2010) p. 621)

Adult Education Forums

11/15 – Healing From Violence Through the Lifespan

Plan to join us Sunday, November 15 for a powerful forum presentation on the lasting impact of adverse childhood experiences. You will learn the definition of these types of experiences, but the focus will be on how we can help support and mitigate the harm to affected individuals and communities. The discussion will be interactive, so please bring your questions. Our presenter, Breanna Heisterkamp, is a Forensic Nurse at Hennepin Healthcare.

11/22 – Slice of Lefse – no education hour

11/29 – Intro to Mark - Pastor Sarah

Our adult education hour will be held in the Fireside Room. The planning team, including Sarah Borgeson, Linda Hildebrant, Rebecca Sauer and Pastor Sarah, is excited to offer engaging conversation throughout the year. As always, if you have ideas for speakers, topics or are interested in presenting, please contact one of us in person or email Rebecca at rjwestermeyer@gmail.com. 

Helpers Needed for Snow Removal

For the past several years we have had a small group of volunteers performing snow clean-up after the contracted plow contractor does his thing or whenever there is less than one inch of snow. This entails weekday mornings cleaning office sidewalks, Sunday morning and for special events cleaning north and south entrances plus handicap parking and Monday morning clearing space for the refuse cans by the curb. In the past, we have been organized in teams of two people assigned per week. Several of our loyal helpers are 80 and above in age and are of limited ability. The church is investing in a small battery powered snow blower to make the job somewhat easier but, we are asking for additional volunteers(individuals, teams of two or more or families) who would be willing to sign up for assistance. Teams would be assigned to various one week time slots through the snow season (typically November through March) If you can help, please contact Wayne Griesel: (651) 675-6811, gries004@msn.com.

Monthly Mission for November: ELCA Global Mission

“As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith.” (Colossians 2:6-7a). Rooted and built in Jesus! This is the core work of ELCA Global Missions as it walks with and works with more than 80 companion churches in other countries, striving to share God’s love and participate in God’s mission together.

Flourishing, long-term mutual relationships strengthen the worldwide Lutheran Community as they deepen our global mission engagement. More information is available online at https://www.elca.org/Our-Work/Global-Mission.

Warm Hats & Mittens Needed

Winter is on its way and the upcoming cold weather is especially difficult for homeless people. Our Loaves and Fishes team is seeking donations of warm hats and mittens

to distribute along with the hot holiday meal we will be serving on Monday, Dec 14.

Your generosity is greatly appreciated. Items can be dropped off at church now thru Dec. 13.

Connecting Across the Generations with Church Buddies! 

For the grown-ups: You are invited to sign up as a church buddy to be connected with a child or youth of the congregation. You are encouraged to talk with your buddy when you see them at church, pray for your buddy, send a birthday or baptism anniversary greeting. Gifts and time spent together outside of church activities are not encouraged. This is a simple way for us to make more and deeper connections across the generations and help our children grow in knowing that church is a place where they are cared about. Sign up here to be a church buddy:

For the kids and families: Each child and youth of the congregation, under the age of 18, will have a church buddy. This is a grown-up member of the congregation and outside of the child's family who will check in with them when at church activities. They might also send a birthday or baptism anniversary greeting. Church buddies would also pray for each other. This is a simple way for us to make more and deeper connections across the generations and help our children grow in knowing that church is a place where they are cared about.

LCR member Elsa Larsen is a member of the "Bells of the Lakes" ensemble. Their group will perform with the Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus for a concert in November.

Slay Bells Ring

Sunday, Nov. 22 at 1:00 and 5:00 p.m.

Orchestra Hall (1111 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, MN 55403)

Make it a season - save 15% off regular prices when you buy 3 concerts. Save 10% off when you buy 2 concerts.

Ring. Slay. Repeat.

From tender and heartfelt to bold and bedazzling, Slay Bells Ring is your invitation to step away from the scroll, gather the people you love, and celebrate the holidays exactly as you are. Bring your own bells (BYOB) and ring in the season with a holiday spectacular that honors timeless traditions—then turns them gloriously upside down. Joyful audience participation is a given.

Whatever your holiday looks like, there's a seat, and a song, here for you.

This isn’t your average holiday concert. Here’s what to expect.

Slay Bells Ring is the kind of afternoon that reminds you why you love being in a room of people who are really, truly present. TCGMC brings award-winning musical excellence to one of the Twin Cities' most iconic stages alongside the shimmering sounds of Bells of the Lakes handbell ensemble, campy surprises, and the kind of full-throated holiday magic that only 160+ voices live onstage can create. Expect the unexpected, bring your people, and leave your holiday stress at the door. The 1pm performance will have ASL interpretation. Call the box office at 612-371-5656 to arrange seating. *Offer not valid on premium seats.

Click THIS LINK for more information and ticket ordering.