Perfect Attendance

Congratulations to our Sunday School Perfect Attendance Award recipients for the month of January. Actually, our Kids' Sunday School at St. James is a reward in and of itself. Each week, our elementary and middle schoolers meet at different stations. Whether they are in the Musical Playhouse, Creation Station, Biblemax Theater, or Divinity Diner, as pictured here, they have fun learning Bible stories together. This past month, they focused on 3 women of faith from the New Testament: Lydia, Dorcas, and Priscilla. Since Lydia was a maker of purple cloth, we spent lots of time making (and tasting) purple foods. We encourage you to bring your elementary and middle schoolers to our church to join in all the fun.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, from St. James Lutheran Church! We thank God for a blessed 2008 and look forward with hope to see what God will do in our midst in 2009! This year, we are excited about a new way of reaching the needy people in our community. Starting in mid-January, a mobile food pantry, set up by Harvest Hope Food Bank, will be available at our church. Harvest Hope is an organization that supplies food to many important service agenices in our area, including Lexington Interfaith Community Services. They receive donations of food from all over the midlands and need help passing them out so that they're not wasted. This year, the members of St. James are going to help Harvest Hope distribute food to those who are hungry in our area. Recipients of these food donations must sign up at our church office by January 9th. "Then the king will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.' " Matthew 25:34-36

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel!

Join St. James as we worship the Christ Child and celebrate his birth on Wednesday, December 24th, at 6PM. We will have a Family Christmas Eve Service with Lessons and Carols. Come along and bring your family and friends!

Come, Lord Jesus!

Checking out the lights at Riverbanks Zoo is just one of the many activities that the people of St. James have been doing these past few weeks, as we've been lighting our candles to watch for the Messiah. We've held Christmas parties for the Lutheran Men in Mission, Women of the ELCA, Saturday Sisters, and the NE Age Sunday School Class. Our OWLS enjoyed a fun night out as they went light looking around town, and our young people have created ornaments for our shut-ins, as well as Christmas cards and cookies for the college students. That's not to mention all the muisic that has been filling our halls! In addition to our Adult and High School Christmas Carol Sunday School Class this month, the handbell players, the God Rockz kids, the kids' choir, and the adult choir have all been lifting their voices and bells each Sunday in excitement as we look for our Lord's return.

Deck The Halls!

St. James is lugging our big boxes out of storage and getting stuff set up for the season of Advent. This week, on the first Sunday of Advent, we'll decorate the church together at our Hanging of The Greens Service during the 8:00 and 10:30AM worship services. Come and worship with us! We'll be singing carols, reading Scripture verses, hanging decor, lighting the tree and candles, and learning the meaning behind all the symbols of the season.

We Lift Our Voices

Our children's choir is singing new songs together every Sunday evening at 6PM. During choir, we not only spend time singing together, but we also practice rhythms, play instruments and games, and we learn about liturgy and the church year.

Happy Birthday, Martin Luther!

Our Kids' Sunday School celebrated Martin Luther's birthday this week. His actual birthday was November 10, 1483, but these 525 years later, his legacy still lives on! During our party, we played on a kid-size Luther game board, decorated Luther Rose crafts, sang songs and ate cake, and even opened some gifts for Luther. Happy Birthday, Martin Luther! We give thanks to God for your life of faith.