Beacon News
November 22, 2020
Christ the King Sunday
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When Giving Is All We Have by Alberto Rios
We give because someone gave to us.
We give because nobody gave to us.
We give because giving has changed us.
We give because giving could have changed us.
We have been better for it,
We have been wounded by it—
Giving has many faces: It is loud and quiet,
Big, though small, diamond in wood-nails.
Its story is old, the plot worn and the pages too,
But we read this book, anyway, over and again:
Giving is, first and every time, hand to hand,
Mine to yours, yours to mine.
You gave me blue and I gave you yellow.
Together we are simple green. You gave me
What you did not have, and I gave you
What I had to give—together, we made
Something greater from the difference.
Before you read the Beacon, if you haven’t already, can you complete a commitment card for Bay Shore? Thanks for your help! You can email Kate in the Office directly, or use the link below: https://forms.gle/hvaknsEk4zwVSeHK6
Our Church Calendar
Our Zoom activities and events are linked below; almost daily we now post videos on our YouTube Channel as well.
Friday, November 20, 10 a.m. – Coffee Chats with Pastor Sarah.
Join Pastor Sarah for relaxed conversation and catching up every Friday morning. You may drop in and leave when it’s convenient.
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 117 491 031
No password created.
One tap mobile: +13126266799,,117491031# US (Chicago)
Sunday, November 22, 9:30 a.m. Faith Formation Three year olds-Fifth Graders on Zoom
Sunday, November 22, 10 a.m. Worship
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/602272570?pwd=VUdRVVp6NkRNczl5QjFnUkF4OGt4Zz09
Meeting ID: 602 272 570
Password: 344276
One tap mobile
+13126266799,,602272570#,,#,344276# US (Chicago)
Virtual Fellowship will follow our service.
Sunday, November 22, 7 p.m. ABC/Confirmation Class on Zoom
Wednesday, November 25, 9:30 a.m. – Pastor’s Bible Study Join us as we gather weekly via Zoom. We continue our study of the life of Jesus through the Gospel of Luke.
Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/568102184.
Meeting ID: 568 102 184 No password created.
Thursday, November 26 Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Stay safe and healthy!
Friday, November 27, 10 a.m. – Coffee Chats with Pastor Sarah.
Join Pastor Sarah for relaxed conversation and catching up every Friday morning. You may drop in and leave when it’s convenient.
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 117 491 031 No password created.
Sunday, November 28, 10 a.m. Worship First Sunday in Advent
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/602272570?pwd=VUdRVVp6NkRNczl5QjFnUkF4OGt4Zz09
Meeting ID: 602 272 570
Password: 344276
One tap mobile
+13126266799,,602272570#,,#,344276# US (Chicago)
Virtual Fellowship will follow our service.
Our YouTube Channel is UP! Have you subscribed to it yet?
We are now offering weekly, short videos for you to watch at your convenience. They include musical offerings, Bible (verse) studies, prayer time, children’s time, and more. We also will post a copy of our Zoom worship from Sunday mornings on the channel as well. The link is here:
Ways to Grow and Learn
Bible Study continues…
We gather on Wednesdays at 9:30 a.m. via Zoom for our Pastor’s Bible Study. All are welcome, and no preparation and previous knowledge is required.
We continue our study of the life of Jesus through the Gospel of Luke.
The next Zoom gathering of Soup’R Books will be on Sunday, January 3, at 4:00. January’s selection is The Splendid and the Vile, by Erik Larson. This biography of Winston Churchill focuses on his first year as Prime Minister and the bombing blitz in London. There is nothing dull or boring about this book! A few copies will be available. When they arrive Kate will make arrangements to get them to people. The library also has copies. Everyone is welcome to participate.
Ways to Love, Serve and Give
Special Council Announcement:
We will have a Congregation Meeting on Sunday, December 13 at 10 a.m. Please plan on attending because we will need a full quorum to do business. At this meeting, we will vote on the proposed 2021 Budget and also elect new council members. As we get closer to the date, we will share the Agenda, the slate for Council, and also our proposed budget.
If you have any questions or concerns, please connect with Pastor Sarah.
BAY SHORE NOW HAS TEXT TO GIVE!
(855) 461-0194
You can quickly and easily make a one-time or recurring donation to Bay Shore!
Click this link for a short video about Vanco’s Give+Text.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nj7AiH6rty0
Thank you for your continued to support of Bay Shore during this difficult time.
Our mission and ministries are funded solely on the offerings we receive. Please continue to mail your offerings to the church. Or, to make an offering online using a debit/credit card right now, you may do so here.
An Update on our Stewardship Appeal
To date, we have received 81% of the commitment cards from those who pledged last year. We also have 9 new pledges as well. Many of increased their giving as able, and quite a few have committed to the amounts from last year. THANK YOU! We know that during COVID times, it has been a hard, challenging year.
If you have not yet pledged, please do so today. You may email Kate, call and leave her a voice mail at the church, or use the online form here.
Just like your own homes, when you look at your income and revenues, and plan accordingly, we too at church must review our revenue (which is your pledges!) and determine our best budget for 2021. Council wants to approve a preliminary budget on the 17th—which means we need to know ASAP what we can expect.
Thank you for your help and generosity this year and the next. If you have any questions, please contact Pastor Sarah.
Ways to Connect and Share
We will will be publishing the name and address of one of our homebound members here for the next few weeks. Please send a greeting to let these members know they are not forgotten! Our sister Carla Hoelz has moved to a memory care unit in Elm Grove. Her new address: 800 Wall St. Apt. 2
Elm Grove, WI 53122
Christmas Baskets for Hephatha Lutheran during COVID will be different this year, but the act of giving is still the same! Put meals on the tables and smiles on the faces of our partners at Hephatha Lutheran this Christmas by making a monetary donation towards Visa gift cards. For safety, Bay Shore will give gift cards instead of the customary Christmas food and supply baskets. Indicate “Hephatha gift cards” on your check or online donation. Our fundraising goal is $3,500. Donations are due by December 6. Thank you and happy holidays!
And please note–we will NOT be collecting items at the church this year!
AV APPEAL UPDATE
Just an update on where we stand with our new AV Equipment for Bay Shore. We completed our appeal in early August and quickly connected with our providers for the equipment and installation. Due to COVID and staffing issues with our vendors, our camera was not installed until October 8. The wiring was installed just prior to that on October 5. At the time of testing, we discovered the microphones we had no longer worked. We knew that this was going to be a future problem, since the FCC sold our bandwidth and sent us a letter telling us of the change, but we did not know when the change would happen. We quickly ordered 2 new microphones and we are waiting now for their installation. We purchased a specific Apple laptop that is also on back order until early December. In short, we have been moving as fast as we can, with the resources and speed of the companies involved. We are hopeful to have the camera functionable so we can pre-record our Christmas services. Rest Assured, Bay Shore! We will get this up and running as soon as we can—but much of it is out of our control. Thank you all for your patience.
THIS YEAR we will be celebrating our Sunday School Christmas program virtually and in the spirit of the season that can’t allow us to be together in person, you are all invited to participate in the program whether you are a child or have a child who lives in your house! We would love everyone to send in a video of yourself (or with your family or friends) saying “Merry Christmas”. Please contact Kate if you have any questions, contact Kate at [email protected]
Advent Begins NEXT SUNDAY, and while it will be a different season for us all, we still are a people who await the coming of our Lord. This year, along with a virtual Family Christmas Program (see above), we will also do a daily Advent Devotional, written by our members. Our theme this Advent season is Waiting in Hope. Our readings for our devotional will be mostly from the book of Psalms. Starting next Sunday, you will receive a daily devotion via email. Thanks to all who participated in this special gift to our Bay Shore family.
Also, on Sundays during our Zoom 10 a.m. worship, be sure to have your own Advent Candles ready! You can light yours while we light the candles during worship!
Do you have a special Advent tradition you do at home? If yes, please let Pastor Sarah know now! We have a video uploaded about Advent Candle lighting options, and ways to countdown to Christmas. But we would love your ideas as well. Visit our YouTube Channel to see Pastor’s options she has of her own.
Did you know? For every dollar that is given to our Greater Milwaukee Synod, 52 cents goes to the national denomination for national and international ministries. When churches in the synod give to the GM synod, we give to a much larger outreach than we could possibly do alone. We support the ELCA Disaster Fund, the ELCA Hunger Fund, the seminaries that foster new pastors and leaders, and more. Currently, Bay Shore gives $13,600 to our synod which supports our local ministries and synod work here in Milwaukee and also the national churchwide ministries. Thank you for your generosity to Bay Shore and to the greater church!
Our Building is Closed. It has been since March, but we wanted to remind you again that we are closed until further notice, which means we cannot accept deliveries or drop-offs. We also collect our mail once a week on Mondays.
At this point, the best & preferred way to reach out to all staff is through Email or leaving a Voice Message at the Church Office.
If you have an emergency, Pastor Sarah’s cell number is 414-902-0249 and you are welcome to call her if you need immediate pastoral care. If you would like a virtual “visit,” connect with her via email or through the church office’s voice mail, and she will schedule a one on one chat with you. This is our new normal, for now. Let’s stay connected as much as possible.
Prayer of the Week: Prayer of Thanksgiving
Dear God, Thank you for your amazing power and work in our lives,
thank you for your goodness and for your blessings over us. Thank you for your great love and care. Thank you for your sacrifice so that we might have freedom and life. Forgive us for when we do not thank you enough, for who you are, for all that you do, for all that you’ve given. Help us to set our eyes and our hearts on you afresh. Renew our spirits, fill us with your peace and joy. We love you and we need you, this day and every day. We give you praise and thanks, for you alone are worthy!
In Jesus’ Name, Amen
Readings for this Sunday, November 22
First Reading: Ezekiel 43:11-16 Because Israel’s kings proved to be bad shepherds, Ezekiel declares that the Lord will assume the role of shepherd in Israel. The Lord will also set over them a shepherd-messiah, “my servant David,” who will feed and care for the people.
11For thus says the Lord God: I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. 12As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. 13I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited parts of the land. 14I will feed them with good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and they shall feed on rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord God. 16I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with justice. 20Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them: I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21Because you pushed with flank and shoulder, and butted at all the weak animals with your horns until you scattered them far and wide, 22I will save my flock, and they shall no longer be ravaged; and I will judge between sheep and sheep. 23I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. 24And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken.
Second Reading: Psalm 95:1-7a We are the people of God’s pasture and the sheep of God’s hand. (Ps. 95:7)
1O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
2Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
3For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
4In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also.
5The sea is his, for he made it, and the dry land, which his hands have formed.
6O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
7For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.
Second Reading: Ephesians 1:15-23 In this passage, God is praised for revealing ultimate divine power in raising Jesus from the dead. The resurrected, exalted Christ is Lord of both the church and the entire universe, now and in the age to come.
15I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason 16I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. 17I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, 18so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, 19and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. 20God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. 22And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, 23which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
Gospel Reading: Matthew 25:31-46 Jesus compares himself to a king who moves among his subjects to see how he is treated: what is done for the least of those who belong to his family is truly done for him.
31“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34Then 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; 35for 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, 36I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’ 41Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 42for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ 45Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Click here to see our Sunday’s Order of Worship to be used at home. It includes our hymns, too.
Stay in Touch
Pastor Sarah Stobie [email protected]
Kate Yelvington, Parish Admin [email protected]
Dulcie Shoener, Minister of Music [email protected]
Daniel Ellis, Choir Director [email protected]
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