LADIES GROUP
     The Ladies of St. Luke’s Zion are planning the winter luncheon.  We have found that Partners Deli in Kildonan Park to be the best choice.  We enjoy the view, parking is good. The food very nice and the prices are reasonable.  Please join in this time for a sandwich and soup or salad and maybe dessert and coffee or tea on Saturday, November 29th at 12 noon.
     Please fill out your menu choices and give it to Beverley or Laurel.  When 20 or more people descend on a restaurant it is very helpful to be prepared ahead of time.  We hope to see you there.

PROJECT PEACEMAKERS
     Good Music for a Good Cause!  Please join Project Peacemakers in our Annual Sing for Peace Benefit Concert!  Sunday, November 9th, 2:00 pm at Crescent Fort Rouge United Church (Wardlaw Ave. and Nassau St.).  Tickets are $10 (children 12 and under free) and can be purchased at the door, or by contacting Project Peacemakers (775-8178 or info@projectpeacemakers.org). 

IT’S A GIRL!
     Congratulations to Phyllis Austman on the safe arrival of her Great granddaughter, Bella Grace, on September 26th.

ALPHA BRUNCH
     Just a reminder that the Alpha Brunch is Saturday, November 1st at 10:30 a.m. at St. Luke’s Zion Church.  We are looking forward to seeing everyone.  If you haven’t signed up on the sheet posted in the entrance, please phone Bill/Teresa (334-2260) or Betty/Bob (334 6121) and let us know that you will be coming.  All you have to bring is yourself!

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
            Between the crosses, row on row.
                                               ---John McCrae

LUTHER VILLAGE NEWS:

Dinner & Dance:
     For the 5th year Luther Village will be holding its Fundraising Dinner & Dance on Friday, November 21st at Kildonan East Collegiate.  Culinary Olympic gold and silver medal winning Chef, Raymond Czayka and his students will prepare a gourmet meal for you.  Following dinner is a dance with live music by returning band, Legacy!
      Alternate meals available - 1 week notice request for special dietary needs.  Please contact Chef Raymond Czayka at (204) 667-2960, BEFORE November 14th.
      Tickets are $25.00 (including a $10.00 tax receipt).  Please see Betty Gunn for tickets. 

RELIGIOUS FAITHS
      Manitoba Interfaith Council & the Faculty of Theology University of Winnipeg are holding Interfaith Education Days.  See bulletin board for more details.

NEWSLETTER ITEMS
     Items for the December newsletter can be given to Teresa Rumley or emailed to treerumley@shaw.ca by Sunday, November 23rd.

     Thank you!

MISSION IN THE WORLD
      Fran Schmidt was ordained and commissioned as the new ELCIC Long-term Missionary for Peru on May 10, 2008. Rev Schmidt participated in the Mission Personnel Orientation program at the Canadian Churches Forum for Global Ministries in Toronto in July and traveled to Bolivia in late August for three months of full-time Spanish language training at the Maryknoll Language Institute in Cochabamba. Early in December, Fran will settle in Lima, Peru where she will serve with the Peruvian Evangelical Lutheran Church (ILEP). She will provide training in Lutheran liturgy and church music, in addition to serving part-time as pastor of an ILEP congregation in Lima. Read all about Rev Schmidt's adventures en route to Peru: http://fransadventures.blogspot.com.

STEWARDSHIP THOTS
  Our Worth Comes from God, Not Money
(Adapted from an Alban Institute Stewardship Article by James Hudnut-Beumler)
       In many congregations, talking about money is taboo. That we don’t talk about money doesn’t mean we don’t worry about it, though. In fact, most of us worry about it constantly. Are we saving enough? Will our pensions be enough when we are old? And now, how will the sharp declines in stock values affect me and my family?
Many people keep such worries to themselves or share them only with their spouses. Sometimes we turn to a coworker for understanding, but rarely to a pastor or to the church and its members.
       One of the best ways people can be the church together in a money-dominated age is to break the taboo against discussing money and money worries. If we are concerned with having enough money to care for others or ourselves, or with meeting payments, let’s confess those concerns to our brothers and sisters in a supportive setting. A burden confessed is a burden shared.
       If we are going to talk about money in the context of our congregations, we owe something to each other—the discipline of going to the next level in listening. One is tempted, when someone relates a financial problem, to try to help that person find a quick fix. What most of us need is not a quick fix or even a good coping strategy. For most of us, a money-related problem is the tip of the iceberg. Underneath the worry about enough money in retirement is worry about growing old. Will I keep my independence, my friends, my mental capacities? Will I be able to buy the help, if I need it, of people I can trust? Below the issue of assisting in paying for university education is concern for the welfare of one’s children. Will they be happy? Will they choose important and satisfying work? Will they be able to get by without parental protection? What Christians need to do for each other is to engage their brothers and sisters at below-the-surface levels.
       Congregations of Christians can do other things to counter the power of money in our lives. The church’s ministry to its members is not merely problem-centered. We also can tell the stories of our lives in less materialistic ways. If we truly believe that life is more than bread and water (and clothing, houses, and cars), then the church must be the institution that validates our nonmaterial values. How? By telling the stories of the generous saints in our midst.
        An example: A man’s child is dying of cancer. He takes family leave without pay to tend to the child. The cancer abates for a while, then returns. The man’s employer replaces him at the end of the statutory leave period. The child dies at home one evening. Now, what does the congregation say in public? What do members say in private to the man who lost a job for the child he loved? Too often we just say, “Sorry for your loss.” Privately we may even say to each other, “It’s too bad that cost him his job.”
        These weak responses are not adequate to the followers of Jesus Christ. Someone needs to stand up and say in the presence of the congregation: “Henry, we grieve with you, but we are also proud of you, for you gave of yourself to your daughter in her time of greatest need without reserve. You are a witness to us all that people come first. We say that nothing can separate us from the love of God; you showed us all the love of God made real through your steadfast commitment to Sarah. Now, Henry, in the name of Jesus Christ, we promise to stand by you in love as you grieve and as you begin to put your life back together. We’ll help you find a job, and for my part, I’m going to pay your electric bill until you’re back on your feet.”
        If this fictional speech seems too personal for your church, it suggests how far we have to go in most congregations to reconcile ourselves to gospel values. The way to encourage generosity is to recognize it publicly and to support those who display its virtues.
       The people of God know something that others don’t. They know that their worth comes from God and not from money—not from money earned, hoarded, spent to purchase things, or used to exercise power. Once people see this truth, they can see that they have things going for them, for they are gifted with an abundance of skills and stories, with opportunities for love and service, and with one another.
       The people of God know that they have things money cannot buy; they know they are rich in things of the soul. The job of the contemporary congregation is, as always, to increase love and understanding of God and love toward the neighbor. Lest money stand in the way of love, congregations must become places where the abundant gifts of God to the people of God become known and celebrated.