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CPLC News

THE FIRST WORD

Pastor Martin Ericson

Dear Friends,

Gratitude flows and I am grateful.

The world is greater than I can imag-

ine, more beautiful and glorious in

every way than I can ever perceive,

and yet I catch glimpses of its glory.

And I am grateful.

Small children gather and play and

sometimes squall in ways that bring

back memories of dirt stained knees

and grass stained shirts and even

scrapes that bleed. And I am grateful.

I hold a hand that’s old and fragile,

deeply lined and blue with veins.

There are greetings, stories, laughter,

tears and prayers. And I am grateful:

for this person, moment, tears and

prayers all shared in hope and faith of

glory yet to come. And I am filled with

gratitude. It flows.

The table’s set. The wine is poured in

candlelight. Two glasses filled with

water. The simple fare is soup and

bread, a salad of mixed greens. It is a

feast and I am grateful.

There is food enough to share and ta-

ble space for more should any come.

And I am grateful.

The day is cold, the sun is bright, glis-

tening diamond-like on the snows

surface, the temperature’s so low the

snow squeaks underfoot. It’s winter-

time. And I am grateful.

Time passes, It catches one up and

sweeps one along while leaving in its

wake those things that we forget and

those things that we remember. It

carries us. And I am filled with grati-

tude for each moment’s love and

beauty, for the company of friend-

ships and the kindnesses of

strangers, and for the constant, cer-

tain assurance that I am not alone.

God blesses me. I am kissed by holi-

ness and surrounded by love.

And I am grateful.

Pastor Martin Ericson

My son, Ethan, is studying abroad this semes-

ter in Salzburg, Austria. We are fortunate to be

able to visit him and to go together to see the

area that Kathy’s family came from. This has

gotten me thinking about where we come from

as Christians. I know each of you has a story

about how you came to Christ and how you

came to Como Park Lutheran. I was baptized in

a Methodist church but confirmed in a Congre-

gational Church because when we moved, my

older brother told my parents, “I don’t know

where you are planning to go to church, but

First Congregational has a great youth group

and I’m going there.” They did have a great

youth group, and the youth pastor had a signif-

icant influence on me. In high school, I predom-

inantly played for Episcopal, Catholic, and Con-

gregational services. Since then, I have also

served Methodist, Presbyterian and Lutheran

congregations. Each congregation I have served

has taught me new ways to worship. I came to

CPLC twenty years ago because I felt called to

serve here. These stories of our faith journey

are important. They have shaped our faith, the

way we worship, and the community we wor-

ship with, but what about further back in time?

How has the history of Christianity shaped our

worship today?

Martin Luther made some significant changes

in worship that we continue. He introduced

hymns for congregational singing in the Sunday

service. He translated the bible and the service

into the language of the people. He advocated

for congregational participation in rather than

congregational observation of worship. He wrote

hymnody that would impart the faith as well as

praising and petitioning God. We hold these

same ideals today with the pastor, worship

leaders, and congregation worshipping together

as equal partners, and with music an important

part of our worship and faith formation.

Our worship structure is based on the way the

early Christian church shaped worship. The

very early church would gather together to

pray, and to hear scripture before taking com-

munion. By around 600 A.D the major portions

of the mass were set. You can look in the bulle-

tin each week and see that format with the

Gathering that includes the Kyrie, Hymn of

Praise, and prayers; the Word which includes

readings and the sermon; the Meal where we

offer our gifts and receive communion; and the

Sending as we are blessed to go into the world.

Some of the texts we use, such as the Kyrie,

were first used before 500 A.D. Imagine sym-

bolically worshipping with over 1500 years of

Christians!

Even Jewish temple tradition is part of our wor-

ship heritage. In the temple in Jerusalem, the

psalm was sung responsively. In synagogue

worship, scripture was read and teaching pro-

claimed from the front. A lectern was used and

sometimes it was on a raised dais.

In the Apostolic Creed we confess that we be-

lieve in “the communion of saints.” Our faith

Music

Tom Ferry

Music: Called to Community and our worship is with all Christians throughout time and space. When we worship using the

same texts, music, and format that Christians before us have, it can connect us to the whole

body of Christ. Our challenge today is to keep our heritage while still allowing room for new

ways of praise, prayer, and petition in worship.

Tom Ferry

Director of Music Ministries

Upcoming Worship highlights

November 4

November 18

November 11

Forum: National Alliance on Mental Illness

November 25

Forum: Joy McElroy— My Neighbor is not for Sale

Forum: My Neighbor is not for Sale

Forum: Dr. Alan Padgett

November 21

6:00pm Choir Gathers

7:00PM THANKSGIVING SERVICE at New Life Presbyterian

Pie Social to Follow

All Saints Sunday 8:30am CPL Choir 10:45am Sunday School Choir All Saints Sunday School Curriculum Littles and Middles Carnival 12:00– 2:00pm

1:00pm Youth and Diversity Committee Outing to the Science Museum

Blessing of the Quilts Large Sunday School Group Art Activity in the Fellowship Hall

The start of November often evokes a variety

of emotions, activities, and business. We

have just come off of the high of Halloween,

the Day of the Dead, scary movies and

buckets of candy. Our youth group spent

the Wednesday before MEA weekend watch-

ing Hocus Pocus, playing spooky board

games, and decorating Halloween cookies.

We also attended the Haunted Hay Ride in

late October for a real good scare, as well as

discussing the concept of Jesus, resurrec-

tion, and zombies during our regular youth

group time.

Autumn makes me think of school, and

Sunday School is in full swing as well. We

started off the year with the blessing of the

backpacks and the teacher installation on

Rally Day. The next week we presented 3

year olds, 3rd graders, and 6th graders with

Bibles of their own. As children attend Sun-

day School this year, they will go through

the Seasons of Creation curriculum – focus-

ing on rivers, forests, and mountains in the

Bible and in their lives.

Adult Education has had a busy start up,

and will continue throughout the year.

Grace Circle returns on the third Thursday

in the Fireside Room at 9:30, as well as

Women of the Word at Barnes and Noble at

6:30, and Senior Ministry at 11:45 every

second Tuesday in the Fellowship Hall. The

Adult Forum schedule continues at 9:35

every Sunday between services. The Nation-

al Alliance on Mental Illness has come to

speak with us, as well as ISAIAH of Minne-

sota, our guest preaching Scholar Dr.

Padgett, and our very own Block Nurse Pro-

gram.

Autumn also makes me think of the colors

and the smells – leaves continue to pile up,

pumpkin and apple dishes abound. The Lit-

tles and Middles Fall Carnival is coming up

soon on Sunday, November 4th. It takes

place right after church from 12 – 2 PM in

the Fellowship Hall. All are invited to this

fun intergenerational event. Remember to

bring a dish for the potluck lunch! Also re-

lated to apples, pumpkins, and food is our

annual ecumenical Thanksgiving Eve ser-

vice Wednesday, November 21st, starting at

7 PM @ New Life Presbyterian Church.

Bring a Pie to share! And lastly, the CPLC

Littles and Middles program is putting on

another Parents' Night Out – Friday evening

November 16th from 6 – 10 PM. Parents –

drop your children off at church after sup-

per and have a few hours to yourself! Put

your feet up, finalize Thanksgiving plans, or

get an early jump on Christmas. And

speaking of...

Youth

Josh Syzpulski

Christmas isn't that far away! Our annual Christmas Pageant is on the calendar, so get

these dates up on the refrigerator:

Rehearsal – Saturday 12/1, 10 AM – 12 PM

Rehearsal – Saturday 12/8, 10 AM – 12 PM

Pageant – Saturday 12/8, 4 PM (Be at church by 3:30)

Pageant – Sunday 12/9, 10:45 AM Service (Be at church by 10:15)

God’s peace,

-Josh

Sunday School

Jane Nelson

For all your goodness, Lord, we give you thanks.

Celebrating this time of Thanksgiving, I asked the children K-grade 4 to

list things they are thankful for. Here are their responses:

I am thankful for:

My house My stuffed bunny that came all the way from Norway

Ice cream God Sun Family Air-conditioning Clean water My

Legos My bed TV Jesus Trees that give us fresh air Nature

School Food Pizza Winter jackets

Thanks for the food we eat, and for the friends we meet. For each new

day we greet, we give you thanks!

11/2…………...Kyle Bergstrom 11/3……………..Brennan Todd 11/4…..………Michael Santoro Nathan Schultz 11/6…..…………Christine Tuft 11/7……..…………Tore Detlie Fred Halberg 11/8……….…Darlene Amlotte Pamela Mix Mary Peterson 11/9………….........Helen Siegel 11/10…………Jeffrey Kragness Beulah Wiess 11/11……………Gene Bennet Jonathan Nye 11/12………Alexander Borden 11/13……………Andy Brogger 11/14………………Kevin Busch

11/15…………Doris Anderson Joanne Becker 11/16……………Janet Lathrop 11/17………Bernice Carpender Sheryl Rodriguez 11/20……………Scott Heaton 11/24……………..Sandra Hirsch Elaine Ogren 11/25…………Ashley Brogger Femi Obikoya 11/27……………Fay Cushman Jane Nelson 11/28……………Daniel Fischer 11/29……………Carter Durand

11/3…………………Joseph and Greta Wegner

11/19…………………Mark and Joanne Becker

11/21…………………..Barton and Beth Nelson

WORLD MISSION: Dr. Stephen & Jodi Swanson, Tanzania

CHURCH MISSION PARTNERS: Christ Lutheran Church on Capitol Hill

SYNOD MISSION PARTNERS: Iringa Diocese of Tanzania & Iglesia Lutherana Augustine

de Guatemalé

Birthdays

Anniversary

Quilting—Tuesday Mornings, 9:00am — Fellowship Hall Check out our weekly quilting group for fun, fellowship, and food! We get together every Tuesday morning to work on quilts that we donate each year. We always enjoy a snack after our morning of great conversation and hard

work!

Lutherans & Lattes—Tuesdays, 9:00am — @ Underground Music Cafe

Indulge in a couple of favorite Lutheran pastimes: coffee and conversation! The coffee & tea are as refreshing as our conversations. Join us as we discuss our experience of God in regular life, exploring current world events, theology, scripture, and more – all from a Lutheran/Christian perspective. Join your CPLC friends for Lutherans & Lattes next Tuesday

morning!

Men’s Bible Study—Thursday Mornings 7:30am — Perkins (1495 Cty. Rd. B W) Coffee, bacon, Bible — 'nuff said. Bring yourself and bring a

friend!

Theology on Tap—Tuesday, November 6th 8:oopm — Blackstack Brewing (755 Prior Ave N) We always meet on the first Tuesday of each month. Our conversations deal with the intersection of faith and life, theology and current events. Join in the friendly and meaningful conversation. Stop by

and check it out!

Women of the Word— Thursday, November 15th 6:30pm

Har Mar Barnes & Noble Café Questions? Call Jane Nelson: 651-484-7978. This year Women of the Word will discuss King David.

Grace Circle —The Fireside Room

We meet the third Thursday of each month at 9:30am from September through June for Bible Study, fellowship, and coffee. We would love to have you join us. For more information, call Sheila Skone 651-488-5084.

Senior Fellowship Luncheon November 8th

Join us at Noon for Keri Huber from the Minnesota State Fair Foundation, and a lunch of Turkey and Gravy with Mashed potatos and dessert. Lunch is served at Noon.

THE LAst WORD

Pastor Martin Ericson

Dear Friends,

We begin this month with All Saints

Sunday and the remembrance of those

who have passed away. Later we cele-

brate with Thanksgiving Eve worship

and the holiness of family. Then we

suddenly, it seems, bump into Christ

the King Sunday and the culmination

of the Church year. Where did it go so

quickly? Then Advent is upon us with

the new Church year and the prepara-

tions for the coming of our Lord.

These are days and festivals that

speak to us of the fullness of God’s

grace, and the immensity of God’s

reign. These are Sundays and festivals

filled with messages of hope and love

that we cherish and that others long to

hear. So won’t you please reach out?

Invite that person close to you, or that

someone you’ve just met who might be

seeking, and invite them to join you

here. We’d love to see them, and

there’s no better time for someone to

step in and see what we’re about. “I

think you might like Como Park Lu-

theran Church!” It’s as simple as that.

Or “Would you like to go to church

with me this Sunday? I think that you

might like it. The music’s pretty awe-

some.” Or maybe, “You look like you

could use a donut hole. I know just

the place for you. They’re free.” Your

invitation may be all that’s needed. Or

it just may be the seed that grows into

something down the road. But try it

out. Reach out. There’s room in the

pew and all are welcome.

God’s Blessings to you all,

Pastor Marty

JOIN US FOR WORSHIP

8:30 and 10:45am Sunday

Como Park Lutheran Church 1376 Hoyt Avenue West Saint Paul, MN 55108 651-646-7127 www.ComoParkLutheran.org

BIBLE VERSE OF THE MONTH

A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.

Proverbs 17:17

Como Park Lutheran Church | 1376 Hoyt Ave W, Saint Paul MN 55108 | 651-646-7127 | office@comoparklutheran.org | comoparklutheran.org