DO YOU SEE WHAT I SEE?
Sometimes our pastors ask in sermons “Where do you see God?” or “How do you witness God’s work in the world?” While we believe that God’s presence is with us and God’s work is ongoing it is not always easy to see all the ways that God shows up in our daily lives. This year for Advent we wait for the coming of Christ by exploring where God is and how God works among us.Our theme borrows the classic Christmas lyrics and asks, Do You See What I See? As we gather in worship to hear scripture that reveals how God has shown up in the past and anticipates how God will show up in the future we will hear stories from Vinje members about how God shows up in the present. Pastor Karoline Lewis from Luther Seminary reminds us that Advent “assures us that God has secured a future for us that breaks into our present, and really, truly changes our here and now.” This Advent we will ponder together how we have been changed by God’s activity in our lives.Of course our call to serve our neighbor wouldn’t be well served if we didn’t take this opportunity to be part of God’s activity in the world. Each Wednesday and Sunday our children will gather coins (cash and check are welcome as well) for a noisy offering. Start saving up your spare change now as all of these funds will be used to further God’s activity in our world around us. We plan to split these offerings between needs that God is addressing in our Willmar community and also throughout the world. See the schedule of offerings below and plan to join us in worship and in asking, “Do you see what I see?”
December 1: Lutheran Disaster Response
December 4 & 8: Family Promise
December 11 & 15: ELCA World Hunger
December 18 & 22: United Community Action Partnership