Share your story of God’s presence by this Friday, January 22: You are invited to share stories of God’s presence with you – bringing comfort, peace, strength, resilience, hope. How has God been present to you in ways that have created trust? The stories can be from the past year, or stories from any time in your past are welcome. You can share just a few sentences, or a longer story is welcomed as well. The stories will be shared anonymously as part of the sermon on Sunday, January 24 by Pastor Chad. You can enter your responses for here: https://forms.gle/mZaDVnfjDpSo1s7W9

Proposed Ministry Financial Plan 2021 Conversation This Sunday, Jan. 24: Join us for worship this Sunday, Jan. 24 at our regular time of 9:30am, and our regular zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/825027809?pwd=SUFEaHhBN1ErZ1FuM1FReS9sTVNrUT09  Meeting ID: 825027809; Password: 205745; Call in: 346-248-7799. During the coffee hour time, stick around for a discussion on the proposed Ministry Financial Plan for 2021. A digital copy of the Annual Report for 2020 will also be available on or before this Sunday, Jan. 24 via our eConnect list for your review.

Please also save these future dates to join us for worship at 9:30am and stay for these important events during the coffee hour/fellowship time:
*January 31 – Annual Meeting following worship (sadly, no pancake breakfast this year, but you can prepare some for yourself)
*February 7- Campus Ministry Sunday with student guest preacher during worship

Conversations for Connection, Thursday, January 21, 7-8pm: The Power of Rituals with Aly Kohlmeyer. This is our Conversation for Connection: Supporting Mental Health. During a time when our world seems to change by the day and even by the hour, there are moments of uncertainty and continual adjustment to what is new. In this time of change, there is power in rituals. The power of regular rituals sustains us and brings consistency to our lives. Together, we will explore the ways rituals give us life. We will share in conversation about the rituals that we have unearthed at this time that bring us comfort and steadiness. Come to learn! Come to share! Aly Kohlmeyer is a seminary student at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN and serves as intern pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, CO. She and her husband Chad have three growing and active sons, ages 14, 11, and 5. She has found strength and hope in adopting new rituals throughout the past year. Join Zoom Meeting  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4264420220

“Telling the Resurrection for True: The Gospel of Mark” Online course: Jan. 21 & 28, Feb. 4 & 11: In the dark of late January, we will gather (on Zoom, of course) to think together about what it means to walk slowly toward Mark’s odd Resurrection story. After the year we have had, something in us surely wants Easter to explode in obvious glory. But the sun does not come up all at once… In this 4-session workshop presented by Pam Faro (MDiv) and Richard W. Swanson (PhD), come think with us about how we might tell true stories of Resurrection in our tense and complicated world. Pam will tell key parts of Mark’s gospel – we will experience the story together. Richard will guide our exploration of Pam’s performances – we will join with each other in exploratory thinking about this ancient & audacious story. The course will meet on four Thursdays (Jan. 21 & 28, Feb. 4 & 11), 12-1:45 pm. Click on the flyer for more info and links. Questions? Contact either Richard Swanson (richard.swanson@augie.edu) or Pam Faro (pamfaro@gmail.com). Link for this event’s info, fees, and registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/telling-the-resurrection-for-true-the-gospel-of-mark-registration-134704226969

Confirmation Youth Meetings occur on Sundays at 4pm. High School Youth Meetings occur Mondays at 4pm. Pastor Stacy sends the Zoom links directly to the participants.

5th/6th Grade Year of Service Update: Even though we haven’t been able to gather together, the 5 th and 6 th grade Year of Service was still able to join together remotely in service of others! In December we applied for and received a Thrivent Action kit.  With $250 from Thrivent we purchased enough fleece for each student to tie 4 fleece scarves for a total of 48 scarves.  After purchasing the fleece and other supplies for distributing and collecting the kits, we had enough money left over to purchase 48 face masks and 48 pairs of socks! Everything needed to assemble the kits was distributed and collected remotely.  Lori delivered the kits to Sister Carmen and they were very thankful for our donations. We are grateful that we have still been able to find ways to serve others.  Stay tuned for our next project!

Enjoy some wonderful music from Atonement building guests! Late in 2020 Atonement hosted a composer, saxophonist, and pianist for a special music recording. Please enjoy their work! Program Notes: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1l8PsJAijkwHV8oHAPGSuY3JaMblmQjtg/view?usp=sharing; YouTube Link: Portraits of Being by Daniel Whitworth – YouTube

Mark your calendars for Atonement’s Annual Meeting on Sunday, January 31 following our 9:30am worship.

***Update renovation video from 1-13-2021: https://youtu.be/e_b5Y0BAjjE
*We are grateful that the Connecting Campaign facility upgrades are underway. A lot of progress was made over the past 15 days.

*We have been told that the construction project is slated to last 4-5 months, and the entire facility will be under construction at the same time. This will limit our access to basically the sanctuary and a few offices but will expedite the timeframe. The Atonement team has continued to work, reviewing the final plans, working on the design for the tower and chancel ‘furniture’, and picking out the finishes for the project (flooring, trim, etc.) as well as appliances for the kitchen. Thank you for your prayers.