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Christ the King Sunday

by Vicar Lisa Rygiel

This upcoming Sunday is Christ the King Sunday and one of our readings is from Revelation 1. Below is the God Pause for Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, from Luther Seminary, which I thought was perfect to prepare our minds for this upcoming Sunday.

“4John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 5and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, 6and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7Look! He is coming with the clouds; every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail. So, it is to be. Amen. 8"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Devotion

The writer of Revelation promises that we will get to see God. Will we realize this when it happens? Will we see the God of Daniel’s vision with white hair and clothing? Or will we see a human man in the form of Jesus who stood before Pilate? Or maybe we will remember the voice of the Holy Spirit as it called to us through the voices of others teaching us that we belong to God. Imagine that you are blindfolded and cannot see with your eyes. Would you still recognize the touch of your loved ones? That is how we can feel God’s love for us in our daily lives through the words and actions of others and through hearing or reading God’s word. Jesus is coming and we will know him when the time comes.

Prayer

Dear Lord, keep us from getting wrapped up in the unimportant details and help us to focus on you, enfolding us in your arms forever. Amen.

Christ the King Sunday 
Nov. 24 -- 10 a.m. Worship with Communion

Favorite Scripture of the Week: Corinthians 13:13, “And now faith, hope, and love remain, these three, and the greatest of these is love.”

  • Weekly Bible Studies: The Rev. Dr. Becky McNeil concludes the weekly Bible Study entitled, The Bible from Scratch, The Old Testament for Beginners this week with sessions at 1 p.m. on Wednesday Nov. 20 and at 10 a.m. on Saturday Nov. 23. After that, the weekly Bible Study will be on hiatus until after the holidays. It will resume on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, with the continuation of The Bible from Scratch, series, now focusing on The New Testament for Beginners. Once again, the study days will follow the twice weekly option of Wednesdays and Saturdays, so that people have. A choice of the study day(s) that work best for them.
  • Turkey Fry Day: Thank you to everyone who came and participated in our Turkey Fry Day. We fried and carved almost 40 turkeys, great job team! Also thank you to everyone who provided comments to Peter Severson for the article he is writing for Living Lutheran Magazine!
  • Fellowship Time & Church Council: Join us after worship today in the Fellowship Hall for Coffee and Conversation.
  • Community Thanksgiving Dinner: Will be served from noon to 3 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. Meals are available, free of charge for dine in, pick up, or delivery. All are welcome. If you know someone who wants to join us, please invite them. If they need meals delivered, let Norine Hazen or Jo Moss know.
  • Thanksgiving Dinner Help Wanted: We still need help and donations for the meal. Sign-up sheets for food and to volunteer time preparing, serving, and delivering meals on Thanksgiving Day are in the Fellowship Hall or talk to Norine Hazen. If you can help with deliveries, let Jo Moss know. 
  • Advent Season: The first Sunday in Advent is Dec. 4 and Advent continues through Dec. 24.
  • Toys for Tots: Our member Terri Watson is the U.S. Marine Corps’ local representative for the annual Toys for Tots She will be placing a collection box in the Fellowship Hall for toy donations. If you would like to make a monetary donation instead, please see Terri.

Special Congregational Meeting: Following worship, we will have a special congregational meeting for voting members of Zion’s. The purpose of this meeting is to vote to affirm the church council's decision to be recognized as a Reconciling in Christ (RIC) church partner. During discussion, all points of view, whether for, against or neutral, will be provided an opportunity to be heard.

As defined in our constitution (Chapter 8), "Voting members are confirmed members who, during the current or preceding calendar year, shall have communed in this congregation and shall have made a contribution of record".

If you wish to attend the meeting via Zoom the link follows:

Topic: Congregational Meeting Welcome/RIC

Time: Nov 24, 2024, 11:30 AM Mountain Time

Join Zoom Meeting:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81217188171?pwd=8RRdHUSgnU51Gpmjbx03a56xt3umvh.1

Council Meeting Notes

Zion's Lutheran church council met for its regular meeting on Nov. 17. The meeting began with an invocation by Vicar Lisa.

The Secretary's report was approved as submitted. The Treasurer's report and Financial Secretary's report were approved as submitted. The Trust Fund report was reviewed and approved.

Vicar Lisa is getting close to completing the TEEM program. She has several meetings scheduled with ELCA committees and the bishop.

The worship and music committee will meet to plan the Blue Christmas and special Christmas Eve Service.

A Special Congregational Meeting was rescheduled for Nov. 24. The purpose of the meeting is to decide whether to become a Reconciling in Christ church partner.

We are looking for volunteers to staff our 2024 Audit committee and the Board of Trustees which oversees the Samuels Trust Fund. The audit committee is tasked with reviewing our financial policies and procedures and meets once each year. The Board of Trustees work with our financial planner Mike Malloy at Charles Schwab and reports to the church council. If you are interested in helping with either of these committees, please see Julie Wersal or any council member

Norine filled council in on where we are with plans for our 31st Annual Thanksgiving Dinner. Peter Severson, Director of Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Colorado, from the Rocky Mountain Synod, was here for "Fry Day" and is writing an article about our mission for the Living Lutheran magazine.

Council voted to have a 5-Loaves delivery Dec. 28. Due to holiday schedules, we will need extra help with setup as well as delivery.

The next annual meeting will be scheduled for Sunday Feb. 2, 2025. If you are interested in serving on the church council, please see any member or Vicar Lisa. Cherie, Vicar Lisa, Julie M., Mike, and Julie W. have volunteered to develop the budget for 2025. Mike, Mark, and Julie W. have volunteered to review our insurance policy for 2025. The next council meeting is scheduled for Dec. 8.

Respectfully submitted,

Julie Wersal, Council President

E-formation – Christ the King Sunday, Last Sunday after Pentecost -- Nov. 24

Hoping to celebrate the lordship of Christ in a world of increasingly secular and non-Christian empires, Pope Pius XI inaugurated in 1925 a Sunday dedicated to Christ as king. Originally Roman Catholics celebrated Christ the King on the last Sunday in October. When the Roman Catholics proposed the three-year lectionary after the Second Vatican Council, Christ the King was moved to the final Sunday of the liturgical year. The Revised Common Lectionary has retained the festival. Its emphasis on the eschatological majesty of Christ leads well into Advent.

John 18:33-37

Today the lectionary appoints a reading from John, since Mark’s gospel does not elaborate on the metaphor of Christ as king. In this excerpt, Jesus is paradoxically a king since, rather than exert his own dominion over others, he testifies to the truth of God. The trial before Pilate is part of the way of the cross: the king will reign on the cross.

Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14

The Daniel excerpt is appointed for Christ the King because it is a significant Old Testament passage cast in monarchical imagery that since the first century Christians have applied to Christ. The Ancient One on a throne is God, and the one like a human being who stands before God is Jesus Christ, whom all peoples now serve.

Revelation 1:4b-8

The Revelation excerpt is laden with language that describes Christ. He is faithful to God’s call; he died as a witness to his faith; he is the first recipient of the final resurrection; he, not the Roman emperor, is King of kings; his blood freed us from sin; his authority has made the community a kingdom of priests who serve God; he rules all things; he will come again with the clouds, that is, as the presence of God, who is God past, present, and future, the A and Z of the Greek alphabet, the beginning and ending of everything. The passage indicates that no one metaphor is sufficient in our descriptions of God, important to note on this festival on which one single image is celebrated.

Zion's Lutheran Church

zionsluth@gmail.com

719-846-7785