• Wednesday, November 22, at 6:30 PM (livestream available)
• Thursday, November 23, at 9:00 AM
  (no Thursday evening worship)

Thanksgiving prayer for your gathering
Consider the head of the household reading this prayer and all joining in adding their specific prayer of thanks at the end. Thanks to Pastor Phil Hunter of Citrus Grove Lutheran Church, Wesley Chapel, Florida, for providing this.

Almighty God, thank you for your abundant blessings. Although we often forget to thank you, we pause this Thanksgiving Day to name you as the Provider and Preserver of all things. You hold us in your hand.

Father in Heaven, you made each of us and everything in this world. Your power and skill are astounding.

Lord Jesus, we thank you for your mercy. You loved our world enough to free humanity from guilt and failure. You deserve our constant thanks for your pure life, your death on the cross, and for rising to life again. You have answered our biggest questions, calmed our worst fears, and promised us life forever in heaven with each other and with you.

Holy Spirit, you keep our hearts at peace. Thank you for the Bible and for the precious gift of faith in Jesus.

Lord God, you have protected us from dangers we never noticed. You’ve also brought blessing out of hardship.

Thank you for health and home, for family and friends. Thank you for our country, and thank you for this food you’ve given us to enjoy.

Now we give you special thanks for personal blessings as each of us here says, “Thank you, God, for ___________.”

In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Call meeting
The Board of Directors is working with our district president and the WELS Commission on Lutheran Schools to fill two vacancies in our ministry of Westside Christian School: 1) a principal and 2) a special education/English language arts teacher. In a special meeting at 11:45 AM on Sunday, November 26, those interested are welcome to provide input on candidates. Following a discussion of candidates, members of the Voters’ Assembly will be asked to choose one for each position to whom we will extend a call.

Important message from President Grow
This is a pivotal moment for our church and Westside Christian School. I am asking you to participate in the discussion next Sunday, November 26, after the second service. We will discuss candidates to fill the role of principal at WCS for the 2024-2025 school year, as well as a special education/English language arts teacher. After discussion, we will act as a voting body to prayerfully determine who we will call to fill these positions. Even if you don’t typically attend voters’ meetings, please join us for this one. We want to hear input from as many people as possible. Discussing important decisions as a church body is a unique privilege and a blessing from God. Please join me and many other leaders at St. Andrew and Westside Christian School for this important meeting. Clayton Grow, President

Children’s Christmas Program rehearsals
Sunday, December 10, starting at 3:30 PM, the children of St. Andrew and Westside Christian School will present their Christmas program at the Middleton Performing Arts Center. There are a few important rehearsals coming up for those participating:

• Tuesday, December 5, 6 – 7 PM, at St. Andrew (grades 2 – 8 only)
• Saturday, December 9, at the Middleton PAC
  • 9:00 – 9:30 AM—Pre-K3 – grade 1
  • 9:30 – 11:00 AM—grades 2 – 8

If your child is interested in participating in the program, please reach out to Minister of Worship Naomi Laabs. Practice materials can be found here.

Singing opportunities
Blend your voice with others for two upcoming services. The Adult Choir will rehearse at 7 PM on Wednesdays to sing for worship on the following dates:
Sunday, December 10 (8 & 10:30 AM)—rehearsals will be November 29 & December 6

• Sunday, December 24 (10 AM, 3, 5 PM)—rehearsals will be December 13 & 20

Worship check-in
If you worship on-site, please fill out the Connection Card attached to your worship folder. Online worshipers, please continue to check in here.

Weekend worship songs
Preview some of the songs we will use for worship this weekend. Obviously ours won’t sound exactly like this, but listening to the links provided will certainly help you be more comfortable participating in the service.

“Rejoice” by Skye Peterson, Rend Collective
“Great Things” by Phil Wickham
“10,000 Reasons” by Matt Redman
“Now Thank We All Our God” arranged by Tim Bode

“Christ Our Hope in Life and Death” by Papa, Boswell, Kauflin, Merker, Getty
“O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing” arranged by Paul Mills
“I Will Rise” by Chris Tomlin
“Hymn of Heaven” by Phil Wickham

• St. Andrew Advent video devotions from 2021-22
• Advent online devotions from Martin Luther College
• A recommended Advent devotion book from Northwestern Publishing House: Behold I am Coming Soon!
• Advent worship at sister churches:
  • Thursdays at 6:30 in December at Resurrection Lutheran in Verona
  • Wednesdays at 6:00 PM and 9:00 PM (November 29 – December 13) at Wisconsin Lutheran Chapel

God bless you as you look back on and look ahead to the coming of your Savior.

Grow in Grace
Grow in Grace returns in December and January at 9:30 AM in the sanctuary.

• What’s Going on in Israel? | December 3
  • Learn the difference between ancient Israel, spiritual Israel, and the modern nation of Israel.
• Glow in the Dark: Grit, Resilience, and Faithfulness in the Face of Grief | December 10
  • You’ve heard buzz words about handling difficult times: grit, perseverance, resilience, toughness, and the like. What do these words look like for a grieving child of God? Dr. Stacy (Hoehl) Jensen, author of Purposeful Grieving and professor at Wisconsin Lutheran College, will share what it means to embrace life’s most challenging moments as gifts from God and opportunities to be faithful to his calling.

St. Andrew has been a valuable partner since 2011. With your encouragement, many congregations and schools have benefited from the services offered by Crossroads Consulting Ministry and, through our partnership, also by St. Andrew.

Gratefully yours while assisting God’s people with pursuing his mission,
Elton Stroh

November food & clothing drive (plus delivery)
Our drive is almost over! Help us serve those who struggle to keep warm and fed by bringing in food or clothing items to be donated to a local charity organization.

Food must not be opened or expired (please check) and must not require refrigeration. Clothing must be clean and new or gently used. Undergarments must be new. Please visit Way Forward’s website for more specific information and ideas.

If you can help deliver these goods on Monday, November 27, or Tuesday, November 28, please contact Pastor Clinton. Trucks, vans without car seats, and SUVS are helpful, but not necessary. The facility is less than a mile from St. Andrew.

Mission London
This just in! An effort to help establish our sister church in London (yes, the one in England) is looking for adult mission teams. Many more details will emerge soon (likewise for our summer teen trips), but if this is something you might consider for June or July 2024, please let Pastor Clinton know you are interested.

Monthly Mission Partner
November’s partner is Sure Foundation Lutheran Church in Brandon, South Dakota. St. Andrew has sent mission teams to this recently launched mission church in the past and plans to send another this summer. View Pastor Wilke’s message and update to St. Andrew in this video.