Despite the many awful things 2021 brought, it’s still 2021 A.D. A.D. is the abbreviation for “Anno Domino” which means “the year of our Lord.” Every year is the Lord’s year. Every year belongs to Jesus. There is no year that has been or will be, no place on any calendar, that is not held in the hands of our Lord who gave His life and rose again. New Year’s is eight days after Jesus was born, marking the time when He was given His name and circumcised according to the Law of Moses. This simple-but painful and bloody-act reminds us that from his very first days, our Lord kept the Law for us and shed His blood for us. He does that so that we would also have a name, given to you in Baptism, and a family, God’s for you to be a part of. As 2021 gives way to 2022, I hope and pray every good blessing for you in Christ. While we have no idea what each new year, let alone month or week or day will bring, we live each of those days in the glad confidence of our forgiveness, life, and salvation in Jesus. Come celebrate the coming New Year of our Lord which is imprinted with His Name as 2022 begins. See you tonight in the Divine Service!

NEW YEAR’S EVE WORSHIP
Divine Service is TONIGHT at 7pm. We’ll observe the Feast Day of the Circumcision and Name of Jesus.

PACKING UP THE CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS
Please stay to help un-decorate the church on Sunday and put away the Christmas decorations. The way the calendar falls this year, we’ll be observing Epiphany on Sunday and so it’s time to bid farewell to the Christmas season already. With many hands to help, it should take no time at all. Please NOTE: there will be NO Learning the Faith Sunday so we can take down decorations.

COVID RISING
With the recent surge- again!- please accept the gentle reminder to stay home if you have any symptoms or test positive for Covid. If you do, please let Pastor know so we can pray for you and arrange for pastoral care if possible. Thank you for loving your neighbor in the midst of the pandemic.

ENCOURAGEMENT FOR PETER POLLACK
Peter’s only real course of recovery now is a lung transplant. Please pray that he can get on the transplant list. They are trying to wake him and demonstrate his viability for transplant. You can continue to send your cards and letters of encouragement to him and Robin here:
Lutheran General Hospital MICU
Attn: Peter Pollack, Room 12
1775 Dempster Street
Park Ridge, IL 60068

MASKS IN WORSHIP
We are currently wearing our masks during worship. At this time there is no restriction on capacity or seating arrangements. Please consider the well-being of your neighbor most especially by staying home if you have any symptoms of illness. As always, you can get in touch with me to request a visit if you can’t be in church. Thank you for your patience and understanding and love of neighbor in all of this!

LIVE STREAM INFORMATION
You can watch live and find recorded services at the links below:
We stream live on our FACEBOOK PAGE HERE.
Our videos are also live and recorded on YOUTUBE HERE.

Because of the way the calendar falls this year, we’ll be observing the Epiphany of our Lord on Sunday. That’s when the wise men arrived to worship the King at Bethlehem. They were gentiles and so remind us that the Baby of Bethlehem was born for all people, Jew and Gentile alike. It’s a reminder that the Light of Christ shines for everyone all around the world. Rejoice in that Light in the midst of this dark world. See you in the Divine Service!

In Christ,
Pastor Buetow