Weekly Newsletter

Glimpses of Glendale Glendale Lutheran Church Newsletter   December 8, 2022 Qualified Charitable Distributions from Your IRA Many retirees notice that Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) from IRAs have negative consequences that include: pushing them into a higher tax bracket increasing the amount of their Social Security benefits that are taxable and/or causing them to have to pay increased Medicare premiums, known as Income Related Monthly Adjustment Amounts (IRMAA). If you are required to take an RMD from an IRA, did you know that you can eliminate or reduce these negative consequences by instructing your IRA custodian to transfer all or a portion of your RMD directly to a qualified charity, such as Glendale Lutheran Church? This is called a Qualified Charitable Distribution and it counts toward satisfying your RMD for the year, up to $100,000. More importantly, the amount of a QCD is excluded from your taxable income. That's worth repeating. The amount of a QCD is not counted in your taxable income for that year. Important: This tax benefit is not available to you if you take possession of your RMD, even if you give the amount of your RMD to charity that same year. If you take possession of your RMD, it is considered a taxable event, even if you give it away. If you wish to take advantage of a QCD, please contact your IRA custodian. Gingerbread House Decorating! Sunday December 18th from 11:30am to 2:30pm  Christmas fun for all ages! Come to help prepare and celebrate for Jesus’ birth!  Sign-up forms and payment will be available soon in the narthex before and after worship or in the church office. The cost will be $15 cash or check for each gingerbread house. Checks can be made out to Glendale Lutheran Church.  Sponsors are needed to help pay for gingerbread houses, refreshments, and decorations. Thrivent action teams are perfect for this occasion! Contact Steph Chapa at 320-510-4862 if you would like to help.  Donations of miniature candies and pretzels, winter decorations, and large cake disks for gingerbread houses can be dropped off in a labelled box in the entry way.  Volunteers are also needed to help decorate, set-up, and serve refreshments.  Please contact Steph Chapa with any questions at 320-510-4862.  One Last 2022 Advent Potluck! Bring a dish to share December 14 and enjoy our final potluck of the season! Dinner at 5:30, worship at 6:30. Thank You! I continue to be blessed to have the Glendale family praying for me each and every day. It is a great source of comfort and I feel the love from each and every one of you. For those that have sent cards, know they seem to come at just the right time and put a smile on my face. A special thanks to the Tuesday and Thursday Bible Study groups for their generous support. Keep those prayers coming. Thank you! Kimberly (Frimel) Bartolacci Altar Flowers 2023 The Altar Flowers 2023 dates are now available! You can sign up online via the link, or if you'd rather you can simply email or call Michelle. Altar Flower FAQ sheets are on the kiosk as well as over by the staff mailboxes (where the physical flower chart hung in years past). Mortgage Update We continue to publish our current mortgage activity on the kiosk but it is worth noting that in less than 5 years we have reduced our $900,000 indebtedness by $378,000 for a current balance of $521,602. This significant reduction in principal liability has been accomplished thanks to a steady stream of member specified gifts and most recently a $50,000 gift specified for principal reduction. These payments over and above our regular monthly principal and interest payment of $5,750 have saved us hundreds of thousands in interest expense and at the same time reduced the length of time of our mortgage obligation by many many months. We are currently still “enjoying” a mortgage interest of 4.75%. This means that almost 65% of our monthly payment goes directly to reduction of principal. We acknowledge, with thankfulness, those who week by week keep chipping away to reduce this debt. God With Us - article by Joel Hempel Most people reading this article can tell you that Emmanuel means “God with us.” Although for some of us, it helps to have an annual reminder.   What is God saying to us by having the name Emmanuel identified with his Son, Jesus? There are at least three ways of answering that question.   God   First, it is mindboggling to reflect on the fact that God, the Creator of the universe, the one who fixed in place the galaxies and their hundreds stars, the God who set life in motion on earth and for centuries has had scientists scrambling trying to figure out how it all happened, that same One-True-God wants to be with us, wants to be with you – his prize creation.   Scholar and theologian Eugene Peterson authored an interpretation of the New Testament called The Message. He translated the familiar John 1:14 passage, “The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.” Our God is far beyond us and is as near as next door.   With   If I am with you, I am not against you; I’m for you. If I am with you, I am on your side. If I am with you, I am in your presence. I’m nearby and available. If I am with you, I have your back. If I am with you, I am someone you can trust. I’m your friend, your ally, your confidant. God in Christ is all of this and so much more. Scripture puts it this way: God, the Holy Spirit, is our Counselor, Helper, Advocate, Comforter, and Teacher.   You can’t think about this too much. What are you facing in your life? Look who is on your side: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. What do you need? Call on him by name. He is at your side.   Us   God could be anywhere God wants to be. He could be in the heavens and beyond the stars. He could be in the crises around us, in the storms that threaten with their loud, howling wind, and in the still, small whisper of a hummingbird. God could have been in the past while waiting for us in the future. God is where God chooses to be. One thing we know for sure: He has chosen to be with us! With you! Why? God only knows the whole reason. But this much we know:   God loves us. He can’t keep his eyes off of us. It’s not that God is a helicopter god constantly hovering over us like a bothersome drone. He is not. It’s just that God is our Father, and we are his children.   He wants to be with us.  Finance Update Next Sunday's Bible Readings Isaiah 7:10-17; Romans 1:1-7; Matthew 1:18-25 Worship Leaders This Sunday - 12/11 Lector: Jerry Nicolaus Communion: Mike Toney Greeters: Ken & Jeanne Clark S/V: Tony Petzoldt Ushers: Judy George, Jeanne Lipinski Children's Message: Tim Cosby Next Sunday - 12/18 Lector: Greg Frimel Communion: Steve Phelps Greeters: Ron & Carol Froesel S/V: Paul Barbercheck Ushers:  Tony Petzoldt, Becci Sasser, Gerry Lucas Children's Message: Janet Leet The Word Within the Word Online Calendar Glendale Lutheran Church Monday-Thursday 8:00 am-4:30 pm (314) 966-3220 glendalelutheranchurch@gmail.com Connect With Us:

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