OOTO – Ann will be out of the office on Thur, Jan 8. Heading south for a couple of days to help out a couple of friends.
PRAYERS – Jon Cook; Millie Mutka; Dawn Gonitske; Myria Strong; Kathy Mayo; Barb Zima’s friends Mick, Steven and Marilyn Hummel; Nancy Ehlinger, Gregory Bowens; Laurie Nelson; Amber Ross’s daughter Linda; Jerrie Van Haverbeke’s niece Jolane Gervasi; Sandy Bishop’s friend Kelly Newman; Randy & Diane Niemczyk’s daughter Julia VanAvery, niece Sarah Joda, Denise Runde and Denise Hazel; Dick Volland; Valeria Hesselberg; Chris Markussen; Anne Verona’s sister/brother-in-law Pat & Woody Woodworth and friends Dennis Peterson, Natalie Madine, Eli Peters and Randy Ballard; Strong’s friend Erin Molle; Debbie Cyrtmus’ mother, Rose Wicker and sister, Corrie Trittin; the Ebert’s friend Patricia Kulzick; Patricia Rasmussen’s sister Christine; Joyce Leander’s cousin Laurie Nelson, Kathy Hoys and friend Casey Hohs; Sandy Bishop’s brother Larry; Ashley Clark’s friends Keith & Becky Hernandez and Kristie Dehart; the Waggoner’s sister-in-law Cheryl Busse, and friends Karla Zyhowski, Melissa Branta ; Karen Engels niece Lisa and friend Bob; Ann Carlson’s people Stacy, Darren, Curt and Troy; peace for all nations and comfort for those in distress.
PRAISE GOD FOR ANSWERED PRAYERS! Mary Lou Zelinski has been removed from our prayer list – she is doing much better. David Hage has been released from the hospital with no damage to his heart. Walt has begun treatment and all signs are positive. Jim Moravec is doing better and sends his greetings.
PRAYER LIST PROCEDURE – Submit your prayer requests to the office in writing, by phone, by email or in person. If requesting prayers for someone other than yourself or an immediate family member, please obtain permission – unless the circumstances are public in nature.
GUESTS – if you are visiting us today, please sign our book at the entrance to the sanctuary.
BLOOD PRESSURE CHECKS TODAY – please see Mark and Catherine to get your blood pressure checked.
MITTENS & GLOVES TREE – this Sunday is the last Sunday for the tree. Get’cha mitts in!
LIBRARY UPDATE – we are still putting our library/hang out room together. Pastor Grant has lent – not given – some of his personal books to the library. Please use this as a lending library – not as a ‘take and keep’ library.
ANNUAL MEETING – the annual meeting will be on Jan 25 following worship. If the weather is bad and church is canceled, then the ‘make-up’ day will be Feb 1.
MARTIN LUTHER KING JR DAY – The Northwoods Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Social Justice Committee (whew – try saying that three times fast) – is sponsoring a showing of “Mission Joy: Finding Happiness in Troubled Times” on Jan 18 at 2:00 pm. Located at 8625 Peggy’s Lane, Woodruff. Contact Chris Ebert for additional information. 302-345-8489.
ENVELOPE PICK UP – if you requested offering envelopes – they are in the Narthex.
LWR QUILTERS ARE ON A HIATUS! Knot even kidding. Next quilters meeting will be Feb 18, 2026. Same time, same place, same bat(ting) channel.
FUN FACT – Again – Pastor Grant isn’t get paid enough for some of the questions I lobbed at him. I was having an issue with Jesus not having a godmother/godfather (though – seriously – can’t really top God the Father) and then the timing of acknowledging his baptism, when we just finished epiphany. We go from infant child to Jesus in his thirties. He told me to find out the history behind godparents – so here you go.
Godparents have been around a lot longer than you may think. [I did not fact check Wikipedia. I pulled the majority of this from there]
Within Christianity, a godparent or sponsor is someone who bears witness to a child’s baptism (christening) and later is willing to help in their catechesis, as well as their lifelong spiritual formation. In both religious and civil views, a godparent tends to be an individual chosen by the parents to take an interest in the child’s upbringing and personal development, and to offer mentorship.
As early as the 2nd century AD, infant baptism had begun to gain acceptance among Christians for the spiritual purification and social initiation of infants.
Initially, these sponsors were the birth parents of a child, as emphasized in 408 by St. Augustine who suggested that the sponsors could be other individuals in exceptional circumstances. Within a century, the Corpus Juris Civilis indicates that parents had been replaced in this role almost completely by those who were not the child’s birth parents. This was clarified in 813 when the Synod of Mainz prohibited natural parents from acting as godparents to their own children.
Around the same time, laws intended to prevent marriage between family members were extended to include marriage between god-parents and god-children.
During the Reformation, Luther, Zwingli*, and Calvin preserved infant baptism (and the accompanying baptismal sponsors) in their respective Protestant denominations despite opposition from more radical reformers such as Anabaptists. Their respective visions of the role played by godparents differed from mainstream Catholicism. Luther was opposed to the prohibition of marriage between god-parents and -children, Zwingli placed more emphasis on the role played by the parents and pastors, and Calvin preferred the birth parents serving as sponsors.
In modern practices, Lutherans follow a similar theology of godparents as Catholics. They believe that godparents “help [children] with their Christian upbringing, especially if they should lose their parents”. Lutherans, like Catholics, believe that a godparent must be both a baptized and confirmed Christian. Some Lutherans also follow the Catholic tradition that a Christian who is not affiliated with the Lutheran denomination may serve as a witness rather than a godparent.
Literature and folklore
See also: Fairy godmother
Godparents are noted features of fairy tales and folklore written from the 17th century onwards, and by extension, have found their way into many modern works of fiction. In Godfather Death, presented by the Brothers Grimm, the archetype is, unusually, a supernatural godfather. However, most are a fairy godmother as in versions of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and The Blue Bird.
*In case you were wondering – like I was – who this guy Zwingli was and why was he being mentioned alongside of Martin Luther and John Calvin – here is a very brief overview.
Huldrych Zwingli (born January 1, 1484, Wildhaus in the Toggenburg, Sankt Gallen, Switzerland—died October 11, 1531, near Kappel) was the most important reformer in the Swiss Protestant Reformation. He founded the Swiss Reformed Church and was an important figure in the broader Reformed tradition. Like Martin Luther, he accepted the supreme authority of the Scriptures, but he applied it more rigorously and comprehensively to all doctrines and practices.
NOTES FROM ANN – not many as I’m “rushing” out the door. Tho I do have a couple of things. I am updating our directory. That will be printed here. If you have anything you need to update – now is the time. I’m making it a bit too fancy so it will be a bear when I have to update and move people around – but it will look cool for the whole two weeks it will be correct. (Then someone will move or change phone numbers or discover I transposed a number because when they try and call they get Billy Jo Bob’s Towing instead of Pastor Grant).
Picture is from Jan 2 – the night before the Wolf Full Moon.
The weather over the next couple of days is predicted to be messy – be safe out there.