HTLC News Blast – December 7, 2025 – Advent 2
Hello Everyone!
Two Warnings! The heater is still out, so please dress warmly on Sunday! Also, the scammers are out in force! Several members have been targeted this week, including me! No one from church is going to ask you to do a favor by email, etc. So be very careful that you verify any email to be sure it is from the person you think it is.
This Sunday, December 7th, is the 2nd Sunday in Advent, and also, Nacho NametagSunday. We’ll begin the day with Youth Bell Choir at 9:15 am, then Worship and Live-Streaming begin at 9:30 am. From 10:45 am to 12 noon, the cast of this year’s Christmas Pageant will rehearse. Sunday School, Youth Group, and Adult Bell Choir will not meet today. At 1:00 pm Tongan Worship will begin.
There are lots of Advent happenings!
- Reverse Advent is where you bring items for Zach’s Winter Relief (formerly Marielle’s Winter Relief), one for each day! See the flyer for more information.
- Audio/Visual Training on December 14th after the services at the sound booth. The Sound training will be in January!
- The Pageant! “Looking for Christ in All the Wrong Places” will be on December 14th during Worship! The last two rehearsals are Dec. 7th 10:45-noon, and Saturday, Dec. 13th from 10 to noon.
- A Sunday School/Youth Christmas Party – at 10:45 am after the Pageant! Christmas Games and treats!
- A Christmas party for 18-24 somethings on December 18th. You can see Kellie Barron Smith to find out more info!
- Sign up to bring Poinsettias in honor of loved ones – and Jesus! – to decorate the church on Christmas Eve. The sign-up sheet is in the narthex.
Tuesday Bible Study will take a break for the holidays. The last class this year will be December 16. The class resumes on Tuesday, January 13th.
Cheryl writes: Thank you to everyone who participated in Adopt an Angel this year. As always, the Holy Trinity congregation was extremely generous. We fulfilled all 90 gift requests and there were four bags of extra gifts and $200 in additional cash donations. That does not include any donations through the Cause of the Month. As you know, we had a lot of older teens who will be transitioning out of the foster program and you did an amazing job of making sure they will have things they need in this new phase of their lives. Our congregation’s participation in Adopt an Angel over the past 20 years has had a huge impact on the lives of so many children who need our support. I can’t thank you enough. ” And we say, Thank you, Cheryl!
END OF 2025 SUNDAY SCHOOL SCHEDULE
Sun. Dec 7 – Youth Bell Choir
Pageant Rehearsal til noon
Sat. Dec 13 – Christmas Pageant Rehearsal 10 am – 12 noon.
Sun. Dec 14 – Christmas Pageant during worship!
followed by a Sunday School/Youth Group Christmas Party!
STEWARDSHIP CONSIDERATIONS
Are you planning to make end-of-year gifts to your church and other charities? Think about making your gifts in ways that may reduce your income taxes even more than if you make the donations directly from your bank account.
“Donor Advised Funds” DAF: If you own stock or mutual funds that are not in your retirement account and that have grown in value, you may donate some appreciated assets to a Donor Advised Fund (sometimes called a Charitable Trust). You will then tell the DAF Trust to use the value of your donation to send checks directly to your blessed charities. By doing this, you do not have to pay taxes on the amount your stock etc. grew in value while you owned it (i.e. no capital gains tax on the stock etc. you donated).
“Qualified Charitable Deductions” QCD: If you are over 70 ½ and receive money from retirement accounts, you may be eligible to have some withdrawals made payable to charities as “Qualified Charitable Deductions”. By doing this, those QCD withdrawals will be excluded from your taxable income (while still counting as an RMD).
So, if you have been blessed with investments that have increased in value significantly and/or you are over 70½, look into how these different ways of making charitable donations could save you money on taxes. Many brokerages make it easy for you.
Sierra Pacific Newsletter – December 4, 2025
Have a wonderful weekend and remember to dress warmly on Sunday!
Blessings,
Pr. Barb
Pr. Barbara Caine
Parish Life Coordinator
Holy Trinity Lutheran Church
Fremont, California
(510) 793-6285