News and Announcements are published on Friday each week.

The Last Sunday of the Church Year

November 23, 2025

Readings: Isaiah 65:17-25; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11; Matthew 25:1-13 

Hymns: 336, 516 508, 905, 644, 510

Calendar 

Witness

Gorham Christmas update. We are not participating in the Gorham Lights parade this year. We ARE however going to  participate in the Gorham Community Tree decorating contest again, as well as handing out our Candy Cane handouts at  the Reindeer Games in Gorham. Sanford will also have Candy Cane handouts. Stand by for more information. Please  speak to Darik or Brenda if you have questions.  

Advent Wednesday services will be on December 3, 10, and 17. Soup Supper will begin at 5:30 and Worship is at 6:30.  Please sign up to provide soup and/or bread on the bulletin board downstairs 

Would you love to tell others about our church? Local newspapers often have worship service listings. If you know  of such a newspaper, let Brenda know and she’ll submit our information. brenda8198@gmail.com. 

Mercy  

If you need anything (rides, supplies, medicine pickups) or any assistance please feel free to contact Sandy or Tom DiPasqua at 207-536-1547 or tjdipasqua@aol.com.  

"The Locker Project" of the Gorham School district is collecting snack items again for the students. Any contribution would be appreciated.  There is a list of suggestions and a box for donations in the narthex.

Life Together 

Volunteers needed to decorate the exterior of Redeemer in preparations for the Christmas season!  We will be having a Redeemer Outdoor Christmas Decorating Day on Saturday December 6th, beginning at 1:00PM. Gorham has their annual tree festival and if we want to participate, our outside tree needs to be decorated by Dec. 12th.  The Altar Guild is responsible for the interior decorations, so your help is needed to decorate our building and surrounding landscape.  Please see Darik, Sandy or Brenda for more details. We will have a sign up sheet available this weekend at both Sanford and Gorham locations. Please come help beautify our Church home and bring Christ into Christmas in our community. 

The annual voters meeting will take place Sunday November 7, 2025 immediately following the Divine Service.  Please plan on attending.

We are still looking for church council volunteers for the positions of recording secretary and to fill a vacant opening with missions and evangelism. Please reach out to Matt Hamby or Darik Day if interested in serving.

Looking for hosts for our coffee hours following service. Sign up on the Fellowship Board near Pastor’s office. This can be one family or several families.  

A Life Thought in the Church Year for November 23 – (Proper 29): When people argue that we should not bring more children into a world such as this, they agree with the people of Jerusalem at the time of its destruction: “Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed” (Luke 23:29). But this is not the way that Jesus intends us to view the gift of new life. Instead, we weep with those who cannot bear and nurse, and we celebrate God’s gift of life, trusting that He will always reign over all things and be the “refuge and strength” of His people (Colossians 1:18; Psalm 46:1), and the little children will always be His “treasured possession” (Malachi 3:17).

A Stewardship Thought for November 23 – Last Sunday Matthew 25:2 – “Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.” A truly wise man, as Jesus once said, builds on the Word of Jesus. There is no other foundation which will stand. Any other path is a foolish one. His Word leads to life, and to depart from His Word leads to death. Clinging to His Word, we know we have His blessing.

THE FAITH ONCE FOR ALL DELIVERED TO THE SAINTS... Issues, Etc. is a radio talk show and podcast produced by Lutheran Public Radio in Collinsville, IL and hosted by LCMS Pastor Todd Wilken.  Recent topics include: The Hymnal as Devotional Resource, Why Christians Should Build Cathedrals, Late First-Century Bishop Clement of Rome, The Third Use of God’s Law, and more.  You can listen at your convenience at issuesetc.org, Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Apple HomePod, TuneIn, the LPR mobile app and a podcast provider.

Communications

Newsletter Deadline – If you wish to contribute to the JANUARY 2026 church newsletter, please email your submission to the church office by DECEMBER 22. 

All announcements and prayer requests received in the church office by noon on Thursday will appear in print that week in Friday’s email. If there is an announcement that you would like Pastor to make following Sunday’s FB live stream, please email him that information.

Looking Forward to Ad Te Levavi

Readings: Jeremiah 23:5-8; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 21:1-9 

Hymns: 336, 516 508, 905, 644, 510

Ad Te Levavi

November 30, 2025

Readings: Jeremiah 23:5-8; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 21:1-9 

Hymns: 343, 332 334, 340, 349, 350

Calendar 

Witness

Christmas update. We are not participating in the Gorham Lights parade this year.  We ARE however going to participate in the Gorham Community Tree decorating contest again, as well as handing out our Candy Cane handouts at the Reindeer Games in Gorham.  Sanford also has Candy Cane handouts.  The theme for Christmas is "The Lord is at hand."  We are going to decorate the outside tree with "Hands."  We have materials for members to cut out a hand and "bedazzle" it.  You may certainly come up with any "hand-related" decoration you’d like.  Creativity is encouraged, but the decorations need to be weatherproof.  Members can put their names on the ornaments, and we’ll return them when we take the tree down.  We will set up and decorate the tree on Saturday, December 6 at 1:00 pm.  All "Hands" on deck are needed to help out.

Advent Wednesday services will be on December 3, 10, and 17.  Soup Supper will begin at 5:30 and Worship is at 6:30.  Please sign up to provide soup and/or bread on the bulletin board downstairs or contact Brenda.  

Would you love to tell others about our church?  Local newspapers often have worship service listings.  If you know of such a newspaper, let Brenda know and she’ll submit our information.  brenda8198@gmail.com.

Mercy  

If you need anything (rides, supplies, medicine pickups) or any assistance please feel free to contact Sandy or Tom DiPasqua at 207-536-1547 or tjdipasqua@aol.com.  

"The Locker Project" of the Gorham School district is collecting snack items again for the students. Any contribution would be appreciated.  There is a list of suggestions and a box for donations in the narthex.

Life Together 

Volunteers needed to decorate the exterior of Redeemer in preparations for the Christmas season!  We will be having a Redeemer Outdoor Christmas Decorating Day on Saturday December 6th, beginning at 1:00PM. Gorham has their annual tree festival and if we want to participate, our outside tree needs to be decorated by Dec. 12th.  The Altar Guild is responsible for the interior decorations, so your help is needed to decorate our building and surrounding landscape.  Please see Darik, Sandy or Brenda for more details. We will have a sign up sheet available this weekend at both Sanford and Gorham locations. Please come help beautify our Church home and bring Christ into Christmas in our community. 

The annual voters meeting will take place Sunday November 7, 2025 immediately following the Divine Service.  Please plan on attending.

We are still looking for church council volunteers for the positions of recording secretary and to fill a vacant opening with missions and evangelism. Please reach out to Matt Hamby or Darik Day if interested in serving.

Looking for hosts for our coffee hours following service. Sign up on the Fellowship Board near Pastor’s office. This can be one family or several families.  

A Life Thought in the Church Year for November 30 – Advent 1: Being a Gospel-motivated voice for life means loving all our neighbors, regardless of their size, condition, or past. As servants in the Master’s house (Matthew 24:43), we not only need to be prepared for Christ’s coming (Matthew 24:44; Romans 13:11), we should be eager to make all others ready, preaching the Gospel to them, inviting them “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord” (Isaiah 2:3) that they, too, might be brought into the safety of the ark of the holy Church.

A Stewardship Thought for November 30 – Advent 1 Matthew 21:3 – “If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” Just a colt and her foal. How significant could they be? Could they really be used by the Lord for some great, heavenly purpose? This is one facet of stewardship we often forget: the blessing it is to us to be of service in the Lord’s Kingdom. What honor the Lord bestows upon us by using our gifts for His goals!

SACRED MUSIC FOR THE ADVENT SEASON… “Savior of the Nations, Come,” “On Jordan’s Bank the Baptist’s Cry,” “Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending,” “Hark! A Thrilling Voice Is Sounding,” “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.”  You can listen to sacred music for the Advent season 24/7 at lutheranpublicradio.org, Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Apple HomePod, TuneIn and the Lutheran Public Radio mobile app.

Communications

Newsletter Deadline – If you wish to contribute to the JANUARY 2026 church newsletter, please email your submission to the church office by DECEMBER 22. 

All announcements and prayer requests received in the church office by noon on Thursday will appear in print that week in Friday’s email. If there is an announcement that you would like Pastor to make following Sunday’s FB live stream, please email him that information.

Looking Forward to Populus Zion

Readings: Malachi 4; Romans 15:4-13; Luke 21:25-36 

Hymns: 351, 348 621, 333, 515, 353