PASTORS D AND D

thank you thank you thank you

DATELINE: MONDAY 12/29/08 MOVING DAY

472 Teddy bears moved from Christ the Servant Lutheran Church, heading for Good Bears of the World teddy bear nursery, waiting to be sorted and then sent out to 472 new homes where
eager arms and warm hearts await them.

It is always so heartwarming to see the family of teddy bears grow from a handful of bears under the Christmas tree, until, no matter where you look, bears are everywhere you look,
climbinb up any Christmas tree they can find, hiding under the tree, and I even saw one sitting
in a chair waiting for the worship service to begin. The final count was amazing. Our church
family always comes through, a little rougher this year as there were only three weeks between
thanksgiving and Christmas.

A week before Christmas I received an e-mail from Good Bears of the World, stating that they
had received a request from CASA for 600 bears to be given to abused and neglected children.
They were able to fill that request and many of the bears were from the 2007 bears donated
from Christ the Servant Lutheran Church. Since we have been involved in this project, over
40,000 have been gifted. Our donations total approximately 3,000.

I am quite sure that we are probably the only church that decorates their tree with teddy bears
and their friends, but I understand one of our very young members feels that all trees should
be trimmed in this fashion. Who knows where that trend ma y go.

Again, THANK YOU SO MUCH and in the words of Tiny Tim "GOD BLESS US, EVERYONE"

The Teddy Bear Lady