FOCUS. A Message from Pastor Roger. Advent at Dale Heights. December

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1 FOCUS December A Message from Pastor Roger Dale Heights Pastor: Reverend Roger Roberts Treasurer: Wendy Weber Music Director: Emily Volland Accounts Manager: Hannah Mercier Office Manager: Mary Becker Custodian: Rick Geiger Session Members Moderator: Reverend Roger Roberts Clerk: Gale Oakes Edi Chan Melanie Klump Roy Lembcke Rick Shannon Wendy Weber Advent at Dale Heights When you read this likely Jan and I will be returning from Naples, Florida, where we have enjoyed a two-week study leave. The use of a condo, provided by some generous friends, was an ideal setting for me to have total quiet time for reading, writing and planning, and for Jan to enjoy the sun. My yearly two-week study leave is provided in our budget, and with the encouragement of Session and also the Committee on Ministry of the John Knox Presbytery, I relented and accepted this opportunity. I trust that the value of this study leave will prove itself in enhanced service to you. I m grateful to Marcia Holman for securing capable supply preachers in my absence, and for all of you who support Dale Heights budget. Speaking of your faithful giving, I m deeply thankful to all of you who expressed your financial support through making a pledge to the 2019 Dale Heights Budget. I continue to be impressed by the faithful giving of our people, giving not only of your finances, but also of your time, ministries and prayers. Though being a small church, you give BIG to our local church operations as well as to Special offerings and ministry projects. And soon we ll have the opportunity to give to the annual Christmas Joy Offering, which gives support to various and vitally important ministries through the Presbyterian Church, USA. You ll be hearing more about this offering during our Minute for Missions in the weeks ahead. One result of my study leave has been to grow in my understanding of the nature and purpose of the Christian celebration of Advent. The Latin word adventus is a translation of the Greek parousia, which refers to the Second Coming of Christ. In my tradition, the four Sundays before Christmas Day, which we called Advent, were focused on the celebration of Christmas, the birth of Jesus. All the sermons during Advent focused on the birth of the Baby Jesus the Virgin Mary, Joseph, the stable and crèche in Bethlehem, the star leading the shepherds and wise men. But the original purpose of Advent was to focus on the Second Coming of Christ, and was to be a season of spiritual preparation for our accountability before our Lord, who is coming to bring justice as well as our full and final salvation. Appropriately, the church lectionary has New Testament passages during Advent about John the Baptist, the prophet whose fiery preaching served to call people to repentance and to follow Christ. (continued)

2 (continued from page one) As we light the Advent candles and open God s word, I pray we ll be challenged to answer the call to prepare our hearts to receive and follow Christ as our Lord, Savior and true Leader, who has come once and is coming again! Then we ll be ready to celebrate Christmas as never before! Pastor Roger December 2 Liturgist: Jennifer Jones December 9 Liturgist: Roy Lembcke December 16 Liturgist: Marcia Holman December 23 Liturgist: Vreni Straubhaar December 24 Liturgist: Barb Fleishman December 30 Liturgist: Gerry Klump First Sunday of Advent Ushers: Roy Lembcke, Gale Oakes, Wendy Weber Second Sunday of Advent Ushers: Bonnie Savonne, Otty Schaefer Third Sunday of Advent Ushers: Keith Chan, Vreni Straubhaar Forth Sunday of Advent Ushers: Nathan Tripp, Barb Fleishman Christmas Eve Ushers: Lembcke Family First Sunday After Christmas Ushers: Keith Chan, Jim Tracey, Kris Tracey We could use your help and your friendly face! We are in need of two additional ushers on the 4th Sundays of the month. Simply arrive by 9:45, hand out bulletins, and pass the offering plate. See Jamie if you'd like to volunteer. (jlk5376@gmail.com) December Birthdays 13 Vreni Straubhaar 18 Jamie Engebregtsen 22 Ray Miller 25 Dick Corey 28 Marian Todd 29 Caroline Pope Anniversaries 16 Otty and Larry Schaefer

3 The Christmas Joy Offering is coming to Dale Heights and each of you! The Christmas Joy Season is a time of giving and helping others and is almost upon us. The Christmas Joy Offering will begin on Sunday, December 2 and continue on December 9 and 16 and culminate with our dedication on Sunday, December 23. Please listen with grateful hearts and ears for our opportunity to help support young leaders and church workers who need and benefit by our gifts. Let us celebrate Christmas and the season of giving! THE PERFECT GIFT In the lead up to Christmas, many of us spend time in search of the perfect gift the gift that communicates to friends and family how much we know and love them. We search our memories for indications of what gift might cause the faces of our loved ones to light up. We scour the stores and shops, hoping to come across the thing that will communicate a depth of love that our words cannot. Jesus came to live among us, bringing light into darkness, and reconciliation to God and to one another. A perfect gift from a gracious God. As important as gifts to loved ones are, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) gives throughout the year through the Christmas Joy Offering, drawing us back to the manger and God s perfect gift to us. During this Advent Season, we celebrate leadership; past, present and future through support of the Christmas Joy Offering. We do so because church leaders greatly impact our lives of faith, walking with us down the path to be more like Jesus. We want future leaders for the church and world, like those educated at our Presbyterian-related schools and colleges equipping communities of color to reflect the wideness of God s intended diversity, and we want those church leaders and their families who find themselves grappling with a critical financial need to have the resources they need. For those supported through the Christmas Joy Offering, this help is truly a gift from above. May our gifts, and the leaders who receive them, point us always to the truth of the one whose birth we celebrate, Jesus Christ the truly perfect gift. Christmas Eve Service All are cordially invited to the Christmas Eve Service on Monday, December 24 th at 7:00PM. Please bring your family and friends and stay for coffee, hot and cold cider as well as refreshments afterwards. If you would like to contribute something, please bring it on a plate, ready to serve. Anything will be greatly appreciated. -Care and Fellowship: Vreni Straubhaar (phone )

4 Lessons & Carols Our annual Lessons & Carols service on December 30 needs 9 readers. The lessons will be read from your place in the pews (please stand if possible) and will alternate with carols. The sign-up sheet for readers for this service will be in the concourse Dec Poinsettias Many thanks to the following people who purchased poinsettias to decorate our sanctuary this Advent season: Rick Shannon, Bonnie Savonne, Vreni Straubhaar, Roger & Jan Roberts, Gale Oakes, Wendy Weber, Gerry Klump, Ellie Metzloff, Marcia Holman, Barbara Fleishman, Otty Schaefer, Jim & Kris Tracey, Elizabeth Ndafooka. Thanks also to Mike Holland for arranging the flowers each week. Remember to take your poinsettia home after the Christmas Eve service. Property and Finance Committee Meeting Highlights Tuesday, November 13, 2018 Gardens and Trees: 5 Ash trees have been removed at a cost of $1450. Grinding of stumps and leaders, if recommended, would be an additional cost. Fire Alarm System: The system should be tested. White Garage: the roofing has been completed. Thanks to all volunteers, including six young people from Sah- Lang Sah-Lang: approved their request to put shelving for printed material in one corner of the concourse. Reviewed their offer to donate chairs for the dining room and will ask for more information on particulars. Also, before the sump pump cabinet and stage/platform can be constructed, things stored in the fellowship hall will have to be removed. Lounge: Thanks to the congregation member who gave six comfortable chairs for the meeting table. Stair Lift: The old lift can be taken out while a long-term decision is pending on the feasibility and necessity of a new chair lift. Technology: an old computer in the pastor s office will be cleaned of any sensitive data before it is donated. There was an office visit this week from ATT. After looking at our current system they decided that t is too old to bring up-to-date with fiber optics. Review: the committee reviewed suggested staff management structure handout and asked for more information on position descriptions. Also reviewed was a listing of Safety Considerations at Dale Heights. Financial and Stewardship: Some pledges have been received. Financial status documents as of 10/31/2018 were reviewed. A short explanation of Per Capita donations (payable every year to Presbytery based on membership) will be given in church and/or through the newsletter. Next meeting: Tuesday, December 11, 2018 at 7:00p.m.

5 Keith and Edi Chan will be hosting a Christmas dinner on Tuesday, December 25 at the church. We will probably eat between 5:30-6:00 p.m. Come a bit earlier and help us with set up, etc. If you'd like to share a dish, please let me know. Keith will have music and we will have a White Elephant event and some games. If you've got any ideas for games, please let me know. Church Women United On Friday, November 2 Church Women United met at Mt. Zion Baptist Church for World Community Day Celebration. The theme was "Searching for Wholeness in Harmony with God's People." Grace Episcopal Church presented the program. The main speaker was Rabbi Renee Zimmerman, who alluded to faiths uniting after the attack on the Jewish Synagogue. There was a discussion of racial disparity which still exists in Madison. The ecumenical choir was fantastic, and June Zeeh, as piano accompanist, was amazing. Our upcoming forum is Friday, December 7, at Bethany United Methodist Church., 3910 Mineral Point Road. Refreshments are at 9am, followed by welcome and Announcements. At 10 am Faith Bauman will speak about her life as a missionary in India. It will be very inspiring. All are invited (including men). Elma Metzloff, Key Woman

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