THE PASTOR S PRESS The secular world celebrates the New Year in January, but for the church, our new year started a month ago. The church begins its

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1 THE PASTOR S PRESS The secular world celebrates the New Year in January, but for the church, our new year started a month ago. The church begins its year with Advent, as we waited for the birth of Christ, and then a couple weeks of Christmas. On the day of Epiphany, January 6, the church celebrates the revelation of Christ to all nations as represented by the magi who come to worship Jesus. The church calendar recognizes the season of Epiphany from January 6 until the last Sunday before Ash Wednesday, which is celebrated as the Transfiguration of our Lord. The length of the season of Epiphany varies and is determined by working backwards through the season of Lent from the moveable date for the celebration of Easter. Some of the principal themes for the season of Epiphany are: + The revelation of Christ to all nations + Jesus' baptism in the River Jordan + Christ as the light of the world + The public ministry of Jesus Christ, including Jesus' first miracle of turning water into wine at the wedding at Cana + Growth in a Christian's baptized identity Since the end of the Middle Ages, families and communities have gathered at the main entrances of homes and dwelling places for a blessing on the Day of Epiphany with readings, prayers and by inscribing the door lintel with the year and the letters, C, M, and B (20 + C + M + B + 14). The letters represent the names of the magi whose visit to the child Jesus is recalled on the festival of the Epiphany of our Lord. Church tradition since the seventh century names the magi Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar even though the narrative of Matthew chapter 2 does not dictate the number of magi or their names. This yearly ritual reminds the inhabitants of a home that their lives reflect the light of Christ and seeks the revelation of the blessing of God in their lives. Let us remember this season that our lives reflect Christ s light in us, and I pray that your light shines wherever you are. +Blessings and Peace, Pastor Jonathan

2 Commemoration Corner Lydia, Dorcas, and Phoebe, witnesses to the faith. (January 27 th ) On this day the church remembers three women who were companions in Paul's ministry. Lydia was Paul's first convert at Philippi in Macedonia. She was a merchant of purple-dyed goods, and because purple dye was extremely expensive, it is likely that Lydia was a woman of some wealth. Lydia and her household were baptized by Paul, and for a time her home was a base for Paul's missionary work. Dorcas is remembered for her charitable works, particularly making clothing for needy widows. Phoebe was a diakonos, a deaconess in the church at Cenchreae, near Corinth. Paul praises her as one who, through her service, looked after many people. Let us pray: Grant us grace, O Lord, that like Lydia, Dorcas and Phoebe, we may receive those who share the good news with humility. Help us to share what we have with others, our time, and resources. Let us be witnesses to the faith that you give us in Baptism. Amen. In the Name of Love: Ambassadors for Christ in the World A Day of Service and Sharing God's Love On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, January 20, 2014, the Virginia Synod and the Virginia Lutheran Partners in Mission will be sponsoring, "In the Name of Love: A Day of Service and Sharing God's Love". Lutheran congregations around the state will be moving out into their neighborhoods, sharing God's compassion with the world and serving those need. At The congregations of the North Mountain Lutheran Parish, we will be joining together to undertake several projects in our area. The projects may include assistance to folks in the community, soup dinner and providing cookies for first responders. There is something for everyone to do, so if you are interested in getting involved or would like more information on a particular project, please /call Pastor Jonathan. PastorJonathanBoynton@gmail.com We will meet at St. Stephen at 9am for a Commissioning and then work on projects on January 20 th. To Relay or Not to Relay For the past seven years, St. Peter s has supported an active Relay for Life Team. Our first year was, by far, our best; we raised more than $6,000, well above our goal of $5,000. Most of this money helps cancer patients in our immediate vicinity. The subsequent years were successful, but not as lucrative as the first. Team members continued to decorate our campsite and stay overnight to attest to the fact that Cancer does not sleep. The past several years have seen decreased participation; last year only three team members stayed overnight, a group too small to make camp and tear down in the morning. At our last meeting, team members sorrowfully questioned whether we have enough support and participation to justify maintaining a team at St. Peter s. It was suggested that our sister churches in North Mountain Lutheran Parish may want to join us to form a North Mountain Relay Team. This is an exciting possibility! Sign -up sheets have been placed in all three churches, and following collection of the sheets on December 29, team members will decide on the feasibility of maintaining a team. Please prayerfully consider whether Relay for Life is a ministry to which you are called. Lost and Found Three of our youth (Tiffany Heishman, Hannah Arthur,& Blake Dysart) along with their chaperone, Melissa Mumaw, went to the VA Synod s 7th and 8th grade event, Lost and Found! Fun was had by all!

3 St. Matthew Lutheran Church SERVING THIS MONTH Mike Cook/Joyce Hamrick...Organist Amelia Mowery......Reader Pauline Minton & Amelia Mowery...Ushers Pauline Minton...Altar Guild Mike Cook...Altar Flowers JANUARY S BIRTHDAYS & ANNIVERSARIES 4 Pat Riffey 5 Conner Turrill 13 Jonathan Gochenour 16 Claudia Kruger 20 Taylor Swanger 27 Billy & Brandi Dysart 29 David & Clara Barden

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5 Young Adults Young Adult Tubing/Skiing day at Bryce Resort. Saturday January 18th, meet at the resort at 11am. You are invited to bring family and friends! If we have enough folks, they might give us a discount! PARISH T-Shirts We will be getting in Parish T-Shirts!! They will only cost you $15 and all proceeds will go to support the youth group! Order sheets will be in the back of every church! Order your today! We hope to have them in by January 15th! Please plan on attending the In the Name of Love: Day of Service! It will begin at 9:00 AM! We will be sharing God s love with our community! The Virginia Synod is again sponsoring a workshop for treasurers and other financial leaders at several locations around the synod during the winter months of The closest one for us is at St. Paul Lutheran in Strasburg on Saturday, January 11th at 10am. Please get a registration form from Pastor Jonathan if you would like to attend. February Newsletter Deadline is FRIDAY, January 17. Please send all articles and information to Gloria Goeres at goeres@gmail.com. North Mountain Lutheran Parish