Sharing Christ Shaping Lives. Pastor s Christmas Message. Carol

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1 RESURRECTION Sharing Christ Shaping Lives TIMES DECEMBER 2015 Resurrection Lutheran Church 9812 Hamilton Avenue Huntington Beach, CA Pastor s Christmas Message I would like to share with you a brief paragraph from Barbara Brown Taylor. I will repeat it during my Christmas Eve sermon because it reflects so beautifully the wonder of this sacred season. Tonight (Christmas Eve) do yourself a favor. Reach out and take the infant Jesus into your arms, a bundle about as heavy as a sack of flour, his head a little bruised from his rough entrance into the world. Examine his tiny fingernails, count his toes and say to yourself, This is God in my arms. Smell Mary s milk on his breath and feel the warmth of his body wrapped in swaddling clothes and repeat This is God in my arms. During this season of hope and joy may we carry the Christ Child in our arms and in our hearts! The Annual Meeting Following a single 10:00 a.m. service, we will meet to elect Council members, adopt the 2016 budget, accept changes to the constitution and bylaws and conduct other new business. Your attendance and participation are greatly appreciated. About Your 2015 Offerings In order for your offerings to be recorded on your 2015 contribution statement, they must be received by December 27. Offerings received after that date will be credited to your 2016 statement. If you haven t already done so, please pick up your 2016 offering envelopes in the narthex. December Worship Schedule December 6 Single 10:00 a.m. Service Followed by Annual Meeting Sermon: "Getting on the Right Train" December 13 Single 10:00 a.m. Service of Lessons and Carols December 20 Regular Worship Schedule "Holiday Sweater Sunday" December 24 Christmas Eve Services at Pastor Carl will be preaching at the 4 and 9 p.m. Services Sermon: "Will It Be A High-Tech Christmas?" Communion by Intinction will be celebrated at the 9:00 p.m. service December 27 Regular Worship Schedule Pastor Hitoshi Preaching May each of you enjoy a Blessed Christmas and a Healthy New Year! James Judy Pastor Hitoshi Sam Pastor Carl Fumi Susan Amy Carol THE NEXT NEWSLETTER DEADLINE: Wednesday, December 23 Please submit articles to: lcr17@verizon.net Are You Ready to Commit? During our December 6 worship, members will be invited to place a stewardship commitment card in a basket as they come to the altar for communion. We are asking you to Step Up your giving in 2016 so that we can meet and surpass our budgetary goals. Because your pledge is between you and God, your commitment card will NOT ask for your name or the amount you plan to give in the New Year. Let s Move Up the giving ladder as a reflection of our faithfulness to our Lord s ministry! Sunday Worship Services 8:30 a.m. Traditional 10:00 a.m. Praise 11:30 a.m. Japanese Language

2 Council Nominees The following have allowed their names to be included in this year's Council ballot. Four positions are open: Sheila Wenzel (Incumbent) Todd DeWees Ken Fukuyama Greg Hansen 2 nd Annual Holiday Sweater Sunday On December 20, wear your most festive, fashionable, chic or outrageous holiday sweater as we join in the fun and joy of the season! Special Christmas Bible Study Join members of the Japanese Bible Study on Tuesday, December 8 at 10:30 a.m. as we study St. Luke s Nativity story. We ll enjoy holiday goodies and a special "Just for Fun"! Fourth Monday Dinner Group Warren and Sue Taylor will graciously open their home to us on Monday, December 28 at 6:30 p.m. Please bring a dish to feed 8. You are also invited to bring your favorite wine or beverage! Church Council Reminder Our December meeting will be held at the home of Pete and Lori Brunner on Tuesday, December 15 at 6:00 p.m. A brief meeting will be followed by a holiday dinner. Dear Friends, It has been eleven months since Dennis passing and, while this has been a time of transition for me, I ve been blessed with the support and kindness of so many of you. I want to especially thank Pastor Carl for the thoughtful words he gave at Dennis' memorial, and for all who helped with the reception. I remember, with great fondness and appreciation, all of your kind and thoughtful words and expressions of love during those initial days and weeks following Dennis death. Without them I don t know how I would have gotten through. As we celebrate the season of Thanksgiving, I wanted to thank you all for your generous spirit of compassion and for the many ways you have helped me enter this new chapter in my life. With the blessings of God and with your thoughtful, caring concern I am certain that the days ahead will be filled with a new peace and joy. God bless you, Nancy Boren Beach Cities Interfaith Services Once again its time to thank you for all your donations to BCIS. They are greatly needed, as we find more and more people needing assistance and have been running out of food lately. Any canned goods or cereal, diapers, shampoo, socks, etc. are needed. But now it is time to open our hearts to Christmas and providing toys to children, up to age 14. On December 5, our space at the Gothard Street location will be transformed into a toy store where families can come and pick out toys for their children. (Theyʼve already signed up for a time to do this). We also give the families their monthly bag of groceries and toiletries at the same time. Just deposit the toys in the box in the narthex, and I will see that they are taken to BCIS. The toy store is open from December 7-23, so please donate within that time frame. (I volunteer on Wednesdays.) A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL for your generous donations and your steadfast commitment to BCIS year-round. Christmas blessings to all, Alice Speakman

3 FOOD MARKETS: Albertson s $25, $100 Safeway (Vons) $25, $100 Smart & Final $25, $100 Sprouts $25 Stater Bros. $25, $100 Whole Foods $25 Joy's Book Club We are asking that members read something Christmas-related on their own for this month. Our book for January will be "The Invention of Wings," by Sue Monk Kidd. All LCR women are welcome to attend Book Club. Sue Taylor wrtaylor@ix.netcom.com The Christmas season is here! Scrip gift cards make great gifts, or can be used to purchase great gifts. We have a wide selection of scrip gift cards in stock, and can also special order if you have additional needs. Below is a list of our scrip cards for your shopping convenience. Don t forget, LCR earns an average of 5% profit on every scrip card purchased. The scrip team wishes each of you a very blessed Christmas. Thank you for your support! RESTAURANTS: Acapulco $25 Applebee s $25 Arby's $10 California Pizza Kitchen $10 Carl s Jr. $10 Cheesecake Factory $25 Chili s $25 Chipotle $10 Claim Jumper $25 Coffee Bean $25 Del Taco $10 Islands $25 Jack in the Box $10 Jamba Juice $10 Mimi s Café $25 Newport Rib $25 Olive Garden $25 Outback $25 Panera Bread $5, $10 Soup Plantation $25 Starbucks $5, $10, $25 StoneFire Grill $25 Subway $10 Taco Bell $10 Wendy's $10 RETAIL STORES: 76 Gas $25 Amazon.com $10, $25, $100 Arco Gas $50 Banana Republic $25 Barnes & Noble $10, $25 Bath & Body $10 Bed, Bath & Beyond $25 Century Theaters (Cinemark) $25 Crate & Barrel $25 CVS Drugstore $25, $100 Discover Card $100 Gap/Old Navy $25 Hallmark $25 Home Depot $25, $100 itunes $15 JC Penny $25 Kohl s $25, $100 Land s End $25 L.L. Bean $25 Lowe s $25 Macy s $25 Marshall s $25 Pottery Barn/William Sonoma $25 Regal Entertainment $25 Rite Aid Drugstore $25 Sees $17 Shell $25, $50 Stein Mart $25 Talbots $25 Target $10,$25, $100 TJ Maxx $25 Walgreens $25 Wal-Mart / Sam s Club $10, $25, $100 Sunday School Thank you everyone for your generous donations to Operation Christmas Child! We were able to donate 89 boxes this year. Our Sunday school program helped make 25 of those boxes from items we had collected throughout the year. We will be collecting toys for Beach Cities Interfaith Services (see BCIS article on previous page). We are encouraging our Sunday school families to contribute at least one gift per family. If you are unable to help with children's gift giving, please consider helping them with a monetary or food/hygiene donation. We hope you will take part in donating to this wonderful organization during our Christmas season (all year long too!). Sunday school will not be in session the weeks of December 27 and January 3. We will resume on January 10. May your Christmas season be one that is blessed and joyous. Lisa Tripodo lmtripodo@aol.com

4 LCR Youth Ministry December 2015 Mark Your Calendars: December 1st Advent Wreath Making December 10th Kid s Club December 16th Ginger Bread House Making December 19th High School All Nighter December 24th Christmas Eve Services December 25th Christmas! December 31st New Year s Eve! The_Pack The_Pack will be meeting December 4 and 11 at the regular time of 6:30-8:30. December 16 is Gingerbread House Decorating see you there! T.U.G. T.U.G. is meeting December 8 and 15 at the usual time of 6:30 8:30. On the 15th, we will be having a Christmas Party! Kid s Club Kid s Club will be meeting December10 from 5:00 7:30 in the youth room. We will be having a Christmas party! High School High School January Middle School February Elementary January Join us as we stay up ALL NIGHT to celebrate the beginning of Christmas Break and the closeness of Christmas! We start at 7:00 p.m. and end at 9:30 a.m. Gingerbread House Decorating On Wednesday, December 16 from 5:30-7:30, we will be gathering together to decorate gingerbread houses, share in a light dinner and play Bingo! Please sign up in the church office or with Sam (LCRYouth@La.Twcbc.com) by December 10. The cost is $20 per family for a house, dinner and Bingo, or $10 per family for dinner and Bingo. House Boating!!! Our High School summer trip is scheduled for July We will be heading to the Bay Area for 3 days of service work followed by house boating on Lake Don Pedro. There is an information meeting on January 6 at 6:00 p.m. for anyone who wants to attend this trip. Bring a White Elephant gift for the gift exchange! Sign up with Sam. The cost is $20 and includes transportation and activities! We will be ending the night/morning attending the 8:30 service! December Youth Director: Sam Campeau LCRYouth@la.twcbc.com Cell: Follow us on

5 December 2015 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Advent Young Adult Wreath Making The_Pack 6:30-8:30 Christmas Party Single Service & Congregational Meeting T.U.G. 6:30-8:30 The_Pack 6:30-8:30 Kid s Club 5-7: Single Service Gingerbread High School T.U.G. House All Nighter 6:30-8:30 Decorating 20 Holiday Christmas 25 Merry 26 Sweater Eve Christmas New Year s Eve

6 News from the Preschool Bible Verse Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you, He is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11 These were the words of the Angel of the Lord to the frightened shepherds as they kept watch over their flocks in the fields on that dark night so long ago. How afraid they must have been as they were surrounded by the great light that was the glory of the Lord. And having an angel actually speak to them must have seemed like a dream! The Christmas story is full of rich imagery as we read of the shepherds in the fields, of the Wise men journeying from afar and of Mary being visited by the angel Gabriel and hearing the news that she would bear God s Son. What courage and faith this very young woman displayed as she listened to the angel s words and came to understand what was really going to happen. Christmas should be about that same sense of wonder, mystery, and awe that filled Mary and the shepherds. Instead, we have made it about presents, parties, advertising, shopping, cards, and too many other have-tos to count! We get so caught up in the trappings of the season that we begin to forget that the real reason for Christmas is Jesus. If you would like to be reminded of the true meaning of Christmas, please join us as we celebrate the birth of our Savior in song and story on Wednesday, December 16 at approximately 9:10 a.m. in the sanctuary. The time is approximate as we are never quite sure how long it will take to dress our little angels, shepherds, and wise men for the program. When you hear their sweet voices and see them in their costumes you will truly experience the real meaning of Christmas. December is a wonderful month here at RLP. Not only are we preparing for our Christmas program, we are enjoying our Christmas chapels, learning about Christ s birth, learning a new Fruit of the Spirit and a new Bible verse, getting ready for our Happy Birthday Jesus parties, and making Christmas gifts for the parents. We are very busy! The children are very excited about the holidays and eager to share their wish lists with their teachers. It is both a pleasure and a privilege to work here at this preschool. I am blessed by a very supportive preschool board, all of our friends of the preschool, and an awesome staff. We love all of our preschool families and feel very blessed to be able to share Christ s love with all of them. And thank you so much to the congregation for so generously supporting our fall FUNdraiser and Silent Auction, and helping us with monetary donations. We couldn t do it without you! From all of us here at RLP, a very Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year! With Christ s love, Judy

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8 December Birthdays 4 Bob Mueller Dana Mullin 6 Frank Ferrini 7 Kris Bashaw 8 Grace Butteling 9 Max Tripodo 12 Becky Hastings 14 Cameron Hill 16 Mary Brown 17 Diana Meinhold Judy Giem 18 Nancy Mounier Jessica Marroquin Justin Marroquin 19 Bud DeWees 21 Stan Justl 23 Sean Wiggins 24 Pete Mullin 25 Jesus! Debbi Stewert 26 Ralph Howarth Jane Charlton 27 Karen Plantiko Chuck Ott 28 Tia Payne 30 Jamie Buffkin 31 Tara Fort Avis Nerhus Is your name missing from the December lists? If you have a birthday or an anniversary in the month of December and we have not included your name, we would appreciate you bringing it to our attention. Please lcr17@verizon.net or call the church office at Anniversaries 13 Steve and Danielle Hoenig 18 Phil and Sue Pohl 29 Don and Christine Williams Fran and Karen Ursini 31 Michael and Marianne Allen Family of the Day Please keep these families in your prayers: 1 Don & Jane Charlton 2 Yoshiko Chedester 3 Nicole Ciccarelli; Zack & Joe Lund 4 Gary & Christine Conkle 5 Joel Cooperrider 6 Paul & Mary Coulter 7 Richard, Stephanie, Harper & Lachlan Cran 8 Pete, Danielle, Delaney & Peter Crosser 9 Steve & Lynda Cruise 10 Atsuko Cutcher 11 Stephen & Sheila Czajkowski 12 Mary Katheryn Davenport 13 Bud & Julie DeWees 14 Todd DeWees 15 JoAnne Evans 16 Gary & Marilee Falde 17 Frank, Heather, Gen, Matese & Frank Ferrini 18 Brian Foist, Susanna Harter, Rebecca & Jill 19 John & Tara Fort 20 Linda & Alex Frias 21 Sachiko Fukami 22 Ken, Kanako & Hayato Fukuyama 23 Mike Gaczkowski & Vicki Kane 24 Bobb & Linda Gardner 25 Bob & Jan Genelle 26 Judy Giem 27 Eric Glicker 28 Lovise Glicker 29 Aiko Gordillo 30 Joe, Jennifer, Julien & Jaren Greenwald 31 Yoko Greenwald