The Eagle December 2016

Transcription

1 Advent St. John Lutheran Church & Preschool 122 Cheyenne Mesa Hamilton, TX Phone: (254) Preschool (254) Fax: (254) Pastor Secretary Preschool Website: May we continue to be used by God and share the Gospel with A Heart for Hamilton County and the World!! It is hard to believe that we are already to the month of December. I know that the commercial world is in full swing with Christmas, but in the Church Year we are in the season of Advent. Advent means coming. The season of Advent originally was more of penitential season similar to Lent. A lot of focus was placed on mankind s sinfulness as we await Christ s final return. Therefore the liturgical color was purple, thus the use of purple candles on the Advent wreath. Over the years a shift has been made and the season of Advent has taken on more of a sense of hope and anticipation rather sorrow and repentance. The liturgical color has shifted to blue, thus the use of blue candles on the Advent wreath. During the Advent season, we will be looking at the Advent wreath and how each candle is a reminder of hope, love, joy and peace as we approach Christmas. An additional candle is lit each week. As more light is added each week, we are reminded that we are getting closer each week to the Light of World, Jesus, being born. This Advent Wreath Series will be what we look at on our Wednesday evening Advent services. On the Sunday mornings during Advent and Christmas, we are going to be looking at the word Christmas as an adjective. We will be looking at different words we attach to Christmas like Christmas Cookies, Christmas Shopping, Christmas Cheer, etc., as they pertain to different attitudes and behaviors of our lives and most importantly how we can be Christmas People throughout the entire year. Advent is certainly a time where we prepare ourselves to celebrate Jesus birth, but it is also a time where we wait in anticipation for Christ s final return. May we continue to be used by God to share the message of Christmas with A Heart for Hamilton County and the World!

2 Anniversaries Birthdays, Baptisms & Birthdays 1st Jaley Reich 3rd Phillip Pierce Jimmy Whitt 4th Marjorie Seider 6th Kade McKandless 8th Cora Hurst Grace Hurst Debbie Roberts Doyle Roberts 9th Laverne Brown James Janisch Danny Rudd 10th Travis Odom 11th Chrissy Kensing 13th Jerry Zschiesche 14th 15th 16th 17th 19th 20th 24th 25th 26th 27th Kasey Kunkel Lorin Lange Grant Surley Mitch Surley Karen Johnson Avery Hall Doyle Cook Brianna Hill Amber Tyson Johnny Clark Brad Surley Reagan Wagner Melissa DeLaGarza David Tyson Henlee Wagner Josh Chorenziak 28th 29th 30th Bonnye Wenzel Irene Zaruba Lindsey Hanson Joe Sommerfeld Emiliegh Burton Jane Wagner Baptisms 3rd Alice Jeschke Steve Young 5th Auden Martinez 7th Jaley Reich 8th Brenda Schrank 9th Bert Schrank 10th Ima Jean Roberts 11th Ted Jahns Judy Knoll 12th Jacob Robertson Martin Wenzel 15th Lois Hungerford 16th Casey Finstad Sharolyn Lawson Billie Looney Cole McCown 18th Joseph Polster 19th Geraldine Kauitzsch Cade Robertson Colton Robertson 21st Mary Jeffers Charles Rudolph Gretchen Rudolph Michael Rudolph 22nd Danna Hurst Eddie Krueger 23rd Myron Kauitzsch Anniversaries 9th Patrick & Debbie Roberts 42yrs 11th Quin & Lindsey Hanson 12yrs 14th Joe & Michele Cathey 31yrs 21th Robert & Julie Stanley 42yrs 23rd Gary & Tootie Schoen 50yrs 24th 26th 27th 30th 31st Emily Wagner Tyler Peace Majorie Seider Jacob Dossey Trever Sellers Tyler Sellers Reagan Wagner 26th Dickie & Kathy Coleman 45yrs 27th Carlos & Fabiola Olalde 28th 25yrs Louis & Frances Donahoo 31yrs Memorials Given General Fund: In Memory of : Given 2 by: Jean Bottlinger Natrell Love Jean Bottlinger Travis Odom and Family

3 Opening/Breakfast Sundays 8:30am Sunday School Sundays 9:00am Church Worship Sundays 10:00am B.L.A.S.T. Wednesday 3:30 Pre-K thru 2nd Pre-Confirmation Wednesday 3:30 3rd thru 5th Jr. Confirmation Wednesday 5:30 6th thru 8th Jr/Sr Youth NEWS To everyone who helped with the pie fundraiser. 276 Important Dates December 1 st Singing on the Square pies sold December 3 rd or 4 th Main Street Bethlehem in Burnet December 6 th Youth Quake DEADLINE-$50 dep due December 24 th Children s Christmas Eve Program 6pm Sr. Youth Wednesday 6:30 9th thru 12th $ 230,000 $ 200,000 $ 150,000 $ 100,000 $ 50,000 $ 3,044 Current At the Voters Meeting on October 25, 2016, Charles Jahns presented the building plans that the Planning Committee has been working on. We are still very early in the planning stages, but it was decided to start a Building Fund that members can start contributing toward as we go forward with the planning stages. The current plans can be seen in the narthex outside the church office. Additional input that anyone has is welcomed and encouraged. The Building Fund currently has $2,044. It was reported at the Voters Meeting that the concrete work and insulated outer structure would cost approximately $130,000. This does not include the plumbing, electrical, heating/cooling, interior walls and finishing. A goal at this point has been set at $250,000. The expansion project would give our youth a large room to meet in, another nice size meeting room and the preschool the space they need to have everything contained on one side of the building. Also included in the plans for expansion is the plan to remodel our current kitchen. If anyone has any questions or ideas 3 do not hesitate to share your ideas. (portion outlined in yellow is the possible addition of the back of the FLC)

4 PRESCHOOL NEWS November (254) Parent News Thank you for completing our program evaluation survey. Your feedback is helping us better meet the needs of our families. Have you used our half day drop in coupon from open house yet? Ask us about our upcoming Holiday Care! Important Dates A Note from the Director Another month has flown by quickly. I can not believe how fast the school year is moving along. The children are really getting settled in and building strong foundations for their Christian education. It is such a blessing to be a part of your children s early years, and we feel so thankful for the opportunity to help guide their development. Thank you! Our learning themes for this month have included: Fall, Thanksgiving, and the stories of Ruth and David & Goliath. Our upcoming themes focus on Friendship, Daniel and the Lions, and the story of Jesus birth. Each week we offer opportunities for our children to grow spiritually, academically, and emotionally. We will also start practicing for our Christmas program which will take place on Sunday, December 18 th in the Family Life Center. Kids love telling the story of Jesus birth through song. Please plan to join us that day to celebrate the Christmas story. In Christ Love- Tiffani Logan Christmas Program- Sunday, December 18 th at 3:00pm Early Release December 21 st at 12:00 noon Christmas Break- December 22 nd - January 6 th Holiday Care- December 26 th - 30 th & January 2 nd 6 th 4

5 CLASSROOM NEWS Little Lambs Mighty Lions Kinderoos Spotlight On Promoting Independence Preschoolers are typically able to do more than we give them credit for. Try these tips to help foster self-esteem and independence in your child. Expect more, they are up for the challenge and enjoy learning new things Resist doing for him/her what she/he can do him/herself Don t redo what they ve done Let them solve simple problems Assign a chore Develop predictable routines Let your child work out minor squabbles Prioritize play Give structured choices Add music when working on tasks Some of the fun and learning the Little Lambs had this month included: Creating special art from objects they gathered on their nature walk Developing their social/emotional, writing, and math skills at their farmer s market and pumpkin patch dramatic play centers Continuing to work on their shapes, colors, and letters of the week The Kindergarten adventures included Exploring the pumpkin patch with their friends and family Little Lambs Mighty Lions Learning took place for the Mighty Lions this month when they Practiced writing their names, letters, and numbers in the sand and salt sensory center developing their letter recognition skills Discussed how God can help us overcome big obstacles like the story of David & Goliath Worked on their fine motor skills through building turkey s out of play-doh Kinderoo Preparing a Thanksgiving meal for their families Visiting the Historical Museum in Goldthwaite Working on letter sounds and number recognition Continuing to build math skills with graphs, surveys, and ordinal numbers What s Happening This Month 5

6 Away in a Manger Anonymous This is commonly known as Luther s Cradle Hymn. But did the great German Reformer, Martin Luther, really write the words? Did he sing them by the cradle of his little son, Hans? This is a great mystery in hymnology. In 1887, Away in a Manger appeared in a little book of songs entitled Dainty Songs for Little Lads and Lasses, published in Cincinnati by the John Church Company. The songbook was compiled by James R. Murray. A notation beneath Away in a Manger said: Luther s Cradle Hymn (Composed by Martin Luther for his children and still sung by German mothers to their little one.) Only stanzas one and two were given. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2:7 Music Notes by: Gary Gromatzky Away in a Manger quickly became America s favorite children s carol, the words being sung to forty-one different tunes! Everyone assumed the poem had been written by the great Reformer, Martin Luther. Then in 1945, Richard Hill published a fascinating article entitled Not So Far Away in a Manger in which he announced he had discovered the first two stanzas of Away in a Manger, in an 1885 songbook entitled Little Children s Book, published by German Lutherans in Pennsylvania. No authorship was given nor could Hill find any appearance of this carol in German church history or in Luther s works. After extensive research, Hill concluded: It seems essential to lay (aside) once and for all the legend that Luther wrote a carol for his children, which no one else knew anything about, until it suddenly turned up in English dress 400 years later in Philadelphia. Luther can well afford to spare the honor. But he adds, Although Luther himself had nothing to do with the carol, the colonies of German Lutherans in Pennsylvania almost certainly did. So the mystery endures. Who wrote Away in a Manger? There were apparently two unknown writers: A German Lutheran in Pennsylvania who wrote the first two stanzas, with another unknown author adding a third verse which first appeared in an 1892 songbook published by Charles H. Gabriel. Well, who cares? Certainly not the generations of children around the world who have come to love and know the little Jesus through this sweet carol, and who have gone to sleep praying: I love Thee, Lord Jesus; look down from the sky And stay by my cradle till morning is nigh. Away in a Manger Away in a manger, no crib for a bed, The little Lord Jesus laid down His sweet head. The stars in the sky look down where He lay, The little Lord Jesus, a sleep on the hay. The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes, But little Lord Jesus, no crying He makes. I love Thee, Lord Jesus, look down from the sky And stay by my cradle till morning in nigh. Be near me, Lord Jesus; I ask Thee to stay, Close by me forever, and love me, I pray. Bless all the dear children in Thy tender care, And take us to heaven to live with thee there. Ref: Then Sings my Soul Book Two, Nelson Reference & Electronic (A Division of Thomas Nelson Publishers.) 6

7 Seminary Family Christmas Gifts Our family this year is the Terral Family Paul and Jamie Madelyn (9) Lillie (7) Samuel (4) Baby Boy (due in Nov) There is a stocking & bag in the Narthex to place gift cards. Please put cash or checks on the desk in the church office with a memo on them for seminary family Please attach your name and address so they have the opportunity to send thankyou notes. Nov 30th-Men s Club/Soup Dec 7th- Bd of Ed/Youth/Chili cornbread Dec 14th-Ruth Guild/Spaghetti Dec 21st-Clark Family/Baked potatoes Meals begin at 5:30p Christmas Caroling/Hay Ride December 4pm Services begin at 630p Questions? Contact the church office or Kay Zschiesche Deadline is December 1t th Wear warm clothes Cookies and Cocoa to follow 7

8 Advent Schedule Nov 30 th The Gift of Hope Dec 7 th The Gift of Love Dec 14 th The Gift of Joy Dec 21 st The Gift of Peace Dec 31 st The Gift of Jesus St. John Lutheran Church & Preschool 122 Cheyenne Mesa Hamilton, Texas