Good Tidings. Shepherd of the Hill Lutheran Church. Inside this issue:

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Shepherd of the Hill Lutheran Church Good Tidings December 2016 Special points of interest: October Financial Report Preschool Highlights Christmas Services Inside this issue: Pr.

1 Shepherd of the Hill Lutheran Church Good Tidings December 2016 Special points of interest: October Financial Report Preschool Highlights Christmas Services Inside this issue: Pr. Jon s Article 1 Youth Ministry 2 Preschool Happenings October Financial Report Kids Page Bible Quiz December Calendar 5 Volunteer Calendar 6 Council Members Ministry Team s Birthdays and Anniversaries Service Information Christmas Services But Mary was much perplexed by the angel Gabriel s words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be (Luke 1:29).... Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart (Luke 2:19). Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, We have entered into an extremely busy time of our calendar year. But, who am I kidding; is there a time of year when we are not extremely busy? When people ask me how I am, more often than not I respond, I am well, just extremely busy. I thought that it would be different when I was done with my doctoral studies but it is not. I thought that it would be different when I was done with the various projects we have going in the house but it is not. I thought that it would be different once our church programming year was off the ground but we are still extremely busy. Last week someone recommended a blog article to me entitled, The Disease of Being Busy. In the article the columnist asks the same questions that I find myself asking: How did we create a world in which we have more and more and more to do with less time for leisure, less time for reflection, less time for community, less time to just be? ( The Disease of Being Busy by Omid Safi from When did we lose the ability to ponder? Pondering is an important thing that happens in the Christmas story. The angel Gabriel comes to a young, teenage girl in Galilee and tells her that she would be the mother of the Son of God. Hmmmm. Mary had to ponder that for a while. Nine months later she gives birth to that Son of God in a manger in Bethlehem. Shepherds show up telling her that angels had appeared to them and pointed them to the manger. Hmmmm. Mary had to ponder that for a while. When we ponder, we take time to marvel. We take time to celebrate. We take time to think it through. Early in November we, as congregation, celebrated an intentional time of Sabbath. We gathered for Saturday evening worship, we shared a simple meal together, and then we were sent home to do nothing out of obligation for the next twenty-four hours. When I asked people what they did (and didn t do) for that twenty-four hour time, here were some of the responses: Saturday night I went home and did some "fun" reading. I didn't read any of my books for my book clubs.... Sunday, we all went to Lake Katherine in Palos Hills and enjoy this beautiful November weather and then we went and had lunch together, later we walked over to Dairy Queen and got ice cream! Kimberly Bell I took my fit bit off Saturday night so I could wake naturally without an alarm on Sunday morning. I still woke up at 6 a.m. We had a terrific breakfast at a slow pace. We went golfing, came home rested, [and then] went out to dinner. Pricie Rogan Several weeks ago I decided to try painting again, after a 30 year hiatus. I bought canvas, paint and brushes, and they have laid on my work bench for several weeks waiting for inspiration to hit. Don Lawler We started our day waking to our own bodies alarm and making waffles and saying a morning prayer. We headed to Renwick rookery for a nature walk with binoculars for bird finds. We listened to Lindsey Stirling violin music and enjoyed nature! Bought lunch and then all had a little personal time. We rejoined for a game dinner and a movie on the couch! Bobek Family I have a dozen other stories that I could share of what people did with their twenty-four hour Sabbath and they all included pondering. It takes time and rest to be able to ponder. In 2017, I promise that we will return back to this theme of Sabbath. In the meantime, take time alongside of Mary to ponder the coming of Jesus in your life. Rest, marvel, and celebrate. Pastor Jon

Greetings, As the calendar year comes to a close I feel it is a good time to reflect back on what our youth ministry has accomplished in 2016 and give thanks and praise to God for the ways he works

I continue to be excited and look forward to the way that our youth are growing and developing their faith. We give thanks to God for the continued work in several of our ministries.

We thank God for all of the volunteers that made it possible this past year, for the seasoned veterans and our new volunteers.

2 Greetings, As the calendar year comes to a close I feel it is a good time to reflect back on what our youth ministry has accomplished in 2016 and give thanks and praise to God for the ways he works in our youth and in our ministries. We have undergone some changes and we continue to grow and expand our ministry reaching new youth. I continue to be excited and look forward to the way that our youth are growing and developing their faith. We give thanks to God for the continued work in several of our ministries. VBS this past year saw us have over 100 children participate, we look forward to next summer s VBS. We thank God for all of the volunteers that made it possible this past year, for the seasoned veterans and our new volunteers. We thank you for continuing to reach children of the Lockport area through our Vacation Bible School. We also give thanks to the confirmation program. For the dedication of students and parents to deepen their faith and relationship with Jesus. We praise God for another great summer at summer camp for the generous donations that made the camp possible. We thank God for a second summer of our F5 ministry, thank you for the volunteers and partners that made it possible. We give God for the ministries that have undergone changes this year. Continue to reveal to us how best to serve those inside and outside our ministries. Continue to allow SOTH to be a place that welcomes families. Thank you for our Sunday school as in the past year we have transitioned it to run concurrent to worship. Thank you to the volunteers who make it possible every week. We thank you for the tutoring program and the volunteers. Finally God we give thanks for our new programs. We thank you for a successful high school mission trip and the way you reveal yourself to youth through that experience. We thank you for financial support that made that trip possible. We thank you God for all that you do, through us, with us, and around us. Amen. Mike Markwell Youth Ministry Coordinator Gift-giving solutions Trying to find gifts for certain people or letting others know what you want can be quite challenging. After all, most of us don t need anything. Realizing that the best gifts aren t material items offers a new perspective on giving and receiving. Consider these insights from author Charles Swindoll: Some gifts you can give this Christmas are beyond monetary value: Mend a quarrel, dismiss suspicion, tell someone I love you. Give something away anonymously. Forgive someone who has treated you wrong. Turn away wrath with a soft answer. Visit someone in a nursing home. Apologize if you were wrong. Be especially kind to someone with whom you work. Give as God gave to you in Christ, without obligation, or announcement, or reservation, or hypocrisy. Page 2 Good Tidings 2

On Feast Day, the children shared a meal of chicken nuggets, carrots,, grapes, cubed cheese, pudding, apple sauce and corn bread which was made during class time.

3 The preschoolers at SOTH have been very busy preparing for the holidays. During the month of November, the students made Native American headbands, necklaces and Thanksgiving placemats to prepare for the annual Thanksgiving feast. On Feast Day, the children shared a meal of chicken nuggets, carrots,, grapes, cubed cheese, pudding, apple sauce and corn bread which was made during class time. This month, the students in the four year old program are preparing for the annual Christmas program which will be presented on Sunday, December 18 th at 4:00 p.m. Doors will open at 3:45 p.m. On December 16 th, the children in the three year old program have invited their families to a Trim A Tree party. The families will sing a few Christmas songs, enjoy a special snack and create an ornament for the Christmas tree. All our busy little elves are busy making Christmas presents for their families. At the end of the month, the students will enjoy decorating cookies, playing games and working on an art project during their Christmas parties. Thank you for your continued support throughout the year. The staff at SOTH wishes you a Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year. God Bless You All, 3 Good Tidings Page 3

4 How many wise men followed a star to Bethlehem to worship Jesus? A. two B. three C. four D. We don t know because the Bible doesn t say. Page 4 Good Tidings 4 Answer: D (See Matthew 2:1-12.)

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Executive Committee Members Steve Kirk...President Dave Helfert Vice President Tom Gustafson... Secretary Dennis Wellsandt.

jon@shepherdofthehill.com soth.admin@shepherdofthehill.com soth.audit@shepherdofthehill.com soth.communications@shepherdofthehill.com soth.evast@shepherdofthehill.com soth.fellowship@shepherdofthehill.

com soth.president@shepherdofthehill.com soth.property@shepherdofthehill.com soth.secretary@shepherdofthehill.com soth.treasurer@shepherdofthehill.com soth.vp@shepherdofthehill.com soth.worship@shepherdofthehill.

7 Executive Committee Members Steve Kirk...President Dave Helfert Vice President Tom Gustafson... Secretary Dennis Wellsandt... Treasurer Council Member Ken Franz Rick McManis Nell Pieper Fern Kinder Phil Sleezer Council Meets the 3rd Tuesday of the Month at 6:30PM SOTH Ministry Team address 1-Dec John Beneventi, Andrew Dicksen 2-Dec Pamela Tarrant 3-Dec Jeff Bunting, Bill Dornick, Sharon Grabenhofer, Amy Haut, Karen Stepek 5-Dec George Mormann 6-Dec Brianna Gaspardo, Nicholas Gaspardo 9-Dec Perri Peters 10-Dec Donald Cartwright, Amanda Grabenhofer 11-Dec Glenn Stepek 12-Dec Jan Sleezer 13-Dec Diana Lewandowski, Tabatha Seasock 14-Dec Andrew Neil 16-Dec Nicholas Calderaro 17-Dec Robert Tracy 18-Dec Daniel Hausken, Leslie Rhode, Eric Stepek 19-Dec Sarah Houdek, Samuel Marolda, Martha Pickering 21-Dec Kaitlyn Gray 22-Dec Linda Bunting 23-Dec Abigail Mack, Meghan Mack, Lynda Siezega 24-Dec Mark Neil 25-Dec Ed Kedaitis, James Naylor 27-Dec Marian Callaghan, Amber Piantek 29-Dec Dale Duplessis, Ken Franz, Kirstin Mack, Olga Mares 30-Dec Norman Kelm December 7 Steven & Melanie Johnson December 17 John & Anna Ter Horst December 18 William & Linda Bunting, Phil & Nancy Mormann December 30 Gary & Amy Haut 7 Good Tidings Page 7

Bible Quiz Answer: D (See Matthew 2:1-12.) Shepherd of the Hill Lutheran Church 925 E. 9th St. Lockport, IL 60441 Phone: 815-838-0708 Fax: 815-838-2701 Email: sothlutheran@sbcglobal.

com Mission "To Know Jesus And To Make Jesus Known" Vision "Transforming Lives, Families And Our Community Through Jesus Christ" SERVICE SCHEDULE Saturday 5:00PM Sunday 9:00AM and

and assembled by team members, volunteers and Church Staff. We depend on input from the other ministries, staff, and members of the congregation.

Communications Chairperson's drop box in the Church office. Articles may also be emailed to the kglow72@gmail.com.

8 Bible Quiz Answer: D (See Matthew 2:1-12.) Shepherd of the Hill Lutheran Church 925 E. 9th St. Lockport, IL Phone: Fax: sothlutheran@sbcglobal.net Web page: Mission "To Know Jesus And To Make Jesus Known" Vision "Transforming Lives, Families And Our Community Through Jesus Christ" SERVICE SCHEDULE Saturday 5:00PM Sunday 9:00AM and 10:35AM Sunday School 10:30AM Childcare Available Good Tidings Christmas Eve 5:00PM and 10:30PM Christmas Day 10:35AM Good Tidings is the responsibility of Communications Ministry and assembled by team members, volunteers and Church Staff. We depend on input from the other ministries, staff, and members of the congregation. If you wish to have an article published in Good Tidings, please submit your article or information to someone on How to Contact Good Tidings the team or drop it in the Communications Chairperson's drop box in the Church office. Articles may also be ed to the kglow72@gmail.com. In order for the article to appear in the next month s newsletter, it needs to be into the drop box by the 20th of each Month. Articles submitted after that date will appear in the next issue, assuming the articles are not date sensitive. Remember that we depend on your input in order to be able to have information to publish Christmas, my child, is love in action. Every time we love, every time we give, it s Christmas. Dale Evans Page 8 Good Tidings 8

Good Tidings. Shepherd of the Hill Lutheran Church. Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Good Tidings. Shepherd of the Hill Lutheran Church. Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, Shepherd of the Hill Lutheran Church Good Tidings March 2017 Special points of interest: Small Groups Bible Study 2nd Annual Easter Event Youth Ministry Updates Inside this issue: Pr. Jon s Article 1 Small