December Pastor s Letter. Dear Sisters and Brothers,

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1 December 2018 A publication of Trinity Reformed Church of the United Church of Christ Hanover & Kings Streets, Pottstown, PA (610) /(610) s Letter Philippians 4:4-7 Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you re on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute! Don t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. (The Message) Dear Sisters and Brothers, Advent is upon us - a time filled with anticipation, expectation, joy, and preparation. There is something different in the air something magical all of the lights, playful images of Santa Clause and his reindeer, carols, snowmen, presents it is a season pregnant with wonder. There is a reason we sing, It s the most wonderful time of the year! Because, in many ways, it is. For me, and probably many of you, the anticipation, expectation, the preparation also has the tendency to bring a lot of stress and anxiety. And though I have loved ones around me, I am often reminded of who isn t around me, and I get stuck reminiscing about memories of Christmases long ago, leaving me longing rather than grateful in the present. The scripture above is one of the texts for this Advent. It s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. As a professional worrier, I hear these words and yearn for Christ s presence. Allowing Christ to displace my worry and anxiety sounds nearly impossible in those moments when they are all-encompassing. Maybe you can relate? The season of Advent is a season of anticipation, and that includes tension and anxiety. We are waiting for the Christ child to come into the world but he hasn t come yet. We are holding onto the promise for the Hope of the World to arrive, but sometimes its hard to hold onto hope when you re in the midst of the struggle. Thankfully, we have signs of this hope becoming reality. We see this reality through acts of generosity, of making space for others, in the reminders of hope, peace, joy, and love in the lighting of Advent candles, and the extending of hands to one another. This month, I encourage you to stay alert to the signs of the coming Christ. In the hustle and bustle of preparing, pay attention to where the presence of Christ is already breaking in. Draw near to the Christ child who is coming to walk among us, and allow God s invitation to wholeness to pervade your spirits. Grateful to be journeying with you. Grace and peace to you, Nichole

2 Joint Trinity/Zion's Soup and Bread Advent Devotionals Nichole and Austin are co-leading a joint weekly mid-day Advent devotional time together between Trinity and Zion s. Meeting at the table over soup and bread, and using various devotional resources, including "Living the Gospel Life," we are studying together to prepare our hearts, souls and minds to celebrate the coming birth of Jesus. This particular devotional resource will be provided for you as soon as they arrive, even if you don't plan to take part in these meetings. We are meeting together for four weeks and will be alternating locations, with the hosting church providing the meal. If you are interested in bringing/making soup for the next time we host - December 11 th - please let Nichole know. Below is the schedule for the rest of the season: Tuesday, Dec.4th at Zion's 12:00-1:00 PM Tuesday, Dec.11th at Trinity 12:00-1:00 PM Tuesday, Dec.18th at Zion's 12:00-1:00 PM Hope you can join us! Poinsettias Poinsettias are on sale before and after church until December 16th. Cost is $9.00 per plant. Orders can also be placed by calling the church office. Holiday House Tour Trinity will be participating in the Pottstown Historic House Tour again this year. The event will take place on Sunday, December 9 from 1-5 pm. We need a few volunteers to greet our visitors at the front door and escort them on a brief tour of the sanctuary. See Carolyn Dillon if you can donate an hour or two of your time on December 9. Thanks! Offering Envelopes The offering envelopes for 2019 are available now. Please stop by in Fretz Chapel after worship to pick up yours and those of family members. Community Meal Trinity will be hosting the Community Meal on New Year s Day. The Pottstown Cluster will be closed the week between Christmas and New Years. We will be in need of desserts. If you would like to bake a cake or pie, please bring it in on December 30th. If you are interested in helping to serve the meal on January 1 st, please contact Barb Cooper at bjcoop23@hotmail.com. If you would like to help prepare the meal, please come at 2. If you would like to serve and help clean up, please come at 4:30. Please let Barb know if you are able to help by December 15th. Cluster News There is continuous progress on the new building which was purchased 3 years ago next to our Cluster premises and it is scheduled to be open by January 1, Currently, it is intended to be used to expand their educational programs. The Holiday food distribution will again be held for 200 families getting a basket. They must have been on the recipient list for several months prior. All food to be donated needs to be at the Cluster by December 14 as the distribution takes place on December 20. They can always use more help to assemble these boxes. The contact person is Vicki. There will also be a distribution of toys on December 10 and they must be at the Cluster by December 7. The aim is for 450 toys to be given away. A Cluster delegate (Kitty) is collecting cancelled postage stamps for Occupational Therapy at our Veterans Center. Just tear off the corner of the envelope with the stamp and place them in a box near our rear entrance marked stamps and we will see that they get to the VA. Some of the men are becoming avid stamp collectors. Annual Reports Annual reports are due and need to be handed in to the office as soon as possible. 2

3 Advent Begins December 2 Draw Near to Christ December 2nd Draw Near to Christ: Source of Hope Jeremiah 33:14-16, Luke 21:25-36 December 9th Draw Near to Christ: Prince of Peace Malachi 3:1-4, Luke 3:1-6 December 16th Draw Near to Christ: Joy For The World Zephaniah 3:14-20, Luke 3:7-18 December 23rd Draw Near to Christ: Author of Love Micah 5:2-5a, Luke 1:39-56 Christmas Eve Draw Near to Christ: Emmanuel Has Come! Isaiah 9:2-7, Luke 2:1-20 Christmas Eve Candlelight twinkling in the sanctuary reminds us of the stars of night and the Star that lit the way to the Christ Child in Bethlehem. Come and experience the glory of the birth of Jesus at our Christmas Eve worship service, Monday, December 24, 7:00 p.m. The service will begin with a half-hour of Christmas Music by Bill Conrad, the Choir and the Bell Choir. The liturgy begins at 7:30 with the Christmas story told in word, song and candlelight. O come, O come Emmanuel! 3

4 Decembe Ushers Readers Greeters Acolyte Nursery 2 9:30 AM Charlie Yohn Pete Nimmerichter Phil & Tammy Vontor Pat Hagge Marlene Armato Alyssa Rahn Julia & Brooklyn Jackson 9-9:30 AM Dennis Wagner Walter Mensch Ann Wagner Edna Hipple Kate Hoffman Angie Rahn Phil & Tammy Vontor 16 9:30 AM Richard & Pat Geisler Tom & Barb Christman Floyd & Jeanne Harkinson Kate Hoffman Pete & Rosana Nimmerichter Aidan Jackson Jackie Garber 23 9:30 AM John & Linda Galloway Dennis Wagner Dennis & Ann Wagner Nadia Jackson Kate Hoffman Brooklyn Jackson 24-7pm Robert Schwab Family William Sheeler Family Dick & Carolyn Dillon Rose Blom Brooklyn Jackson Julia & Nadia Jackson 30-9:30 AM Charlie Yohn Pete Nimmerichter Phil & Tammy Vontor Jayne Guest Dolly Davis Pete & Rosana Nimmerichter December 2 Suzanne Whitman Sandra Pascal 3 Rachel Schwab 4 Janet Galloway 5 Eva Brooke 6 Danielle Shade 9 Will Sheeler 10 Kim Sheeler 13 Leif Hums 16 Nichole Jackson 17 Charles Whitman 18 Roy Kinckiner Rod Guest 19 Mary Glaser Carol Schwab 21 Pete Peterman III 23 Gladys Quint 24 John M. Galloway 25 Paul Ragalyi 26 Tracy Muir 27 Gary Rhoads 28 Denise Satterwhite Michael Sesher 29 Erin Schwab 30 Richard Frain 31 Dominick Armato 4

5 MONTH of DECEMBER Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursda y Friday Saturday :15pm PSEC 2 Youth - Communion 11am Elder s 3 4 Devotional Zions Pottstown Police 6:30pm Deacons 7:00pm Consistory 5 9am Staff Mtg Youth 1-5pm Holiday House Tour Devotional Trinity 3pm WRAP St. Aloysius 12 Choir am 2pm POWER Youth 23 Youth :00 pm Christmas Eve Worship 18 Devotional Zions 3pm WRAP New Hanover 19 10am Cards 10-12pm PSEC Choir Youth 31 5