A Christmas Message to My Family

Transcription

1 December 2018 For Members and Friends of St. Paul s UCC Fleetwood A Christmas Message to My Family It s been three years now since we moved into our new home at 10 Christman Road. We have enjoyed living there immensely and we are grateful for the quiet, serene countryside. Each evening starting in about the middle of September herds of deer have come cautiously out of the tree line behind us to make their way to the lush green pastures of fall. The most I have counted is 25. At night they bed down around the house and in the field beside us. When I come home in the evenings my headlights illuminate the bright eyes of my neighbors welcoming me home. I love the fall. I love the coolness that hangs in the air and the frost that paints the countryside. But as we know we live in a part of the world where fall prepares us for the cold winds of winter. I am ready. After a hot, dry summer I am ready for some cold. And I am ready for the stuff that begins with the letter s, and that isn t sugar! I m also ready for the spirit of Advent. I am ready to hear songs of joy and peace and love and hope. Our world needs these words desperately. After what we have been through for the past 15 months, we need to hear the Good News of the coming of a Savior who is Christ the Lord. To be honest, it would even be nice to cuddle a bit with the Baby Jesus by the manger with winter s winds whistling around us. It would be good to be present with the baby, a baby sent to reassure us that there is a new way, a new life, a new world. I welcome Advent. I welcome the coming of Christmas. I am going to breathe deep the smells of the season. I am going to slow down and enjoy the presence of my family, my family at home and my family at church. And I am going to embrace the Advent message of a Christ who loves me more than I can imagine. That is my prayer for all of you as well! Blessings, Pastor Pat

2 2 Zachary Gilmore 12/01/1984 Morgan Long 12/01/1997 Maxwell Ruemmler 12/01/1998 Kristopher Wink 12/01/1988 Brenda Boyer 12/02/1951 Mikal Kohler 12/02/1967 Joshua Mumma 12/02/ David Woods 12/02/1968 Dylan Kramer 12/03/1995 Jacob Kramer 12/03/1995 Fay Leida 12/03/1938 Cindy Stump 12/03/1960 Wendy Wink 12/03/1997 Janet Withers 12/03/1946 Joshua Bogacki 12/04/2005 Shelley Brokhoff 12/04/1962 Jane Folk 12/04/1950 Mitchell Kibler 12/04/2000 Christine Markley 12/04/1966 Kathleen Barth 12/05/1948 Tom Bosch 12/05/1956 William Gehringer 12/05/1945 Donald Houck 12/05/1953 Marissa Marz 12/05/1987 Carrie Campbell 12/06/1984 Kenneth Ruhl 12/06/1949 Sammi Snyder 12/06/1990 Donald Zimmerman 12/06/1943 Megan Eberly 12/07/2004 Dennis Boyer 12/08/1948 Mary Jo Carabello 12/08/1954 Robert Knoll 12/08/1932 Tina Nasados 12/08/1970 Kimberly Parfet 12/08/1960 Aidan Strohl 12/08/2004 Glenn Weiss 12/08/1970 Linda Young 12/08/1964 Diane Fretz 12/09/1959 Christopher Kershner 12/09/1969 Barbara Quinn 12/09/1940 Jan Walters 12/09/1955 Kathleen Herman 12/10/1929 Stephen Maurek 12/10/2001 Casey Miller 12/10/1992 Andrew Schoellkopf 12/10/2010 Elaine Hoch 12/12/1951 Eric Levan 12/12/1988 Susan Ludwig 12/12/1966 Eileen Schuler 12/12/1960 Adam Frederick 12/13/1985 Kerry Kachel 12/13/1966 Frank Levan 12/13/1961 Carol Spotts 12/13/ Lori Brightbill 12/14/1968 Wendy Milyo 12/14/1972 Sandra Wildermuth 12/14/1945 Anna Askman 12/15/1921 Amy Beetel 12/15/1983 Sandra Frederick 12/15/1960 Linda Schaeffer 12/15/1946 Jacob Pflum 12/16/2009 Betty Schwab 12/16/1947 Dale Geist 12/17/1952 Jennifer Shick 12/17/1970 Jacinda Stella 12/17/1971 Allisyn Walther 12/17/1999 Janice Weiss 12/17/1938 Cory Mason 12/18/1957 Angela Miller 12/18/1982 Alexander Scheffler 12/18/2003 Emily Theodore 12/18/1991 Warren Wanner 12/18/1932 Chris Blickley 12/19/1973 Rachel Levan 12/19/1999 Julian Marz 12/19/1990 Mackenzie Miller 12/19/2002 Margaret Fryzol 12/20/1962 Michael Hechinger 12/20/1947 David Herrold 12/20/???? Dakota Milyo 12/20/2000 Victor Pytleski 12/20/1974 Raymond Snyder 12/20/1946 Andrea Batz 12/21/1973 Tyler Bungo 12/21/2010 Savannah Brown 12/22/2010 Paul Fretz 12/22/1995 Justin Kachel 12/22/1996 Bradley McAfee 12/22/1997 Christoph Snyder 12/22/1971 Melissa Blickley 12/23/1975 Richard Fritz 12/23/1951 Amy Gross 12/24/1975 Joel Koch 12/24/1953 Megan McGlinchey 12/24/1991 Spencer Miller 12/24/1996 Sherri Pieja 12/24/1964 Jeffrey Schutt 12/24/1983 Kyle Schutt 12/24/1983 James Wright 12/25/1942 Jordan Jensen 12/26/1989 Sandra Levan 12/26/1946 Tammy Miller 12/26/1965 Connor Gruber 12/27/2004 Emily Klopp 12/27/2008 Marcy Klopp 12/27/1977 Logan Mark 12/27/2000 William Quinn 12/27/1939 Keith Hallman 12/28/1975 Tessa Pflum 12/28/2007 Lindsay Becker 12/29/1982 Rhonda Bieber 12/29/1968 Matthew Bogacki 12/29/1995 Jacob Bungo 12/29/2006 Jiasu Gore 12/29/2002 Tammy Gore 12/29/1957 Klarissa Pierce 12/29/1998 Dominique Hoover 12/30/2006 Jeffrey Kibler 12/30/1963 Kayla Provost 12/30/1993 Zachary Houp 12/31/1981 Geraldine Knoll 12/31/1931 Lisa Weiser 12/31/1966 Ali Wertz 12/31/2009 If your birthday is not listed or is incorrect, please call the church office at or send an to so it can be recorded for future birthday lists. The deadline for news and information to be included in the Tower Tymes is the 15 th of every month.

3 3 Weekly Volunteers December 2 nd : Readers: 8:55- Gary Reinert 10:25- Sue Creswell Acolytes: 8:55-Katelin Pytleski, Stella Koch 10:25- Megan Eberly, Aidan Strohl Ushers: 8:55- Cindy R., Ro W., Bob W., Dave D., Dennis W., Melissa B., Christoph S., 10:25- Jim G., Steve W., Jenn H., Bill T., December 9 th : Readers: 8:55- TBD Acolytes: 8:55-Chase Reifsnyder, Ian Miller Ushers: 8:55- Dave D., Chris V., Jamin V., December 16 th : Readers: 8:55- TBD Acolytes: 8:55- Colin Snyder, Katelin Pytleski Ushers: 8:55- Cindy R., Ro W., Bob W., Christoph S., December 23 rd : Readers: 8:55-Tom Hoch Acolytes: 8:55- Aidan Strohl, Chase Reifsnyder Ushers: 8:55-Caroline B., Melissa B., Chris V., December 30 th : Readers: 8:55- Nancy Boyer Acolytes: 8:55-Cassandra Batz, Aidan Strohl Ushers: 8:55-Caroline B., Jamin V., Melissa B., Dennis W., 10:25- TBD 10:25- Zack Fry, Tristin Farr 10:25-Heidi P., Jenn H., 10:25- Jason Crockett 10:25- Stella Koch, Cassandra Batz 10:25-Jim G., Bill T.,Steve W., Marie R., 10:25- Carol Strause 10:25- Ian Miller, Megan Eberly 10:25-Heidi P., Jason C., 10:25- Jim Goldman 10:25- Chase Reifsnyder, Stella Koch 10:25- Jim G., Marie R., Jason C., Greetings from St. Paul s School: November brought us celebrations for the Thanksgiving Holiday. We had a Thanksgiving mock Dinner feast on Tuesday November 20 th. We celebrated how thankful we are to live in such a great place and have food and shelter. We also celebrated that we have our school, the children and parents that are part of the wonderful life at St. Paul s UCC School. Our special giving tree this year will be to animal shelters to give the gift of sharing to animals in need. December will bring us a special visitor. There will be a visit from a certain man dressed in red. The Christmas story will be shared with the children and parents/grandparents. December will bring us celebrations for the birth of Jesus. We are thrilled to see candy canes, Christmas trees, stockings, fireplaces, snowflakes, hot cocoa, bells, Christmas balls, ornaments and many other Christmas decorations completely and entirely created by yours truly the children. Thank you to the children of our school for decorating our church rooms with such brilliant colors and filling the rooms with Christmas excitement. We continue to have just a few spots in some of our classes. If you know of anyone that has a 2 year-6 year old that is interested in a fun adventure, do not hesitate to give us a call at the school office ( ). We look forward to meeting you and your child. We look forward to having a fun and an exciting adventure with all the children in the journey of our children s futures. We wish all the School and Church families a very safe and joyous Christmas and a very Happy and Healthy New Year!!! Respectfully, Peggy Brown School Director

4 4 Christmas Tea: Men, Women and children, mark your calendars for our annual Christmas Tea on Tuesday December 4 th at 7:00 p.m. Please bring a plate of cookies/cookie bars; deliver to kitchen so that we may combine them on table trays. It s always been a lovely evening and a good way to enter the Advent to the Christmas Season. A poster will be in the narthex for sign- as the number of ups, please look for that starting November 3 rd. Please sign your name as welll guests at your table, this way I can seat you with your group. If you do not have a group you will be seated at a table accordingly. Hoping to see a lot of you on Tuesday, December 4 th at 7:00 for the Tea. Christmas Shut-In Cards: It s thatt again time (Christmas) to remember our shut-ins with a Christmas card. A bag for each shut-in will be placed in the Narthex. We are asking our members to sign their name on a Christmas card for each person (or as many as you wish) and drop them in the bags. There will be about 35 shut-ins. There will be bags in the Narthex on December 2 nd and December 9 th. Let s help to show our shut-ins that they are not forgotten and help to put a smile on their faces. Watch the church bulletin for the exact number of shut-ins. This is a Women s Guild project. Christmas Eve Service: Children and youth are invited to share a musical selection at the Sunday School Christmas program on December 16, and the 7 pm Christmas Eve service. Youth and adults are welcome to do the same at the 10:30 service on Christmas Eve. Please see Jill. She has music selections if you need help finding something to sing or play. Luminaries will surround the church property again on Christmas Eve. A donation of $1 will sponsor a candle in Memory or Honor of a loved one, or for your own enjoyment. You will find envelopes in the pews to place this tear-off in, mark it luminaries and then place it in the offering basket. Names will be taken until December 9 th. A list will be in the bulletin on December 30 th. $1 donation per candle: # $ In Memory of In Honor of For your own enjoyment Prayer Shawl: Our Prayer Shawl Ministry will not have a meeting in December. We welcome anyone to join our group and hope we get some replies from the Congregational Meeting held yesterday. If you can't knit or crochet, someone will assist you in learning your choice of knitting or crocheting. As an extra Christmas project, along with several prayer shawl groups from Fleetwood, Topton and Maidencreek, we participated in St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church's service project to make scarves and caps for the people served by Friend, Inc. We will see you at our next meeting on Monday, January 7, 2019, at 7 pm. in the church lounge. THANK YOU to all the Counters who assisted me during You did a great job! We can t get the job done without you so again.many THANKS!!! - Sue Creswell, Bookkeeper

5 5 Poinsettias for Christmas Eve: There are two ways to contribute to the Poinsettia display which will adorn our altar on Christmas Eve. You can give a $1 donation to contribute toward plants which will be given to the elderly and shut-ins or you can give $6.50 per plant, which allows you to keep the plant you buy. In either case, your donation can be in Memory of, in Honor of a loved one, or simply for your own enjoyment. You will find envelopes in the pews to place this tear-off in, mark Poinsettias and then place it in the offering basket. Names will be taken until December 9 th. A list containing sponsors will be available in the December 30 th bulletin. $1 donation: # $6.50 Purchase Red White In Memory of: In Honor of: For your own enjoyment: OCTOBER 2018 POTPIE TRIVIA: Here are some fun facts to add to the already amazing number of volunteers that work for seven days preparing for the potpie takeout and dinner. 400 lbs. of chicken 52 dozen eggs 200 lbs. of coleslaw 250 lbs. of flour 300 seated at the dinner 500 quarts made for Friday takeout 120 contacts made by phone for takeout $400 donated to the youth fellowship organization $5,000 donated to St. Paul s General Fund Thank you for your support and get ready because the next takeout is March 1, 2019 and the dinner is March 2, Brass Rehearsal: Rehearsal for Christmas Eve will be the following Sundays after the second service: December 9 th, 16th, and 23 rd. Any questions call Jay Smith at From Consistory: The consistory is looking for about 5-7 people to serve on a committee to work on our church s profile. PSEC is asking congregations to update their profiles. There are two great reasons this would benefit St. Paul s. First, we will use the informationn to make decisions about our future and second to be prepared in case there is a change of pastoral leadership. Once the profile is complete it is good for 5 years and can easily be updated. There are no requirements to be a part of this committee, although a love of numbers and data analysis may be helpful. If you are interested or have questions, please reach out to Jenn Hoffman at twjenn15@gmail.comm or Heidi Pierce at hapnsjp@verizon.net.

6 FOR SALE: Santa Suit in very good condition. If interested, contact Barb 6

7 St. Paul s United Church of Christ 5 West Arch Street Fleetwood, PA Phone: Fax: churchoffice@stpaulsfleetwood.org Website: Non-Profit US Postage Paid Reading PA Permit # Our Staff Rev. Patrick W. Morris Pastor Rev. John Folk Associate Pastor Miss. Samantha Wolf Administrative Assistant Mrs. Sue Creswell Bookkeeper Mrs. Greta Ertel Organist/Accompanist Mrs. Jill Haley Coordinator of Music Ministries Ms. Peggy Brown School Director

8 Sun Mon Tue 2018 Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 Advent Begins Glass ornaments & pendants at Clay on Main- Cost :30-8:00 9 Cantata- Both Services No Youth 3 4 Christmas Tea- 7:00, Social Room 10 Consistory: 7:00- Social Room 11 Guild Meeting: 7:00- Conference Room 5 Bible Study: 10:00- Lounge Prayer Chain: 11:00- Lounge 6 Fleetwood Food Pantry: 3: Choir Practice: 10:00- Sanctuary Christmas Program Christmas Caroling & Luminaries - 3: Youth Fellowship 24 Christmas Eve 7:00 Family Service 10:30 Late Service 25 Christmas Day! Tentative: NYC Day Trip No Youth Tonight 31 New Years Eve!