Salem United Church of Christ Oak Lawn, Illinois

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From the Pastor... Salem United Church of Christ Oak Lawn, Illinois N E W S a n d N O T E S December 2017; Issue 466 I remember the first Christmas I was away from my family for the entire season.

It was also my first Christmas in the south and I wasn t even surrounded by the kind of weather I was used to. Not only was there no snow, but you only needed a light jacket to get around.

1 From the Pastor... Salem United Church of Christ Oak Lawn, Illinois N E W S a n d N O T E S December 2017; Issue 466 I remember the first Christmas I was away from my family for the entire season. I was working in North Carolina and didn t have the money, or time off, to make my way back. It was also my first Christmas in the south and I wasn t even surrounded by the kind of weather I was used to. Not only was there no snow, but you only needed a light jacket to get around. Nothing that year seemed special to me. I was still in my agnostic phase so I didn t even go to church. It was the most depressing Christmas of my life, but I learned something. I learned that to experience the sacred you have to be intentional. I learned that without the sacred life becomes very void and meaningless. To experience the sacred this season, work on mending relationships and being present with family and strangers alike. To experience the sacred this season, make the time for the Advent Evening Prayer services and the Christmas Eve service. To experience the sacred this season, give a meaningful gift to the church and/ or someone in need. To experience the sacred this season, spend some time praying for peace. The Spiritual life is always an intentional life that makes a priority of placing God in the center of your being. The payoff is a feeling of ecstasy at the presence of God when you sing Silent Night with a lit candle. Beyond that, the more you practice the more you will experience the ecstasy of God s presence each day of your life. Peace, Pastor Steve

2 December Scripture Readings The Revised Common Lectionary is used in a broad array of churches and offers passages for each Sunday. Usually they are Old Testament with a related Psalm, Gospel and Epistle Readings (with some seasonal variations). Although it is not the practice in our church to read all the passages each Sunday, you may wish to do that as preparation for weekly worship. Here are the passages for the upcoming weeks: December 3: Isaiah 64:1-9 Psalm 80:1-7, Corinthians 1:3-9 Mark 13:24-37 December 17: Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 Psalm 126 Luke 1:46b-55 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 John 1:6-8, December 31: Isaiah 61:10-62:3 Psalm 148 Galatians 4:4-7 Luke 2:22-40 December 10: Isaiah 40:1-11 Psalm 85:1-2, Peter 3:8-15a Mark 1:1-8 December 24: 2 Samuel 7: 1-11, 16 Luke 1:46b-55 Psalm 89:1-4, Romans 16:25-27 Luke 1:26-38 December Greeter List: NOTE: Please be in place 20 minutes prior to service starting. December 3: Norm & Aline Wiedow December 10: Griffith Family December 17: Youth Group December 24: Terry & Lynda Ganzer

Advent Evening Prayer Services Join us Wednesdays, December 6 th and 13 th at 7:30pm, for a beautiful Evening Prayer service of song and

We made the early service a little later this year since Christmas Eve falls on a Sunday this year when our shelter is open to homeless

Also, please be quiet coming and going at the 11pm service as our guests will be asleep in Zion Hall.

!! Our Sunday School children will be doing a short program on Sunday, December 17th entitled "GOD S GIFT".

3 Advent Evening Prayer Services Join us Wednesdays, December 6 th and 13 th at 7:30pm, for a beautiful Evening Prayer service of song and quiet contemplation. Refreshments will follow. Christmas Eve Services Our Christmas Eve services will be at 6:30pm and 11:00pm. We made the early service a little later this year since Christmas Eve falls on a Sunday this year when our shelter is open to homeless women and children. We wanted to make sure they had an opportunity to worship with us. Also, please be quiet coming and going at the 11pm service as our guests will be asleep in Zion Hall. HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL FROM YOUR BOARD OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATION!!! Our Sunday School children will be doing a short program on Sunday, December 17th entitled "GOD S GIFT". We have begun practicing and ask that the children dress in nice Sunday clothes and come to church a 1/2 hour early on that day. Please let us know as soon as you are able whether your child(ren) will be at church that day, so we know how many we will have for the program. We look forward to sharing this story with you and hope you all have A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Women s Guild Luncheon The Woman's Guild Luncheon is going to be held on December 5th. This is a week earlier then our usual meeting day, but December is a very busy month for everyone.

Joni and her band have graciously agreed to play again for us.

4 Women s Guild Luncheon The Woman's Guild Luncheon is going to be held on December 5th. This is a week earlier then our usual meeting day, but December is a very busy month for everyone. Everyone is invited to attend (both men and women) whether you are a guild member or not. The cost for the luncheon is $6 and you get your lunch and a program. Joni and her band have graciously agreed to play again for us. Instead of a grab bag again this year, Missions has asked attendees to donate small items for ladies that would fit into a Christmas stocking. Joanne Spellman sent out an with examples of things that would be nice to put in the stockings. There is a sign up sheet in the message center. If you plan on coming please sign-up as we need to know how much food to order. Don t forget to bring a friend. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more! ~Dr. Seuss~

5 *Our 5 for 5 campaign concludes the year with the Christmas Fund (Veterans of the Cross) on Dec.17th. The Fund provides Christmas Thank You checks to retired UCC clergy/lay employees; monthly small annuity supplements and/ or quarterly Health premium supplement to lower income retired UCC clergy/lay employees and emergency grants to help with one time assistance for unforeseen circumstances that have created a financial hardship for active and retired UCC clergy/lay employees. Please help support this important mission to help support those who have served us so well. *The sign-up sheet to attend the Musichorale Concert on December 10 th in now in the message center. Tickets are $13 apiece, but in order to get this price we need to sell 12 tickets. After the concert we will be going to Julianni s Restaurant. (You will pay for your own meals.) If you have never been to one of these concerts you are really missing something. Please try and come as it is a fun afternoon and evening with our Salem Family. Contact Lynda Ganzer for more information. *Liturgists/Greeters: To clarify if there is any confusion, the typed lists in the message center are the lists for liturgists & greeters. If you do not want to continue next year on either being a greeter or liturgist just cross your name off the list. If you would like to participate next year and never have in the past then you sign your name on the new sign-up sheet. *Coffee hour-(from Lynda Ganzer) For the past several weeks I have been asking for volunteers to help with coffee hour. Thank you to all those who have come in to assist. Your help has been much appreciated. This being said we are still going to need more people to help with coffee hour. We are trying to come up with a plan that we would have everything covered every week, but until then if you see that they are short handed in the kitchen please go in and help the ladies out. Thank you. *Casino Trip: Our last Casino Trip for the year was held on November 5 th. A good time was had by all. We had a profit of nearly $600. Thank you to Marianne Cox for arranging all our trips during the year. Everyone has a good time, and we are making money for the church. Now if we could just have another big winner. Watch for our next trip sometime in February or March. *Board of Christian Education will be selling Christmas Wreaths again this year. Look for order forms on the tables in Zion Hall. Orders are due by December 3rd and wreaths will be ready for pick-up on Sunday, December 10th. Payment is due when ordered and orders can be given to Karen Rodriguez by December 3rd. In memory of Jim Dabisch Those we love don t go away. They walk beside us every day. Unseen, unheard but always near. Still loved, still missed everyday.

*The following people stepped up to the plate and helped fill some spots in November.

6 *To all the ladies who brought in baked goods for the two memorials that we had on November 4 th thank you. *To Aline Wiedow, Judy Michaels, Darlene Dvornik, Sue Golick and Marianne Cox who gave up their Saturday to assist with the memorials. Both families appreciated all of your hard work. *The following people stepped up to the plate and helped fill some spots in November. These people are: Chuck and Nancy Sieben, Don and Darlene Dvornik, Pam McWilliams, Aline Wiedow and Hazel Krasinski. *A special thank you to Reverend William Hoerger for helping out with the two memorials and funeral. We are so pleased that our pastor s dad was able to help out in our time of need. *Thank you to the following people who assisted in the kitchen on November 13 th for coffee hour: Darlene Dvornik, Sue Golick, Nancy Sieben, Saundra Taylor, Don Dvornik, Terry Ganzer and John Thorne. Your help was much appreciated. The season of giving is here and the Missions Committee is in full swing! First, thank you to the congregation for all the non-perishable food and monetary donations for the Pilgrim Faith UCC Food Pantry collected during Harvest Home. Additional thanks to everyone who helped in other capacities to make this project a success. Because of your generosity, many more families will now be able to put a nourishing meal on their tables. The Giving Tree is back! We will be collecting Christmas gifts again this year for the in-need children of Worth Township. Please take an ornament or two from the tree in the narthex and sign your name on the sheet. Kindly purchase the appropriate gift and return it unwrapped with the ornament attached by Sunday, December 10th. See Laura Frey for details. The UCC Christmas Fund offering (formerly Veterans of the Cross) will be collected on December 10th. Please give as you are able. Christmas stockings holding little trinkets from the Missions Committee and Ladies Guild will be given to our overnight Beds Plus guests on Christmas Eve. Thank you ladies for your partnership in this endeavor! Wishing you comfort and joy in the coming year!

This is a copy of an email sent out on Tuesday, November 14th to members that have email access: On behalf of Salem s Council President Marianne Cox and myself (Council Vice President), I am sending

7 This is a copy of an sent out on Tuesday, November 14th to members that have access: On behalf of Salem s Council President Marianne Cox and myself (Council Vice President), I am sending this out to inform all of you of a change in Pastor Steve s current workload. Pastor Steve announced at last night s council meeting that he is going to continue working at Salem as our Pastor in a part-time manner, due to a new position as full-time hospice chaplain. While the amount of hours Pastor Steve will be at Salem will be lessened, he will still preach his amazing sermons each Sunday morning. Change isn t always easy, and although this change will require patience and time to transition, I am SO excited for Steve & Joni as they navigate the road ahead. Please see a note from Pastor Steve below. In God s Shared Love, Jacqueline Canty Salem United Church of Christ Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, I wanted you all to know that God s hand is on the move. I am going back to full-time hospice work. I will still be your pastor. You will still see me on Sunday mornings and at evening meetings and services. You can still call me anytime. I still love all of you and the community that is Salem. This arrangement, at this time, makes financial sense for Salem and me. It actually allows for me to remain your pastor until I get old which I m not yet. I ll be in the office from 6:30 to 9pm on Mondays and Tuesdays if you need to talk. This arrangement will actually make me more available to people who work during the day. Please continue to be faithful in your offerings because the transforming ministry of this place is so important. I m convinced that we are the kind of church our Lord would be proud of. Keep me in your prayers because I m going to be very busy. Also, be prepared to step forward when asked to serve. There s no higher calling than the time you give to Salem. May God bless us as we start a new chapter together. Peace, Pastor Steve

December Birthdays December 1: Matt Gatton December 7: Marilyn Dabisch December 11: Hazel Krasinski December 12: Diana Harvey December 16: Saundra Taylor December 18: Joni Hoerger

Bernadette Bendik January 14: Darlyne Slinn & Lance Rodriguez January 15: Dana Anton January 16: Mary Ekstrom January 18: Laura Frey & Rob Bendik January 20: Terry Ganzer January 21: Bob

8 December Birthdays December 1: Matt Gatton December 7: Marilyn Dabisch December 11: Hazel Krasinski December 12: Diana Harvey December 16: Saundra Taylor December 18: Joni Hoerger December 21: Carol Miller December 22: Don Dvornik December 24: Cheryl Gatz December 27: Claude Wolcott December 31: Alexis Koronkiewicz & Jean Beauvais January Birthdays January 13: Bernadette Bendik January 14: Darlyne Slinn & Lance Rodriguez January 15: Dana Anton January 16: Mary Ekstrom January 18: Laura Frey & Rob Bendik January 20: Terry Ganzer January 21: Bob Hays & Cathy Thorne January 27: Roberta Koronkiewicz Prayer List: Traci Hefner Shut-In List: Audrey Weir The Streitbergers Carol Miller Jan Tolchin Dorothy Kopeck Tom and Sue Heuss Claude Wolcott

at Salem on Sundays. Also, the Men s Group meets every Tuesday. For more information on the Men s Group, please email Don Michaels at dgmich9007@sbcglobal.net.

9 Mark your calendars for another amazing month at Salem! Sundays, 10am Church Service December 3, 10, 17, 24, 31 Mondays, 10am-11am Blanket Making December 4, 11, 18 Tuesdays, 9am Bazaar Crafters December 5, 12, 19, 26 NOTE: Beverly Theater Guild rehearses at Salem on Sundays. Also, the Men s Group meets every Tuesday. For more information on the Men s Group, please Don Michaels at dgmich9007@sbcglobal.net. Alcoholics Anonymous meets at Salem on Tuesdays at 7pm. Overeaters Anonymous meets at Salem on Thursdays & Fridays at 7pm. Al-Anon meets at Salem on Thursday at 7pm. Hanging of the Greens! December 2, 2017 at 1:00pm This is an annual event when everyone gets together to decorate the church for Christmas. We need as many people as we can get. Many hands makes the job a lot easier and we get done a lot faster. There is a sign-up sheet in the message center.

Deadline for the January issue of News &

10 Deadline for the January issue of News & Notes is Thursday, December 21st! October income= $16, October expenses=$11, Difference = $5, Birthday tax collected in October= $ If you have any questions, please reach out to Denise Lonigro.

11 December 2017 Salem United Church of Christ 9717 South Kostner Avenue Oak Lawn, Illinois Salem Newsletter December 2017 Issue No. 466 Pastor: Rev. Steve Hoerger Church Secretary: Newsletter Editor: Newsletter Distributor: Typographical Editor: Jean Beauvais Jacqueline A. Canty Aline Wiedow Virginia Johnson

Salem United Church of Christ Oak Lawn, Illinois

Salem United Church of Christ Oak Lawn, Illinois From the Pastor... N E W S a n d N O T E S January 2018; Issue 467 I ve been visiting a lot of people in my new job as a hospice chaplain who will lose