Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church December, 2013 Newsletter Christmas Eve at Trinity Tuesday, Dec. 24, 6:00 p.m. Family Service Special Music by Junior Choir and Junior Handbell Choir Sermon: Jesus, Our Brilliant Light Isaiah 9:2-7 Each child will receive a gift 8:00 and 11:00 p.m. Holy Communion with Traditional Candle Lighting Special Music will be presented by our Senior Choir during each Service. Sermon: Jesus, Our Brilliant Light Isaiah 9:2-7 Prelude Music begins at 10:30 p.m. with our Senior Choir and Senior Bell Choir
Christmas 2013, Letter from Pastor Andy It seems almost unimaginable that it has been a year since I wrote out our last Christmas letter. Yet, here we are at the beginning of another holiday season. 2013 was a busy year and yet I scratch my head to think of what has happened during this year. Please accept this meager attempt to update you on our lives. After a long year of struggles, Danny completed 8 th grade and is now a freshman at W ashington Township High School. He seems to be enjoying high school much more than middle school and has made some new friends who share many of his interests. He is still an avid gamer and amazes me at how quickly and accurately he can use a game controller to enter inform ation into his game system. You can see him roaming the house wearing his perpetual set of headphones listening to his favorite music. He has become much more responsible for himself and usually gets himself up and ready for school each morning without our help. Jake is now in 7 th grade, halfway through middle school. He loves sports and continues to play Lacrosse in the spring and football in the fall. Through most of the season he played defensive end, but toward the end of the season he was promoted to the center position, so he got to play offense and defense. Unfortunately, he did not play too much toward the end of the season because he caught a cold in early November that turned into walking pneumonia. Although he was very sick, his appetite was not affected and he ate like a very healthy 13-year-old boy during his sickness. Jake is growing daily and is now over 5 9 and weighs 160lbs. Amy keeps herself busy with trying to coordinate all of our crazy schedules. People are always commenting on how much hair she has, but I am sure she has pulled out a lot of her hair during the year trying to keep everything together. Amy has just finished her sixth year as a CPA with Verna and Associates. She continues to bring in new clients and takes on m ore responsibility and yet manages to do it in the same amount of time as the previous year. She is very efficient at what she does. Amy is a perpetual Eagles fan and she enjoys relaxing in the evening with her favorite computer game and watching re-runs of Everyone Loves Raymond. I am currently finishing m y 9 th year as Pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Runnemede. It is hard to believe that almost a decade has gone by since I was called to this congregation. The church has been very active during this past year and is even developing some new ministries in the year ahead. On November 10 th, I went home from church thinking I had a case of the flu. On Wednesday I noticed an infection in my leg that turned out to be Strep-cellulitis. Shortly before being hospitalized, I was notified that my sister, Eileen, was found dead in her apartment. Those that knew her are aware that she had a very difficult life. She is now at peace. I spent a week in the hospital on IV antibiotics and now I am home recuperating for a few weeks. I am scheduled to return to work on December 8 th and my doctor has agreed that I will be ready to return by that date provided I don t spend too much tim e on my feet. This has been difficult for me since I have never had a serious illness before. Through this experience, God has given me a new sense of humility. Last year very good friends of ours invited us to celebrate Hanukkah with them. This was a great experience that we as a family truly enjoyed together. On the way hom e we had the radio turned on to a pop-music station. At one point, one of those stupid, feel good songs came on. One by one we all began singing along with the song so that by the end we were all singing together. As we go through our lives we fail to communicate, we misunderstand, and divert our anger and frustration towards each other. To me the holiday season is that search for that one moment, when we find ourselves in harmony with each other singing the same song. Our wish is that during this busy, hectic holiday season, you and your family will find that one moment of harmony together, and may you cherish that moment for years to come. Wishing you a Merry Christmas and Blessed New Year from Andy, Amy, Danny & Jake.
SERMON PREVIEWS: Dec. 1 - ADVENT I HOLY COMMUNION Sermon: THE REV. LOU DUNKLE Matthew 24:36-44 Dec. 8 - ADVENT 2 - BAPTISMS HOLY COMMUNION - 10 A.M. CONTEMPORARY SERVICE - 11:15 A.M. Serm on: AN UNCOMFORTABLE FAITH Matthew 3:1-12 Dec. 15 - ADVENT 3 - JUNIOR CHOIR HOLY COMMUNION - JUNIOR BELLS Sermon: A HEFTY RANSOME Isaiah 35:1-10 Dec. 22 - ADVENT 4 - SENIOR BELLS HOLY COMMUNION - 10 A.M. Serm on: A SPECIAL CALLING Matthew 1:18-25 Dec. 29 - CHRISTMAS I HOLY COMMUNION - 10 A.M. Serm on: A DAY IN THE LIFE OF ISAIAH Isaiah 63:7-9 CHRISTMAS CONCERT FREE - FREE - FREE Saturday, December 14 th 3:00 p.m. Trinity Lutheran Church 200 E. Clements Bridge Road Runnemede, NJ Join us! Celebrate HIS Birth! 2014 OFFERING ENVELOPES will be available on the Johnson Avenue side of the church during the month of December Please pick yours up as soon as possible. PLEASE NOTE: Your envelope number has been updated. Boxes are now in alphabetical order, not numerical order as in years passed. BIBLE READING GUIDES Please note that the American Bible Society no longer prints Bible Reading Guides. Daily Readings will now be available on line at: www.americanbible.org. Forty poinsettias with 12-15 blooms each are now available for Christmas Eve memorials. The cost is $15.00 plus $1.00 for delivery. Orders are now being taken along with other dedications for Christmas. Please place your order by calling 939-4411. Kathy Zentner of Your Neighbors Envy will be our supplier. Kathy is a member of Trinity and the wife of Bob Zentner, one of our Council members.
Sunday School News This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live. Deuteronomy 30:19 (NIV) God has given us a free will to choose life or death, to choose His Word, the Truth, or be deceived by Satan. To choose life is to live in God s image, a spirit of love. We were not meant to live in fear and be anxious, but in love, joy and peace. Everyday we need to worship Him and study His Word; seek His will in our lives, allow Him to lead us. We need to keep focused on trusting Him and desire to serve Him. In this way we can truly be free and alive in this life. It is His Truth that is life giving, now and eternally. Practice for our Christmas program, Our Gifts to Jesus, for He is the Best Gift of All is coming along nicely. The presentation of the program will be on Sunday, December 15 th at the 10:00 am Service. On Christmas Eve at the 6:00 pm Service, Pre-K, K, and 1st grades will repeat their portion of the program. As preparation for the Advent season Faith Guides and Christmas calendars will be handed out today. On the Sundays prior to Christmas and New Year s, December 22 nd and 29 th, there will only be one church service at 10:00 and no Sunday School; this will be a time of family worship. From the funds donated to Sunday School for Kaitlyn Lutz a memorial gift has been purchased and will be place in the lounge area of the church. The remaining funds will be donated to the Memorial Lights Fund to assist with the purchase of the new front doors of the church. A check for $600 was given to Mount Calvary Union Church for the repair of their church from flood damage. Funds were collected through Vacation Bible School and Sunday School. A thank-you card was received from Pastor Ed Muska. Mt Calvary was very grateful to receive the check especially since their insurance did not cover flood damage. Copies of Raising Your Child In Faith From Preschoolers To Teens; A Parent s Handbook have been purchased. This handbook can help you: prepare your child for the challenges of this world, strengthen your own faith, and make your family closer. If you would like a copy of the handbook they are available in the narthex of the church, compliments of the Sunday School. Today starts our winter semester. Our teachers give freely of their time to serve God by teaching and leading our children in faith. It is a wonderful joy to see our children respond to the hearing of God s word, to see the expressions on their faces that let you know they are increasing in their understanding about God. As your faith leads you, please continue to give support through offerings, donations, and memorials. Also, please remember to support our Missionary Outreach Program, Cathedral Kitchen by bringing in your $3-dime folders or other donations. In Jesus name, Carl Nagel
Junior Choir Notes A special thank you to Sarah Smith and Andrew Smith for singing Soon and Very Soon on Sunday, November 17 th at the 8:30 Service. Everyone in the choir sang at 10:00 and most did again at 11:15! Thanksgiving morning should prove interesting as we sing Season of Harvest! In preparation for December, a few reminders: We sing at all three Services on December 15 th with a song to usher in the Christmas message on getting ready as we sing Prepare the Way. 10:00 a.m. will be the annual Christmas program as well. Christmas Eve, December 24 th the Junior Choir will be singing Christmas Dreams at the 6:00 p.m. Service only. Soloists for that event are Sarah Smith and Gus Ciuffo. Parents and children please remember to be at the church no later than 5:30 p.m. in order to get a parking space, get our robes on and have time to rehearse before the Service. Children will be staying in the chancel where the adult choir usually sits for the entire Service. Afterwards, they will go downstairs to disrobe and get a little gift before heading for home and another wonderful evening of anticipating the birth of Jesus. The Junior Choir has been blessed to have Mrs. Susan Dilks accompany us for the fall season. Many thanks for your time and effort, Mrs. Dilks! Mr. Kraemer will be rejoining the Junior Choir for rehearsals beginning December 1 st. Again this year we have Miss Kenna and Miss Emilee to help us get on our robes and to sit in church with us. Many thanks to both of these young women for this gift of time during their busy schedules of school, sports, and everything life brings to all high school students. I would be remiss if I did not also thank the parents of our Junior Choir members for getting all of the children to church for rehearsals and then to sing on the third Sunday, Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. Your efforts are well appreciated by me and the whole congregation! During this Advent and Christmas seasons you all are wished a most blessed and JOYfilled time of learning about and proclaiming the Love of Jesus through music. Often former choir members tell me they still think of the many songs they learned, especially at this time of year. May 2014 bring each of you much happiness! Love to all, Mrs. Schmidt
As we turn another page on the calendar, the holiday season is upon us. With the exception of one or two, all of our youth helped pack the Thanksgiving baskets for the needy on Sunday, November 24th. This was very encouraging. Our next outing will be Christmas Caroling at the Lutheran Home in Moorestown on Sunday, December 8th at 2 pm. We will meet at the church at 1:30 pm and carpool for those of you wishing to do so. This is always a fun time for our youth and the residents of the Lutheran Home. Parents are encouraged to join us for this fun time. This also counts toward Confirmation requirements. For our next service project, we will be baking cookies on Sunday, December 15th. We will donate them to the Sunshine Class for distribution to the shut-ins. This also counts as Confirmation requirement. And last but not least, we will once again be helping to pack the Christmas Baskets on Sunday, December 22nd. Its always nice to see the generosity of Trinity s members at this time of year. And its also nice to see the youth helping out with this worthwhile project. Our next planning meeting will be on Sunday, January 5th at 11:15 am in the 8th Grade Sunday School room. All parents of youth in grades 6 thru 12 are encouraged to attend this meeting. We hope to see there. In His name, Youth Ministry advisors
The Young Adult Ministry held a bake sale on November 24 th, and the response was tremendous. Many in our congregation provided baked goods, and items were sold for a free-will offering. The event raised $279 which will be donated to the Cathedral Kitchen in Camden. The young adults will be offering babysitting services (potty trained through 5th grade) for weary Christmas shoppers on December 7 th, from 5-8:30 pm. There will be no charge, just drop off your kids and do whatever. We will provide the snacks and activities. Finally, the young adults and Youth Ministry will be co-sponsoring a pot luck dinner and talent show for ALL AGES on Saturday, January 25 th, 2014 right here at Trinity. Details will be provided shortly...we NEED ACTS, so if you can sing, dance, tell jokes, play an instrument, we want to see it!!! Sign-up sheets will be provided in the front of the church. More exciting announcements and events to come in the New Year. Merry Christmas and God Bless The Young Adult Ministry
Thank you to all who donated Turkey s and/or food for our Thanksgiving baskets. We were able to help 55 families thanks to your generosity. Thank you also to all who came out to help. It was a wonderful site seeing everyone working together to help other, especially our young people. Our Angel Tree is up and you can pick and angel or baskets from it to shop for those families. All items are due back to the church by 11:30 on December 22nd. Since we only have ONE SERVICE that day we will start packing at 11:30 AM. We will be having Pizza and hoagies for lunch after the service before we start packing so please come and join us in the fellowship hall. We are looking forward to having you join us as we help others this Holiday Season. WHEN BAGGING UP YOUR USED CLOTHING PLEASE DON T OVER-STUFF THE BAGS. The volunteers who carry, sort and organize the clothing cannot carry the bags into the house when they are too heavy. They would really appreciate it if you could divide the heavy bags into two more manageable bags. Thank you VERY MUCH. Some dates to remember: December 1st Angel Tree December 22nd Pack and distribute Christmas Gifts and Baskets, note the change in time to 11:30 AM New members are always welcome. We meet on the second Sunday of the month following the 11:15 service. Please come out and join us. Remember God loves a cheerful giver. You will love the fellowship and the great feeling you get from helping others. Remember, Jesus IS the reason for the season and HE is our greatest gift. The Social Concerns Ministry wishes everyone a Very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Caring and Sharing Cheryl Morris
As most of you know I will be retiring on December 31 st of this year and moving to a condo in Naples, Florida. This new adventure has been bitter sweet for me. After working here for 41 years, one wonders what I will do with myself now that the everyday tasks of bulletin printing, folding, stuffing and all the things I did for all these years is over. All the retirees I talk to tell me there is not enough hours in the day to finish everything they want to do. We shall see if that s true. I praise the Lord for all the opportunities He gave me to use my talents here at Trinity for His glory. I was a Sunday school teacher for over 30 years, a Vacation Bible school teacher for most of those years and a Senior High Youth director for more than 15 years. But I believe I was put on earth to be a church secretary. Working here has been a calling - not just a job - something I was meant to do. I worked with many pastors over the years, beginning with Pastor Tom Lott back in 1972 and Pastor Bob Griffith, then with Pastor Martin Pauschke, then Pastor Ed Schmidt and now with Pastor Andy - with a few youth ministers thrown in for good measure. As the years progressed, so did the responsibilities, from writing checks for the weekly bills, to doing payroll, along with bulletins, schedules for Lectors, 10:00 Lay Assistants, Greeters and Communion Assistants, newsletters, keeping tract of Simply Giving, doing offering envelopes, sending out bulk mailings, making bulletin covers, and the list goes on... I know our new secretary, Janet Lipski will be up to the challenge as she has also worked in a church for many years. Thank you all for the many blessings so many of you have bestowed on me. I will miss you terribly, as I will miss Pastor Andy and Pastor Ed. God has been so good to Russ and me - and Trinity will always be a part of our lives. We will be moving down in January, but returning home on all the special holidays and maybe some time in between. I praise God and give Him the glory that I could finish my job here knowing I did what was required of me. Not for my glory, but for His. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing II Timothy 4:7-8. To God be the glory! Joanne
LIFE LINE SCREENING PROTECT YOUR HEALTH! Trinity Lutheran Church is pleased once again, to offer a preventive health event. Life Line Screening, a leading provider of communitybased preventive health screenings, will host their affordable, noninvasive, painless health screenings on January 15 th. Five screenings will be offered that scan for potential health problems related to: blocked arteries, which is a leading cause of stroke; abdominal aortic aneurysms, which can lead to a ruptured aorta; hardening of the arteries in the legs, which is a strong predictor of heart disease; atrial fibrillation or irregular heart beat, which is closely tied to stroke risk; and a bone density screening, for men and women, used to assess the risk of osteoporosis. Stroke, Vascular Disease and Heart Rhythm Package. Vascular packages range from $139 - $149. By signing up for this health event, not only will you be able to receive $10 off any package of $139 or more, The Stroke, Vascular & Heart Rhythm Package includes four screenings: carotid artery, abdominal aortic aneurysm, peripheral arterial disease and atrial fibrillation Join now in the fight against vascular disease! WATCH THE BULLETIN FOR MORE INFORMATION!