The Redeemer Reporter Redeemer Lutheran Church, ELCA God s Work, Our Hand s 300 O Neal Road, Greer, SC 29651 The Rev. Marion Clark (cell 803-920-5731) mclark66@sc.rr.com Jon Moyer, Director of Music Ministries (cell 864-380-1017) jon.moyer@me.com Terry Jane Moore, Church Secretary (864-877-5876) redeemerlutheransec@gmail.com January 2018 PASTOR'S PONDERINGS Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! My sainted SC Dutch (Deutsch) Fork grandmother used to refer to the 6th of January as Old Christmas. Now that probably unbeknown to her - goes way, way back in Christian history before 25 December was on the calendar as Christmas Day. The Epiphany of Our Lord comes right at the end of the twelve days of Christmas (25 December-5 January). Originally it celebrated Jesus birth, the coming of the Magi, Christ s baptism by John and our Lord s first miracle at the Cana wedding. In Gentile Europe Epiphany (the word means manifestation, showing forth, revealing What Child Is This? ) began to be associated with the visit of the Magi alone, since they were seen as representatives of all the nations who come to worship the Christ Child. The other events once celebrated on Old Christmas are now observed on the Sundays after Epiphany, with the Transfiguration of Our Lord (one of the greatest epiphanies of all) coming on the last Sunday of the season in the Lutheran tradition. Epiphany is the first of the two accordion seasons of the Church Year; the second is the season after Pentecost. The length of each depends the on date of Easter. If Easter is early the time after Epiphany is short, and the time after Pentecost is long and vice versa. Except for the first and last Sundays of both seasons, the liturgical color is green; the first and last Sundays of both seasons are white (for Sundays and Days of special devotion). Happy Old Christmas/Epiphany! Pr. Clark+ 1
CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP AND SPIRITUAL GROWTH January Activities Choir Practice: TBA Girl Scouts: January 4th, and 18th at 6:30 PM. Ladies Lunch: Ladies Lunch Bunch will meet on Tuesday, January 2nd, 12 noon, at South House Restaurant. Please join us for this time of fellowship! Coffee Connection Every Monday at 9:30 AM at the Stomping Grounds in Greer. January Meetings Fellowship Committee Meeting: th @ 11:00 AM. Finance Committee: Monday, January 8th @ 2:00 PM. Worship & Music Committee: Sunday, st @ 11:30 AM. Council Meeting: st @ 11:30 AM. Property Committee Meeting: January 17th @ 6:00 PM. Lutheran Men/WELCA Meeting: th @ 6:00 PM. VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES GREER COMMUNITY SERVICE AND MINISTRIES: Current Needs: *Peanut Butter, *Spaghetti sauce, soup, Jiffy Corn Bread mix, beef stew, canned greens (collards, spinach, etc.), 1 lb. boxes of pasta, canned tomatoes, grits, *canned fruit, canned soups, canned pasta. *Greatest current needs Sharon s Closet Current Needs: *Men s clothing, all sizes, toothbrushes, toothpaste, bar soap, towels and sheets, *new underwear (all sizes), *socks. *Greatest current needs Meals on Wheels for Pets: Dry cat food, dry dog food. Clients with cats or dogs are provided pet food as needed to make sure that they are not sharing their meal with their pet. Soup Kitchen: The next opportunity for Redeemer to serve is Sunday, January 14th. We will serve soup and sandwiches. Please join us, and you can be a part of this community ministry. COUNCIL NEWS by Bill Freiberg, President VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU To the members of Redeemer Lutheran Church for paying off the mortgage in 2017! 2
Thank you, also, to Kevin Davidson, Jerry Robbins and Michael Smith for their faithful service as Financial Secretary (Kevin) and council! New council members in 2018 are: Chris Eason, Rich Jonathas, Skip Hoade and Terry Jane Moore. Our 2018 council and terms of service are as follows: Term through 2018 Chris Eason, Linda Jenkins, Missy Logan, Cindy Martin Term through 2019 Bill Freiberg, Del King Term through 2020 Skip Hoade, Rich Jonathas, Terry Jane Moore We will elect officers for the council at the January meeting. Looking ahead to 2018, some of the items we expect to accomplish are: Maintaining Financial Integrity Completing the Call Process paperwork and submitting to Synod, Revising the constitution Effective execution of the business of Redeemer and all that entails. Please continue to keep our council, call committee and congregation in your prayers as we continue to move forward in this call process. Also, we ask that you pray for the pastoral candidates that they may have the wisdom and discernment to consider and accept a Call from Redeemer. The next council meeting is SUNDAY, JANUARY 21st, at 11:30 AM (immediately following the service). FELLOWSHIP NEWS by Debbie Cole, Chairperson Rave review to the children s play, The Christmas Letters, held on December 9th at Redeemer. Ten Stellar performances were delivered by the cast. A thank you goes to Edith Henderson and Ron and Sarah Perschall for all their work and leadership. Just over fifty people enjoyed delicious coffee, cocoa and cookies. A thank you to Jon Moyer for playing the organ and leading us in Christmas carols. Ten decorated trees were on display in the church hall; voting was done by canned food donations. Terry Jane s tree (pink flamingos) had the most donations and won the prize. All food will go to the soup kitchen in Greer. A total of 104 cans of food was collected. (continued on page 6) 3
January 2018 If you have meetings or events coming up, please mark them o Remember if you are unable to serve, please find a rep Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday 31 New years Eve 10am Holy Communion 1 New Years Day 2 12pm Ladies Lunch @ 3 4 6:30 pm Girl S 7 8 9 10 11 9am Sunday School 10am Holy Communion 9 am Coffee Connection 2 pm Finance Committee Meeting 14 9am Sunday School 10am Holy Communion 11:00 Reception 4:00 PM Soup Kitchen 15 9 am Coffee Connection 16 17 6 pm Property Committee Meeting 18 6:30 pm Girl S 21 22 23 24 25 9 am Sunday School 10am Holy Communion. 11:30am Council Mtg. 11:30am Worship & Music Committee Mtg. 9 am Coffee Connection 28 9 am Sunday School 10am Holy Communion 6 PM WELCA/ Lutheran Men 29 9 am Coffee Connection 30 31 1 4
n the calendar in the secretary's office. Thanks! lacement to take your place. Friday Saturday couts couts 5 6 12 13 19 20 26 27 2 3 Ushers: Greeters: Lay Assistants: Lectors: Acolytes: Crucifer: Altar Guild: Flowers: Counters: Nursery: Tom & Debbie Cole Sam Herb & Chuck Pegram Fred Brandt & Tom Lewis Phil Rhoads & Wade Tate Edith & David Henderson Kathy & Rich Jonathas Pam Lee & Star Jordan Fred Brandt & Terry Moore Sonny Lybrand Phil Rhoads Karen Eason Chris Eason Chuck Pegram Uta Shervin Del King Bill Freiberg Caleb Yearwood Jacob Yearwood Celeb Yearwood Marilyn Perschall Kyle Henderson Kathy & Rich Jonathas Open Cindy Martin Tom & Pam Lewis Russ & Janet Hoade Michael Smith & Missy Logan 5
(continued from page 3) The Fellowship Committee thanks everyone who participated in any way. An act of kindness and/or generosity will touch our hearts this Christmas, and the people of Redeemer never stop giving. God Bless! Pictures can be found on the bulletin board in the fellowship hall. th - Please join us for a reception for new members, members who are leaving, and new baby following worship service. Nativity Report: We would like to thank everyone who supported the Live Nativity this year. It was a big success, thanks to you. Barbara & Wade Pictures can be found on the bulletin board in the fellowship hall. Christmas Project: Thanks to everyone who participated in buying toys and supplying gift wrap for the Greer Relief Christmas Shoppe this year. Pictures can be found on the bulletin board in the fellowship hall. I wish to thank you for the very generous Christmas gift from the congregation. I also want to take this opportunity to thank you all for the honor of being able to serve as Director of Music Ministries these past six and a half years. Redeemer certainly has been a blessing to me and a truly great experience. I will miss you all. Peace be with you. Jon I would like to thank all of my Redeemer family for the very generous gift on Christmas Eve. Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your church secretary and in the ministry of Redeemer. The love, support and prayers are overwhelming. I am grateful, humbled and blessed to have each of you in my life. As we move into 2018, it is exciting to see what God has in store for us. I want to thank all the volunteers who have given their time and talents to help me in the office. May God bless Redeemer as we move forward to the challenges of the New Year. With my deepest heartfelt love, Terry Jane Heartiest thanks for all the kind remembrances of the Christmas Season - greetings, cards, goodies and especially the most generous cash gift on Christmas Eve. May God s abundant and richest blessings as we begin the New Year of Grace 2018! Pastor Clark+ 6
FINANCIAL NEWS by Del King, Treasurer Retired the mortgage: On December 12th we sent a check to Thrivent Lutheran Financial Services for $3,889.32. This paid off our mortgage! Once again the people of Redeemer have made it happen. God has blessed us! Total Contributions 2017 Expenses Difference January $14,242.35 $15,845.72 ($1,603.37) February $16,416.71 $12,795.00 $3,621.71 March $16,045.07 $ 13,792.13 $2,252.94 April $16,576.75 $14,802.51 $1,774.24 May $12,605.73 $13,884.00 ($1,278.27) June $13,711.50 $12,950.20 $761.30 July $13,674.00 $12,778.59 $895.41 August $12,824.00 $10,226.68 $2,597.32 September $11,630.28 $11,552.14 $78.14 October $14,621.00 $11,352.06 $3,268.94 November $16,287.51 $9,191.32 $7,096.19 Total $158,634.90 $139,170.35 $19,464.55 $45,000.00 $40,000.00 $35,000.00 $30,000.00 $25,000.00 $20,000.00 $15,000.00 $10,000.00 $5,000.00 $0.00 Bank Balance Expenses Contributions 7
Join Us! Christian Education Children s Sunday School - All ages @ 9:00 am. Last Sunday of the month Communion Classes for elementary youth. Adult Sunday School - Adults meet in the conference room @ 9:00 am. January Birthdays 01 Pete Calhoun 03 Cindy Martin 11 Betty Breeden 15 Chris Eason 16 Carrie Burkhalter 19 Betty Skaug 23 Russel Hoade YOU are special! If your birthday is missing, please contact the Church Office or email Terry Jane Moore at redeemerlutheransec@gmail.com Please submit articles for January newsletter by January 10th. Place articles and corrections in the basket next to the Church Office or email Terry Jane Moore at redeemerlutheransec@gmail.com Date Attendance in Worship Contributions August December 3 84 $6,742.25 December 10 61 $1,540.00 December 12 65 $3,560.50 December 24 67 $5,346.70 90 Christmas Eve Thank you to all the volunteers that serve! Redeemer is blessed by your faithfulness. Upcoming Events: January 2 - Ladies Lunch Bunch - Reception for new members, members who are leaving, and new baby. - Soup Kitchen - Lutheran Men/WELCA 8