shepherd of the hill lutheran church · 13-dec diana lewandowski, tabatha seasock 14-dec andrew...
TRANSCRIPT
Good Tidings
Special points of interest:
October Financial Report
Preschool Highlights
Christmas Services
Pr. Jon’s Article 1
Youth Ministry
2
Preschool Happenings
October Financial
Report
3
Kids Page
Bible Quiz
4
December Calendar 5
Volunteer Calendar 6
Council Members
Ministry Team
E-mails
Birthdays and
Anniversaries
7
Service Information
Christmas Services
8
Inside this issue:
Shepherd of the Hill Lutheran Church
December 2016 “But Mary was much perplexed by the angel Gabriel’s words and pondered what sort of greeting this
might be” (Luke 1:29). . . . Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart” (Luke
2:19).
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
We have entered into an extremely busy time of our calendar year. But, who am I kidding; is there a
time of year when we are not extremely busy? When people ask me how I am, more often than not I
respond, “I am well, just extremely busy.” I thought that it would be different when I was done with my
doctoral studies—but it is not. I thought that it would be different when I was done with the various
projects we have going in the house—but it is not. I thought that it would be different once our church
programming year was off the ground—but we are still extremely busy.
Last week someone recommended a blog article to me entitled, “The Disease of Being Busy.” In the
article the columnist asks the same questions that I find myself asking: How did we create a world in
which we have more and more and more to do with less time for leisure, less time for reflection, less
time for community, less time to just… be?” (“The Disease of Being Busy” by Omid Safi from http://
www.onbeing.org/blog/the-disease-of-being-busy/7023) When did we lose the ability to ponder?
Pondering is an important thing that happens in the Christmas story. The angel Gabriel comes to a
young, teenage girl in Galilee and tells her that she would be the mother of the Son of God. Hmmmm.
Mary had to ponder that for a while. Nine months later she gives birth to that Son of God in a manger in
Bethlehem. Shepherds show up telling her that angels had appeared to them and pointed them to the
manger. Hmmmm. Mary had to ponder that for a while. When we ponder, we take time to marvel. We
take time to celebrate. We take time to think it through.
Early in November we, as congregation, celebrated an intentional time of Sabbath. We gathered for
Saturday evening worship, we shared a simple meal together, and then we were sent home to do nothing
out of obligation for the next twenty-four hours. When I asked people what they did (and didn’t do) for
that twenty-four hour time, here were some of the responses:
“Saturday night I went home and did some "fun" reading. I didn't read any of my books for my book
clubs. . . . Sunday, we all went to Lake Katherine in Palos Hills and enjoy this beautiful November
weather and then we went and had lunch together, later we walked over to Dairy Queen and got ice
cream!” Kimberly Bell
“I took my fit bit off Saturday night so I could wake naturally without an alarm on Sunday morning. I
still woke up at 6 a.m. We had a terrific breakfast at a slow pace. We went golfing, came home rested,
[and then] went out to dinner.” Pricie Rogan
“Several weeks ago I decided to try painting again, after a 30 year hiatus. I bought canvas, paint and
brushes, and they have laid on my work bench for several weeks waiting for inspiration to hit.” Don
Lawler
“We started our day waking to our own bodies’ alarm and making waffles and saying a morning prayer.
We headed to Renwick rookery for a nature walk with binoculars for bird finds. We listened to Lindsey
Stirling violin music and enjoyed nature! Bought lunch and then all had a little personal time. We re-
joined for a game dinner and a movie on the couch!” Bobek Family
I have a dozen other stories that I could share of what people did with their twenty-four hour Sabbath
and they all included pondering. It takes time and rest to be able to ponder. In 2017, I promise that we
will return back to this theme of Sabbath. In the meantime, take time alongside of Mary to ponder the
coming of Jesus in your life. Rest, marvel, and celebrate.
Pastor Jon
www.shepherdofthehill.com
2
Greetings,
As the calendar year comes to a close I feel it is a good time to reflect back on
what our youth ministry has accomplished in 2016 and give thanks and praise to
God for the ways he works in our youth and in our ministries. We have undergone
some changes and we continue to grow and expand our ministry reaching new
youth. I continue to be excited and look forward to the way that our youth are grow-
ing and developing their faith.
We give thanks to God for the continued work in several of our ministries. VBS
this past year saw us have over 100 children participate, we look forward to next
summer’s VBS. We thank God for all of the volunteers that made it possible this
past year, for the seasoned veterans and our new volunteers. We thank you for con-
tinuing to reach children of the Lockport area through our Vacation Bible School.
We also give thanks to the confirmation program. For the dedication of students and parents to deepen
their faith and relationship with Jesus. We praise God for another great summer at summer camp for the gener-
ous donations that made the camp possible. We thank God for a second summer of our F5 ministry, thank you
for the volunteers and partners that made it possible.
We give God for the ministries that have undergone changes this year. Continue to reveal to us how
best to serve those inside and outside our ministries. Continue to allow SOTH to be a place that welcomes fam-
ilies. Thank you for our Sunday school as in the past year we have transitioned it to run concurrent to worship.
Thank you to the volunteers who make it possible every week. We thank you for the tutoring program and the
volunteers.
Finally God we give thanks for our new programs. We thank you for a successful high school mission
trip and the way you reveal yourself to youth through that experience. We thank you for financial support that
made that trip possible. We thank you God for all that you do, through us, with us, and around us. Amen.
Mike Markwell
Youth Ministry Coordinator
Page 2 Good Tidings
Gift-giving solutions
Trying to find gifts for certain people — or letting others know what you want
— can be quite challenging. After all, most of us don’t need anything.
Realizing that the best gifts aren’t material items offers a new perspective on
giving and receiving. Consider these insights from author Charles Swindoll:
“Some gifts you can give this Christmas are beyond monetary value: Mend a quarrel, dismiss suspicion, tell
someone ‘I love you.’ Give something away — anonymously. Forgive someone who has treated you wrong.
Turn away wrath with a soft answer. Visit someone in a nursing home. Apologize if you were wrong. Be espe-
cially kind to someone with whom you work. Give as God gave to you in Christ, without obligation, or an-
nouncement, or reservation, or hypocrisy.”
3 Page 3 Good Tidings
The preschoolers at SOTH have been very busy preparing for the holidays. During the month of November,
the students made Native American headbands, necklaces and Thanksgiving placemats to prepare for the an-
nual Thanksgiving feast. On Feast Day, the children shared a meal of chicken nuggets, carrots, , grapes, cubed
cheese, pudding, apple sauce and corn bread which was made during class time.
This month, the students in the four year old program are preparing for the annual Christmas program which
will be presented on Sunday, December 18th at 4:00 p.m. Doors will open at 3:45 p.m. On December 16th,
the children in the three year old program have invited their families to a “Trim A Tree” party. The families
will sing a few Christmas songs, enjoy a special snack and create an ornament for the Christmas tree. All our
busy little elves are busy making Christmas presents for their families. At the end of the month, the students
will enjoy decorating cookies, playing games and working on an art project during their Christmas parties.
Thank you for your continued support throughout the year.
The staff at SOTH wishes you a Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year.
God Bless You All,
4 Page 4 Good Tidings
How many wise men followed a star to Bethlehem to worship Jesus?
A. two
B. three
C. four
D. We don’t know because the Bible doesn’t say.
Answer: D (See Matthew 2:1-12.)
5 Page 5 Good Tidings
6 Page 6 Good Tidings
7
Executive Committee Members
Steve Kirk ……………...President
Dave Helfert…………… Vice President
Tom Gustafson. ……….. Secretary
Dennis Wellsandt……... Treasurer
Council Member
Ken Franz Rick McManis
Nell Pieper Fern Kinder
Phil Sleezer
Council Meets the 3rd Tuesday of the
Month at 6:30PM
Page 7 Good Tidings
SOTH Ministry Team
E-mail address
1-Dec John Beneventi,
Andrew Dicksen
2-Dec Pamela Tarrant
3-Dec Jeff Bunting,
Bill Dornick,
Sharon Grabenhofer,
Amy Haut, Karen Stepek
5-Dec George Mormann
6-Dec Brianna Gaspardo, Nicholas Gaspardo
9-Dec Perri Peters
10-Dec Donald Cartwright, Amanda Grabenhofer
11-Dec Glenn Stepek
12-Dec Jan Sleezer
13-Dec Diana Lewandowski, Tabatha Seasock
14-Dec Andrew Neil
16-Dec Nicholas Calderaro
17-Dec Robert Tracy
18-Dec Daniel Hausken, Leslie Rhode, Eric Stepek
19-Dec Sarah Houdek, Samuel Marolda,
Martha Pickering
21-Dec Kaitlyn Gray
22-Dec Linda Bunting
23-Dec Abigail Mack, Meghan Mack, Lynda Siezega
24-Dec Mark Neil
25-Dec Ed Kedaitis, James Naylor
27-Dec Marian Callaghan, Amber Piantek
29-Dec Dale Duplessis, Ken Franz, Kirstin Mack,
Olga Mares
30-Dec Norman Kelm
December 7 Steven & Melanie Johnson
December 17 John & Anna Ter Horst
December 18 William & Linda Bunting,
Phil & Nancy Mormann
December 30 Gary & Amy Haut
8
925 E. 9th St.
Lockport, IL 60441
Shepherd of the Hill Lutheran Church
Phone: 815-838-0708
Fax: 815-838-2701
Email: [email protected]
Web page: www.shepherdofthehill.com
Good Tidings
Mission
"To Know Jesus And To Make Jesus Known"
Vision
"Transforming Lives, Families And Our
Community Through Jesus Christ"
Page 8 Good Tidings
SERVICE SCHEDULE
Saturday
5:00PM
Sunday
9:00AM and 10:35AM
Sunday School
10:30AM
Childcare Available
How to Contact Good Tidings
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“Christmas, my child, is love in action. Every time we love, every time we give, it’s Christmas.” —Dale Evans
Bible Quiz Answer: D (See Matthew 2:1-12.)
Christmas Eve
5:00PM and 10:30PM
Christmas Day
10:35AM