the eagle december 2020 - stjohnhamilton.org

The Eagle December 2020

St. John Lutheran Church & Preschool 122 Cheyenne Mesa

Hamilton, TX 76531

Phone: (254) 386-3158

Preschool (254) 386-3332

Fax: (254) 386-3159

Vacancy Pastor— Rev. Ken Hennings

Secretary—

[email protected]

Preschool—

[email protected]

Website: www.stjohnhamilton.org

May we continue to be used by God and share the Gospel with A Heart for Hamilton County

and the World!!

RIGHTLY PREPARED

When anyone mentions the month of December, most of us quickly think of Christmas and the things involved with its celebration. It cer-tainly is the biggest worldwide celebration and observance for the year even though many do not connect the coming of Jesus with their cele-brations. Christmas was not like this in the early years of the Christian church. For them, Easter was the greatest celebration. Over time Christmas grew in its popularity so that it has become what it is today.

The church has not given up its way of preparing for Christmas – and it isn't buying gifts early or doing pre-Christmas baking and cooking. The church uses the four Sundays before Christmas to remind us of who was sent by God and why this is so important for us and the world.

Even though it seems strange to talk about the end of the world to pre-pare for Christmas, we need to know that our lives and the existence of our world will not last forever. This truth is one reason why Jesus was sent. Through him, we have an eternal existence with God that death and the destruction of the world cannot take away. Jesus' life, death, resurrection, and ascension are the great gifts given to all people. We all are condemned by God when we stand alone before him. But the Baby Jesus – the one who would be crucified – stands with us before God.

Jesus is the promised Messiah. The people of God were looking for the Messiah's coming for many years. He had to come as a human being, a descendant of David, and the only one who could save us from our sin-fulness. Christmas had to happen and the Old Testament foretold some of the events leading up to the coming of the Messiah, which we use to help us prepare.

St. Paul gives us a good description of Christmas in Philippians 2: 5-11.

“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emp-tied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly ex-alted him and bestowed on him the name that is above eve-ry name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

I encourage you to use these four Sundays before Christmas to help you and your family to rightly prepare for the birth of the Christ Child. He is the gift that no earthly gift given or received can come close in

matching. Christmas is about Jesus, and it is Jesus who gives us true joy and excitement on Christmas Day.

Rev. Ken Hennings


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Anniversaries 11th Quin & Lindsey Hanson 16 Yrs. 13th Lucas & Kristen Robinson 7 Yrs 14th Joe & Michele Cathey 35 Yrs. 18th Randy & Andrea Newby 21 Yrs. 20th John & Cat Parks 12 Yrs. 23rd Gary & Tootie Schoen 54 Yrs. 26th Marvin & Sandra Witte 50 Yrs. 27th Carlos & Gabiola Olalde 29 Yrs. 28th Louis & Frances Donahoo 35 Yrs. 29th Roy & Tracy Seider 2 Yrs.

Birthdays 6th Kade McKandless

8th Cora Hurst, Grace Hurst, Tucker Ondrusek, Doyle Roberts

9th Laverne Brown, Danny Rudd

11th Chrissy Kensing

12th Lexie Ward

13th Kelsi Clowdus, Jerry Zschiesche

14th Kasey Kunkel

15th Roberta Craig

17th Avery Hall

19th Doyle Cook, Amber Tyson

20th Johnny Clark, Joyce Polster

21st Colton Jones

24th Reagan Wagner

25th Melissa DeLaGarza, Chelsi Hall, DavidTyson

26th Leah Newby, Henlee Wagner

27th Bonnye Wenzel, Irene Zaruba

28th Lindsey Hanson

30th Jane Wagner, Jewell Zimmerman

Baptisms 2nd Layton Stork 3rd Kade McKandless, Steve Young 8th Brenda Schrank 9th Bert Schrank 10th Ima Roberts 11th Ted Jahns 12th Martin Wenzel 15th Lois Hungerford 16th Sharolyn Lawson, Billie Looney 18th Joseph Polster, John Robinson 19th Geraldine Kauitzsch 21st Mary Jeffers 22nd Phiona Clark, Danna Hurst 23rd Kaitlyn Walton 24th Emily Wagner 30th Trevor Sellers 31st Chelsi Hall, Reagan Wagner

Upcoming

December

Events

6th - MITE BOX SUNDAY

7th - 5:30pm Preschool Board

8th - 1:00pm Glory Gamesters 5:30pm Bd. of Finance

13th - 11:15am Bd of Ed & Youth

Bd. Of Trustees

1:00pm Bd. Of Elders


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Sunday School Sundays 9:00am

Church Worship Sundays 10:00am (Live streamed on

Facebook and YouTube

Quilting Tuesday 9:00am

BUILDING FUND

$ 59,251 Current

$ 50,000

$ 100,000

$ 150,000

$ 200,000

$ 230,000

Our Military & Families:

Ross Bates, Travis Beach, Nick Cantara, Josh Chorenziak, Lauren Jeffers, Isaac Jerrell, Krista Jerrell, Matthew Jerrell, Matthew Medina, Ernie Mendez, Payden Nolen, Cade Roenne, John Slough, Warren Stanley, Micah Stork, Brennan Stroud, Keith Garrett White

Our Homebound & Nursing Facilities:

Focused Care: Kendra Code, Jean Ranney, Lillye Sanders, Jewell Zimmerman, Pat Bottlinger, Larry Stamberger, Ted Jahns Hamilton Health Care: Maxine Wenzel, Melinda Rogers, Bert Schrank, Corene Streger Homebound: Frances Donahoo, Ricky Brown, Albert & Artie Peters, Mae Pietzsch, Frances Schrank, LaVerne Bubert

Don Arnett - recovering from back surgery

Allen Dodson - having leg issues

Neil Muxworthy - awaiting test results

Rick Payne - undergoing cancer treatments again

Ima Roberts - recovering from multiple eye surgeries

Danny Alsup - (St. Paul, The Grove) - Cancer treatments

Oralia Alverado - (Angie Tawater’s mother)—Various health issues

Noland Arbaugh - family friend of Darryl & Mischelle Beach, praying for complete healing of his paralysis

Molly Beach - niece of Darryl & Michelle Beach suffering from an auto-immune disease

Doyle Billingsly - (Melanie Housden’s father) cancer treatments

Bobby Cathey - (Tammy Wagner & Joe Cathey’s father) various health issues

Melvin Eilers Jr - rehab in Gatesville

Bubba Gerald - recovering from surgery

Fred Gromatzky - cancer treatments

Debbi Haile - recovering from surgery

Paul Carl Ising- (Friend of the Bussey’s) suffered a stroke

Charles Krempin - bed ridden

Henrietta Medina - waiting to be placed on transplant list

Kai Monroe - (Friend of the Yates) determining next steps for kidney issue

Zeb Murphree - recovering from a badly broken arm

Cliff Partin - at home, improving

Steve Savoy - (friend of Pastor Hennings) fighting cancer

Judy Schoen - (Sister-in-law of Gary and Dennis Schoen) recovering from open heart surgery

Ossie Scott - (Doyle Robert’s sister) cancer treatments

Pam Wolff - (Elisha Squyres’ mother) complications with MS

Praise and Thanksgiving: Harold Reich, Paul Ray Schuman

For those who grieve: The Family of Louis Donahoo

Special Prayers: Covid-19; Rain; Teachers & Students; President & Government Officials (local, state & federal) Medical Professionals; First Responders & Rescue Crews; Fires & Firefighters; Our con-gregation as we go through this time of transition.

Please contact the church office (254-386-3158) or your elder with updates on prayer requests for friends

and loved ones.


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Are you interested in giving online to St John? Just go to our web site www.stjohnhamilton.org and click on the little heart on the top, or the big heart at the bottom. Then just follow the prompts. You can also text an amount to 833-706-7586. There is a fee attached to all credit card offerings which you may want to consider when giving. No fee is applied if funds are drafted from your bank account.

John Bowie Building Fund: Forrest & Cecelia Jenson

Finance

Update

A gift to St John Building fund has been made by Luther and Mona Smith in loving memory of:

Parents: Lee & Nora Bottlinger

Brother: Murlin Bottlinger

Sister: Betty Senger


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St John Lutheran Church Hamilton, TX

Pastor Profile Survey Results Executive Summary November 8, 2020

The Pastoral Profile Survey was administered and available to members of St. John Lutheran Church in October 2020 and 91 individuals responded to the survey.

With respect to the skills and characteristics of St. John’s next pastor, respondents indicated that the pastor should be:

Skilled and energetic in preaching, teaching and leadership in blended worship services Skilled in leadership development - enlists, equips, and motivates people to use their

gifts to serve and develop others Skilled administrator and able to lead a multi-staff team ministry and able to delegate re-

sponsibilities to faithful workers Skilled in ministry to the Youth and care for the elderly Skilled in planning

With respect to the characteristics of St. John Lutheran Church, respondents indicated that St. John is:

In regard to worship – prefer blended services with some expressing a strong desire for traditional

Administration of the Lord's Supper to baptized believers who confess their sins and come to the table after they are instructed in what the LCMS believes, teaches, and confesses about this Sacrament.

Strong in its desire for community outreach

The call committee will consider the results of this survey when considering a list of candidates for the position, and the congre-

gation is strongly advised to consider the results of this survey when issuing a call. It will be important to ascertain potential pas-

tors’ skills and characteristics concerning the items in this executive summary.

CALL COMMITTEE UPDATE:

The call committee met on Wednesday, November 18 . Members present included Jerry Zschiesche, Sonny DelaGarza, Lindsey Han-son, Misti Polster, Ryan Polster, Bonnye Wenzel, Brad Tomlinson, Lucas Robinson, Lois Hungerford, Derrel Hungerford, and Jason Bussey.

We further discussed the pastor survey results and the nominations process. If you wish to nominate a Pastor to be considered by the District, please contact Lois Hungerford in the church office. She has a form which you will need to complete and return prior to November 29. The church will submit these nominations along with the pastor survey results, our church self study and demographic information on November 30. The committee de-veloped 10 interview questions for our pastoral candidates based upon the survey results. It can take 4-8 weeks for the District office to return a list of candidates to our church. Please continue to pray for our future pastor and for discernment for our church.


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NO RUTH GUILD MEETING

THIS MONTH

MITE BOX SUNDAY

December 6


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Quilters and Ruth Guild members from St. John and St. Paul’s Aleman with just a few of their 506 quilts that were dedicated Nov. 8. Pictured are Cecelia Jenson, Mischelle Bottlinger, Billie Looney, LaRue Barnett, Mary Beckner, Juanita Seider, Mary Ellen Kiely, Dixie Gromatzky, Shirley Meissner, and Bernadine Krue-ger. Not pictured is quilter Aubrey Gates.

The Ruth Guild still has a few poinsettias available if you would like to purchase one. They are $10 each. Please make checks payable to the Ruth Guild .

INSTALLATION OF ST JOHN OFFICERS AND BOARD MEMBERS WILL BE HELD SUNDAY DECEMBER 13TH PLEASE MAKE EVERY ATTEMPT TO BE HERE.

The Quilters of St John and St Paul’s would like to thank every one for their generous donations. It is with great joy that we can report that the quilts and kits that we thought had been lost in the explosion in Beirut have been found in-tact. Three containers were behind a concrete building and protected from the blast and a forth was on a ship off shore in a bay awaiting distribution. God truly is Great!


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Music Notes

By Gary Gromatzsky

Life Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates

Life up your heads, ye mighty gates:

Behold, the King of glory waits!

The King of kings is drawing near,

The Savior of the world is here.

O blest the land, the city blest,

Where Christ the ruler is con-fessed!

O happy hearts and happy homes

To whom this King of triumph comes!

Fling wide the portals of your heart:

Make it a temple, set apart

From earthly use for heav’n’s employ,

Adorned with prayer and love and joy.

Redeemer, come! I open wide

My heart to Thee: here, Lord, abide!

Let me Thy inner presence feel:

Thy grace and love in us reveal.

So come, my sov’reign, enter in!

Let new and nobler life begin!

Thy Holy Spirit guide us on,

Until the glorious crown be won.

Life Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates

Georg Weissel (1590-1635)

Translated by Catherine Winkworth (1827-18178)

The words King David used in Psalm 24 to celebrate the arrival of God’s presence in Jerusalem inspired this beautiful Christmas hymn. Georg Weissel recognized that Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem was the ultimate fulfillment of the ancient psalmist’s praise. On that first Christmas, God came to be with us in a new way. He was Immanuel — “God with us.”

Weissel was a German scholar, teacher, and pastor who died at the height of the Thirty Years’ War — a period of un-speakable horror in Germany. Due to the war, repeated plagues, and other disasters, the population of sixteen million dwindled to only six million in thirty short years. Despite the horrors that surrounded him, Weissel found a reason for rejoicing because of God’s arrival in our world in the person of Jesus Christ. It was the birth of Jesus in Christmas that made it possible for God to enter each of our hearts, beginning the transformation of our lives and our world from the inside out.

Lift up your heads, O gates!

And be lifted up, O ancient doors,

That the King of glory may come in.

Who is this King of glory?

The Lord, strong and mighty,

The Lord, mighty in battle!

Lift up your heads, O gates!

And lift them up, O ancient doors,

That the King of glory may come in.

Who is this King of glory?

The Lord of Hosts,

He is the King of glory! Psalm 24: 7-10


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Our Advent Mid-week services

begin Wednesday December 2 at

6:30 Our series this year is Jesse

Tree. The Jesse Tree is Christ’s

family tree. Filled with symbols

from creation to the cross to His

second coming, the Jesse Tree

shows you YOUR place in God’s

family through Jesus.

Rev. Don Poole from Aleman will

once again be assisting with our

services. We invite all who are

able to attend. The services will be

live-streamed on Facebook and

YouTube.

Our guest pastor on Dec. 6 will be Rear Admiral

Donald K. Muchow. Rev. Muchow has served all over the world in navel hospitals, with combat Marines and as the chief of Chaplains in Washing-ton DC. After his military service, he served for 13 years on the LCMS Board of Directors, twice as Chairman He is also past chairman of the Bu-da, TX Ministerial Alliance and currently serves as a volunteer chaplain with the Buda Police De-partment.

Rev. Muchow and his wife, Monie, have two sons, Steve, a computer scientists in Georgetown, TX and Jeff, Senior Pastor at Epiphany Lutheran Church and School in Houston.

The Bible Class topic for that Sunday will be CHAPLAINS IN THE ARMED SERVICES. We invite everyone who is able to attend.

The Childrens Christmas Eve Program Practices are being held on Sunday Mornings during the Sunday School hour. If your children would like to partici-pate, please bring them to all the practices.

New Year’s Eve Service

With Communion

Thursday, Dec. 31

6:30PM

Will be live-streamed on Facebook

INSTALLATION OF CHURCH OFFICERS AND BOARD MEMBERS WILL BE SUNDAY DECEMBER

13TH. PLEASE MAKE EVERY ATTEMPT TO BE HERE FOR THIS IMPORTANT EVENT.


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Kinder-Bridge Pumpkin Investigation

Little Lambs dressed as Indians for Thanksgiving

Mighty Lions Fall Nature Scavenger Hunt Mighty Lions in the aprons the Quilting

Ladies made for them.

NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR:

During this season of thanksgiving, the preschool is thankful for the many blessings the Lord contin-ues to show us. All of our students and staff have remained healthy as we navigate COVID-19, our fami-lies have shown an abundance of support in regards to safety protocols and helping meet ongoing needs. Our students continue to thrive amongst our current situation.

Like many others, the preschool is facing obstacles due to COVID-19. Our enrollment has reduced by approximately 40%. Families have chosen not to enroll their children for a variety of reasons including financial hardship and the unknown risks and fears that follow COVID-19. The preschool has made ad-justments within the program, but are still facing unknowns in our budget and resources.

At this time, we are asking for you to prayerfully consider making a love offering to the preschool on Sunday, December 20th. We will be taking up a door offering on that day. We know that God’s plan is greater than we can imagine and that the ministry of the preschool is deeply rooted within our commu-nity.

In Him,

Tiffani Logan

Little Lambs dressed as Indians for Thanksgiving


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St. John Lutheran Church & Preschool

122 Cheyenne Mesa

Hamilton, Texas 76531

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the eagle december 2020 - stjohnhamilton.org

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