The Town Line

Lutheran Town Line Lutheran Church, Alden, New York

Sunday Worship Services January 2019

8:30 and 11:00 am

Sunday School Our Mission 9:45 – 10:45 am “Called to Be a Servant Community”

FROM OUR PASTOR

Dear Friends,

I used to watch the TV show called “House.” It centered around a brilliant but very

messed up doctor named Greg House. He had a mantra he lived by: “Everybody lies.”

Surprisingly, this mantra helped him be a better doctor.

As I think about our commandment for this month, I wondered, is he right? Does

everybody lie? How hard is it to get the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. So,

how many of us have every told a lie in our lives? I am going to assume that every single

one of us is raising our hands right now. It is hard to tell the truth all the time, for various

reasons.

Why is this commandment so hard for us to keep? Because every day we can be

confronted with situations where telling a little white lie will make life easier. Sometimes

we lie to protect ourselves (I didn’t do it.), sometimes we lie to protect others (no, that outfit

doesn’t make you look fat), sometimes we lie to stay out of a situation that we don’t want to

be in. (No, I didn’t see anything), sometimes we lie to ourselves even (I didn’t do anything

wrong.)

If this is such a hard commandment to keep, I wonder why God gave it to us? This

commandment really reminds us of our need for God. It shows us that by our own strength

and will, we cannot be perfect, and that reminds us all how much we need God and his great

gift of forgiveness.

Because there are times when telling the truth is cruel and unnecessary, at least, the

truth according to us. I’ll bet we can all think of a time when someone shared their truth

with us and it hurt us deeply. Following this commandment really starts with our intent.

Are we focused on ourselves? Or are we focused on the people around us? To follow the

intent of this commandment means that we put others before ourselves. It means that we

speak the truth in love.

Maybe a good way is to ask ourselves 3 questions before we share a truth with

someone else: Is it true? Is it necessary? Is it kind? If we can’t say yes to all of those

questions then maybe we should keep our mouths shut. We are not called in every situation

to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, we are instead called to make sure

that the words that come out of our mouths are ones that build up, not tear down. That our

words are ones that give life, not crush another’s spirit.

Here is our section for this month:

The Eighth commandment:

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

What does this mean?

We are to fear and love God so that we do not betray, slander, or lie about our

neighbor, but defend him, speak well of him, and explain his actions in the kindest way.

1. “Bear false witness” brings an image of a courtroom. How can this image help

us follow this commandment better?

2. Notice what Luther says at the end of his explanation. How does that change the

meaning of the commandment for you?

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask.

God’s peace,

Pastor Serena

Happy New Year!

New year! New fun at Town Line Lutheran Sunday School Sunday School will resume classes on Sunday, January 6, 2019 at 9:45 am

Family Worship

Sunday January 6 @ 11am worship “Come Home” Family worship will be on the 1st Sunday of the

month. This is a hands on worship experience with easy to sing (and hard to forget) song, interactive

sermon, and "Cheerful Coins." Bring the whole family and invite your friends.

The QUILTERS -- We will meet the following

Mondays during January -- 1/7, 1/21, and then in February beginning on 2/4 from about 9:15 am until 1:00 pm. Please consider joining us as we continue our service to those in our community and surrounding area

who are less fortunate. Bring your lunch and enjoy good fellowship and conversation. When possible, any non-weather-related changes to our schedule will be placed in the Sunday bulletin. If you have any questions, please call Lois Stutzman at 683-2782.

Calling all Readers You can

join the Town Line book club at any time. We meet the 3rd Monday of every month at the Church. Just read the book and join us for lively conversation on the book.

January “America’s First Daughter” Dray and Kamole February “Lilac Girls” Martha Hall Kelly March “The Hamilton Affair” Elizabeth Cobbs April “A Place for Us” Fatima Farheen Mirza Please email/call Jeanette Dickinson at: bellgoddess_2000@yahoo.com or call 681-3966 with questions

Help un-decorate the church on Sunday, January 6 following late service. Many hands make light work!

Welcome to Ruth Maciejewski who has joined our community of faith.

If you are interested in joining our church family please call the church office or speak to Pastor Serena.

Youth News…

Thank you to everyone who participated in the

Christmas pageant, “Christmas FAQ.” It was a lot of fun!

Check out pictures on the youth bulletin board.

to our youth who participated in

Christmas Eve worship. You did a super

job and really made the celebration

special!

to everyone who joined in for Christmas

caroling! You shone a bright light to everyone

you touched that day!

A special event for our Town Line Youth and

Kids in Christ! We are combining for a special

afternoon. Sunday January 20th noon-3:00 A

special day of Snowplay with snowman building

contests, snow fort competition, Dog sled races (minus the

dogs)snowball fights & many more fun activities. If we don’t

have snow we will still have fun games & activities indoors.

Sign up on the youth bulletin board! Don’t forget hot cocoa!

Yum!

MUSIC NOTES…

Well it’s 2019 and time for a brand new start! Now is your opportunity to try something new. How about joining one of our choirs. It’s fun, good for what ails ya’ and a great service to the ministry at Town Line Lutheran. We start up rehearsals again…

Bell choir the 1st & 3rd Wednesday of the month @ 6:15 Rehearsals start up again JANUARY 16TH @ 6:15

Chancel Choir Wednesdays @ 7:30 beginning January 9th

Women’s choir the 1st & 3rd Thursdays @ 7:00 beginning January 17th

Any questions? Call Kate Snyder 668-5610 We’d love to have you join the fun.

The following have signed

our Christmas card over the Holiday season

wishing you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Diane and Mark Casell family

Joyce and June Smith John Smith

Mark and Jody Reddy Ruth Jaeger

The Peruzzi family Bette Maines

Lois Stutzman and family Ron and Sharon Peebles

Lillian Bowen Ron and Annette Fitscher

Paul Schuler The Jegierski family The Muscoreil family

Barb Appleby and family Ellie Donnelly

Patty, Kenny and Steffanie Zehler Richard and Carole Noel Dixie and Dave Lilleck

Carol and Jack Rice and family All the Quilters

Judy Quinty Ellie DeFilippo and family

Lorraine Zink The Lee family

The Mollenkopf-Grill family The Wild family

The Langiewicz family

Thank You!! Thank You!! Thank You!! Thanks to everyone who volunteers their time:

- to care for the Altar and Communion preparation - to Bob Ulbrich and Adams Nursery for donating beautiful poinsettias for our sanctuary - To those who put up our Christmas tree and to all those who

helped decorate it. - to our choirs, vocal and instrumental soloist this year - to the Sunday School children and teachers for the Christmas

program and for caring for our children all year long - to Jim Macken for snowplowing and to David Hinsken for snow

removal at doors and on sidewalks - to those who deliver our goods to the pantries - to all who help with the funeral dinners - to the grounds, flower bed keepers and cemetery workers - to the Council, the Quilters, the Ushers, the Acolytes - to our Church Treasurers who put so much time into our

finances. - to all our committees at Town Line - to the staff for all that they do. - to all others too numerous to mention, who have helped with the day to day operations of our programs and building.

Thank You!! Thank You!! Thank You!!

Niagara Lutheran Home Guild You are invited to the NLHS Guild Luncheon on February 21, 2019 at 5949 Broadway in Lancaster. Devotions by Rev. David Belasic. Hostesses: Guild and Board. Program: Wild Birds presented by Messengar Woods. Call Joyce Smith by Feb. 14 at 651-9344 if you are interested in joining the Ladies of TLLC. No luncheon in January.

Picture page

Coloring page

TOWN LINE LUTHERAN CHURCH

MEMORIAL WALKWAY Order your memorial brick(s) in

memory of your loved ones. Order forms are available at the

Church.

Evangelical Lutheran Worship Hymnal The Memorial Committee and Church Council have approved setting up funds to pay for a new ELW Hymnal. The amount per book is $25.00 which can be given: As a Memorial: In memory of _____________________________by____________________ As a Thank offering for blessings: In thankfulness for blessings received by ________________________ To honor someone In honor of _________________________by_______________________ Please make checks to the Town Line Lutheran Church Memorial fund and mail/drop off this form to church or place in offering plate.

Join the Lunch Bunch Wednesday January 16th @ noon. Olive Tree in Lancaster You are invited to join Pastor Serena and your friends from Town Line as we enjoy a meal together at Olive Tree in Lancaster. (lunch cost is your responsibility.) Meet at Olive Tree at noon

or if you wish to carpool meet at the church at 11:45. Please sign up in the gathering area so we know you are coming. In the event of bad weather we will try again the following week.

Perfectly Imperfect Sometimes life lessons come to us in the most unexpected ways. A couple of weeks ago I was talking to one of the foster moms who helped establish the Foster Love Closet. For those that might not yet know, FLC is our new ministry located in the old nursery school building. She expressed her disappointment that the paint she applied to the posts on the sign outside their building did not adhere properly. She continued to explain that earlier in the year when she had painted the posts they were perfect, but now if you look, much of the new black paint is gone, exposing the old redwood color beneath. Yesterday a new FLC sign (a big thank you to Dave and Kathy Ludwig, morning service, from Arrow Portable Signs, on a job well done!) was mounted on those posts. I went and looked at the sign and was very happy on how it came out. And my eyes were then drawn to those posts. The ones with the flawed paint job. As I looked at them, I thought to myself…… “hmmm, I actually like the way they look. They have the look of distressed wood which is in vogue nowadays. I don’t think a skilled painter could have done a better job trying to achieve these results on purpose”. And then it hit me. We all are like these posts. We all have flaws. It’s what makes us all unique, it’s part of our character, it’s what makes us, us. The choice is ours when it comes to these so called flaws. In ourselves and what we perceive in others. We can decide to see them in either a positive light, or not. Beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder. Many times, being imperfect is……….perfect. Blessings, Rick Krueger

How can you help others or get help? Here are a few local agencies Alden Pantry collection You can bring items for the Alden Food pantry to church any Sunday. There is a blue box located in the Coat room. Alden Meals on Wheels is in need of volunteers. Call 937-7105 for more information Hearts and Hands “Faith in Action” A Neighbor helping neighbor” volunteer program Call: 542-2226 www.heartsandhandsfia.org Ronald McDonald House Charities Become a friend of Ronald: Find us on Facebook. Suicide Bereavement support For immediate help/support call 24 hours a day: (585)202-2783 Erie County Crisis Services (716)834-3131 Lutheran Charities www.wnylutherancharities.org 716-632-2623 Alzheimer’s Association of WNY 24/7 Helpline 1-800-272-3900 Program.wny@alz.org 2805 Wehrle Dr Suite 6 Williamsville, NY 14221 Hospice Buffalo 225 Como Park Cheektowaga, NY 14227 716-686-1900 Essential Care for Children, a program of Home Care Buffalo 225 Como Park Boulevard Cheektowaga, NY 142270-1480 (716) 686-8006 Caring Hearts Perinatal Program 150 Bennett Road Cheektowaga, NY 14227 (716) 359-8056 Life Transitions Center, Inc. The Mary & Ralph C. Wilson Counseling Center 150 Bennett Road Cheektowaga, NY 14221-1480 Phone: (716) 836-6460 Caring Hearts Home Care 892 Main Street Buffalo, NY 14202 (716) 686-8300

The Town Line Lutheran Here are your choices on how you can get your newsletter

1. Email: drop an email to Diane at the office to receive your newsletter electronically. The church email is townlinetllc@aol.com.

2. Pick up paper copy at church: Paper copies of the newsletter will be available for you to take home the last Sunday of every month.

3. Download from the church website: www.townlinelutheran.com

If none of the above work we can mail it to your home

If you have a change of address or phone number, please email the Church and let us know

Email addresses are needed: If you would like to have your email added so we can contact you in this way, please email the Church: Townlinetllc@aol.com.

Check out our website at www.Townlinelutheran.com

We are also on Facebook, so friend us! We are on Twitter!

Church Cancellation: Due to inclement weather please check Channel 2 for Town Line Lutheran Church closings. BEWARE! Please use caution when during the winter months in the parking lot, near the paper box and on the sidewalks as conditions can become slippery.

Church Council 2018-2019 President: Larry Muscoreil 465-3301 Vice Pres: Rick Krueger 213-8000 Secretary: Marcie Mason 984-5858 Treasurer: Patty Zehler 908-3877 Financial Secretary: Judy Quinty 902-4316 Benevolence Treasurer: Heidi Wild 983-5507 Trustee: Mark Reddy 359-2389 Trustee: Tom Stutzman 937-6511 Deacon: Harry Mandris 937-0322 Deacon: Harold Bowen 684-1557 Member: Ann Marie Appleby 650-8785

Church Staff Information Ministers: All the People of God in this place Pastor: The Rev. Serena Mollenkopf-Grill Cell: 716-510-2939 Email: pastorserena@gmail.com Pastor Emeritus: The Rev. Merlin H. Knauff (retired) Secretary: Diane Casell Office: 684-1467 Sexton: Ann Stanek Music Director: Kate Snyder: 668-5610

Church Office Hours

Monday, - Thursday 9:00 am – noon The doors will be locked for the safety of our staff and volunteers,

please knock or use the doorbell at the carport door when you stop by. If you need assistance outside of these hours please call/text Diane 716-713-3149 or Pastor Serena 716-510-2939

Thanks for your cooperation.

Facts and Figures

Sunday Attendance Offerings

December 2 146 $5,695

December 9 133 $4,331

December 16 210 $4,284

December 23 114 $3,058

Christmas services 327 $6,498

Needed Weekly $3,300

Worship Assistants for January

Ushers Early Late John Wild David Reiner Rick Krueger Dylan Grant Dean Trommetter Ronald Ball Harry Mandris

Acolytes Early Late 6 Mackenzie Mertz Daulton Mason Jacob Dulski 13 Josie Wild Alaina Dersam Paige Jegierski 20 Paige Mertz Adam Bauer Shawn Witucki 27 Colton Witucki Shawn Scotland Jon Mollenkopf-Grill

Communion Set–up 6 John Wild 8:30 am 13 Tricia Phillips 11:00 am 20 Ellie DeFilippo 8:30 am 27 Charles Turner 11:00 am

2019 Coffee Cup Volunteers

If you would like to help by washing the coffee cups after worship to help reduce our carbon footprint, please email Pastor Serena. (pastorserena@gmail.com)

January 6: Joyce Smith

January 13: Lori Kumpf January 20: Sharon Holcolm

January 27: Mike and Sue Dewitt February 3: Elli Deflippo

February 10: Judy Quinty

February 17: Valentine Brunch/ Pastor Serena

February 24: Joyce Smith

VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED for all the above Ministries! Call/text Diane 716-713-3149 or email the church if you would like to help at the church

January Wedding Anniversaries January 14 - 52 years - Carol and Richard Pache January 25 - 50 years - Kay and Albert Stutzman

Did we miss your special Wedding Anniversary? (10, 15, 20, 25 or over 30 years) If so, please contact the Church office so we can update our files.

Memorials To the Town Line Lutheran Quilter, Music and Memorial funds In memory of Donna Stutzman by Lois E. Stutzman Therea Flynn Diane and Mark Winters Mark and Mary Palmisano John and Lois Stutzman

To the Town Line Memorial fund in memory of Ron and Arlene Wilhem by Paul and Beth Ribbeck

ELW Hymnal Dedications as of December 25 In memory of by

Frank Quinty Judy Quinty William Green wife and boys Carol and Bill Henke Cheryl Fallon William Staley Beverly and Fred Spares Marian Staley Beverly and Fred Spares Shirley Huehn Harold J. Huehn

In thankfulness for Blessing received By Beverly and Fred Spares

2019 OFFERING ENVELOPES: are available at the church

in the Gathering space. The numbers have changed so please discard 2018 envelopes starting January 1, 2019. If you do not receive envelopes and would like to, please contact Diane by calling or emailing.

Financial statements will go out at the end of January.

If you have any questions, call the church office, 684-1467 and leave a message and someone will get back to you.

2 Cory Dussault 2 Justin Lee 3 Marlyn Casell 4 Thomas Uebelhoer 4 Kaylee Holcomb 4 Addison Manchester 5 David Baehre 5 Abbey Kwietniak 6 Ruth Jaeger 7 Kenneth Duncan 7 Justin Mason 8 Susan Moltrup 8 Victoria Abell 9 Shawn Zima 9 Anneliese Schmidt 10 Dean Trommetter 11 David Luderman 11 Daniel Smith 12 Christopher Klein 13 Bryan Klee 13 Ann Stanek 14 Shaunna Rospierski 14 Cheryl Wild 15 Thomas Seagrave 16 John Peruzzi 17 Lorenzo Muscoreil 18 Timothy Angielczyk 18 Sean Stotz 19 Jamie Klein 19 Christopher Whittingham

21 Sheila Peruzzi 21 Steffanie Zehler 21 April Manchester 21 Herbert Schmidt 21 Damien Uebelhoer 22 Dylan Grant 22 Laura Mollenkopf-Grill 23 Gene Bliemeister 24 Cassidy Hinsken 25 Jacob Dulski 27 Karen Andrews 27 Thomas Langiewicz 27 Jonathan Mollenkopf-Grill 27 Katharine Pautler 27 Lois Stutzman 27 Judith Witucki 27 Haidyn Erny 28 Brett Hinsken 28 Charles Holcomb 28 Becky Kron 28 Marguerite Krueger 29 Barbara Morgan 30 Von Kramer V

Did we miss your birthday? If so, please contact the Church office, 684-1467.

TOWN LINE LUTHERAN CHURCH Town Line Road Alden, New York 14004-9590 A member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America ELCA.org Living in God’s Amazing Grace

Church office: 716-684-1467 Pastor: The Rev. Serena Mollenkopf-Grill Cell: 716-510-2939 Email: pastorserena@gmail.com Pastor Emeritus: The Rev. Merlin H. Knauff (retired) Church Email - Townlinetllc@aol.com Church Website: www.Townlinelutheran.com

A few friends who understand me and remain my friends;

A work to do which has real value,

without which the world would be the poorer;

A mind unafraid to travel, even though the trail be not blazed;

An understanding heart;

A sense of humor;

Time for quiet, silent meditation;

A feeling of the presence of God;

The patience to wait for the coming of these things,

With the wisdom to recognize them when they come. Amen