· web viewshoppers are step clients who are referred by a step social workers. during this time...
TRANSCRIPT
Advent and Christmas at Peace
STEP TOY STORE At Peace Prez we are blessed to be able to help make Christmas better for families who are in need. From Dec. 16 to 20, our fellowship hall will be transformed into a Christmas Store sponsored by St. Louis Park Emergency Program. Donated toys (which are stored in our church through the year) are on display so that parents can come & shop for their children. Many thanks to Eileen Unze for being the link between STEP and the church, and taking care of many details with arrangements. Shoppers are STEP clients who are referred by a STEP social workers. During this time the regular activities in the fellowship hall are canceled or rescheduled as we open our church to people who are in need so that they can enjoy a Merry Christmas. Therefore, on Dec. 18 we will not have Wednesday night supper, and Advent Devotions have a different location and time: 7pm in the parlor.
The STEP Toy Store from previous years. Eileen Unze is the second volunteer from the left.
Newsletter for Advent and Christmas, 2019
THE MITTEN TREEHelp share the warmth of Christmas. Bring mittens, gloves, hats and other small cold-winter things to decorate our Christmas Mitten Tree in the lobby by the sanctuary. They will be distributed to those in need through STEP.
ADVENT DEVOTIONALSThis year we will join together for informal worship around the dinner table following our Wednesday night suppers. We will sing carols, read scripture and follow devotions written by Dietrich Bonhoeffer which are collected in the book titled God is in the Manger.
Dec. 11 WEDNESDAY NIGHT SUPPER – devotions in the fellowship hall. Theme: “Mystery”
Dec. 18 No Wednesday night supper (because of the STEP toy store) but informal devotions will be held in the parlor at 7pm. Theme: “Incarnation.”
CHRISTMAS WORSHIP
Dec. 22—Christmas pageant and Music Extravaganza! Bonnie and Penny Okronglis! Jane Helsing’s grandson! And all-inclusive, intergenerational Christmas pageant! All are welcome. All children who arrive at 9:45 will be given costumes and a part in the pageant. Costumes & rehearsal at 9:45 am, pageant at the beginning of service at 10:30 am (then children may be excused).
Because we have few children as a part of our regular congregation, we welcome visitors and community members to join in our Christmas pageant. Invitations are posted at the STEP Toy Store and other community bulletin boards, including social media. Any child who arrives at the church on Dec. 22 by 9:45 can be in the pageant with a costume and (non-speaking) part. There will be angels, shepherds and animals—maybe even a dinosaur! (Notice the child in dinosaur costume next to Mary in the photo above.)
Dec. 24 – 5:00 pm Christmas Eve Candlelight Service Join us for this special service of lessons, carols and the lighting of candles.
From the PastorChristmas at Peace represents the peace of Christmas.
We have found peace at Peace—especially at Christmas. In our culture we get bombarded with Christmas messages about spending money to give gifts to people we already know and love—but that's not peace. What I appreciate about Christmas at Peace is that it is actually about peace—that is, God's shalom, which can be translated both as “justice” and as “peace.” In worship we will pray for the peace of Jerusalem and mean it—that there might be justice for both Palestinians and for Jews.
Funds through our peacemaking offering have been sent to the Immigrant Law Center in Minneapolis to provide legal representation to newcomers with immigration problems. As individuals, we get involved in political work as we follow our consciences to build justice and peace in our country and throughout the world. We give for the young people of our congregation, Kim North and Dana Councilman, who are making the helping of others be their life’s work. Kim works to help the homeless in New Mexico and Dana teaches in the Peace Corps in Liberia.
In our own community, we witness for peace by giving up our fellowship hall for a week so that STEP can organize a toy store for clients who are struggling on low incomes—so they can “shop” for their children and have a merry Christmas. “Serve the poor,” the benediction encourages us—and Peace helps STEP to do just that. That's peace, real peace, Christ’s definition of peace! On Dec. 22 we open up our Christmas pageant so that children whose parents don't manage to
get them to church during the year can still have an experience of being in a Christmas pageant.
It is a joy to give away things at Christmas, but not just presents to our friends and family. Remember to put mittens and hats on our Mitten Tree to people who don't have enough to keep them warm and donations to the Christmas Joy offering which helps those in need.
Frank and I send you our warmest Christmas greetings, thankful that God sent us to you and you to us. After almost a month in the hospital, Frank finally was discharged last Sunday and is doing great. Thank you for your prayers and support.
Faithfully yours,Pastor Heidi
Our Hearts Should Be Christ’s Home on Earthfrom a letter that Boehoeffer wrote to his fiancé Maria von Wedemeyer from Tegel prison, from the devotional book God Is In the Manger:
. . .We can be content with what is truly essential. I used to be very fond of
thinking up and buying presents, but now that we have nothing to give, the gift God gave us in the birth of Christ will seem all the more glorious: the emptier our hands,
the better we understand what Luther meant by his dying words: “We’re beggars; it’s true.” The poorer our
quarters, the more clearly we perceive that our hearts should be Christ’s home on
earth.
Christmas Past by Eunice GoodrichMany years ago in a small village, not so far away in location but a galaxy in time, there lived a little girl called Eunice Rae. This little girl lived a life that, at the present time and conditions of the world, seemed like a Fairy Tale but I assure you it was not.
In the village a child always knew Christmas was coming, for there was a spirit in the air that seemed to fill the hearts of all. The adults smiled at you more often and your parents often were in deep conversations until you came into view. Excitement was genuine, not like the present TV ads that start before Halloween to entice you to spend.
Christmas was celebrated in school. The annual Christmas pageant was supported by all faiths for it didn’t matter what church door you entered. Christmas trees were decorated in the classrooms, carols were sung and names exchanged among classmates to open together the last day before vacation.
Smells and sounds also bring back memories. You could not enter a home without a whiff of Christmas cookies, every shape and variety. People always were singing and greeting each other as they passed, Merry Christmas. There were cookie exchanges and the elderly and lonely were never forgotten. Young ones were given the honor of knocking on doors and presenting a box of homemade love.
Once Christmas Vacation began and the children were free to roam, men in the village went down to the river and cleared an ice rink on the Mississippi, huge logs hauled down to prepare the fond fires to lite, warming your hands enough to tie your skates. Usually the oldest boys were given the responsibilities of making sure the fire was started and the little ones kept from exposure. They also carried the responsibility that the
little ones were not sent across open water when they were released from Crack the Whip!!
Toboggans slid down the hills, precariously, with adults keeping an open eye to watch for trees and barb wire. Usually these sledding adventures ended up at someone’s home, with of course cocoa and the always present cookies.
All churches opened their doors to concerts, parties, and events held during the season, for there were no others spaces available. The spirit of the season caused more adults to stop a child walking in the cold and offer a ride home, which was safe, each child was one of their own. How many years later did the book by Hillary Clinton come out, It Takes a Village to Raise a Child…
In this far away time there was not perfection, far from, but what made it so special was the spirit united by all faiths who generally respected each other. We had no red or blue, we just reserved this time to make a celebration to honor that little baby that arrived so many years ago.
Christmas today gives a new chance to be kind to each other, those whose faiths and traditions are strange to us, giving us all power in tiny steps to leap forward to a more unified world. When all seems so helpless, we must remind ourselves that life is not a process but a journey, let us unite and journey side by side with all people. And remember, we still have Christmas cookies!!!
You are Cordially Invited to Visit the “Goode Yule Open House” in the
Shire of “Nether Haystack”Saturday, Dec. 21 and Sunday, Dec. 29 2019
1:00 in the after of noon until 7:00 in the even.Come ye and “Bide A Wee”
Terry Kubista – Shire MagistrateAnd Lynne Kubista – Shire Exchequer
2923 Plymouth Rd, Minnetonka, MN 55305952-546-9058
The young and groups be always welcome. Special tour be available. Just asketh.
Update from Dana in Liberia:
To my church friends,
It’s been a while, mostly because I decided to wait until my cohort’s Mid-Service Training to send another email. As the name implies, we are now over half way through our time in Liberia – over 13 months since swearing in and almost 16 months in Liberia. The last few months have been interesting. Summer was a much-needed break despite a lot of downtime. School has officially started, but it is off to a slow start due to teachers not being paid on time. I’m still teaching math at the junior high level and I am also trying to co-teach one class of phonics for first and second grade students.
The interesting thing about this point in my service is I’m at the point where I feel like I should have a good grasp on teaching, Liberian culture and the Peace Corps experience in general. It has been rather humbling to realize that after eighteen months I don’t really feel like I have a great grasp on things. I think this is a realization many PCVs have about this time, and likely an important one. As much as I may have good intentions and try to help my community, I’m never going to have a perfect grasp on the problems my community faces because the problems faced by Liberians, and particularly the problems in the Liberian education system, are hard for any foreigner to understand.
I think most PCVs agree that volunteers themselves are the largest beneficiaries of the Peace Corps as the amount of personal growth we experience
outstrips the amount of tangible impact we make in our communities. This isn’t a bad realization, it’s just an important reality check on what we are doing. For now, I’m just working on relationship-building within my community.
Best,Dana
Just after writing this and returning home from Mid-Service Training, Dana took in a co-worker, Solumbum the kitten. She was pushed into this partnership by me because until Solumbum arrived, she shared her home with rats. No rats have been seen or heard since the kitten arrived, and he helps her get rid of bats too. Dana will be flying to Brussels for Christmas so we can celebrate as a family as she has not left Liberia since she arrived early June 2018. However, when she returns to the US in late July or early August 2020, Solumbum will be coming home with her.
-Robin Councilman
We Need Your HelpOur church family is busy and that means the kitchen is being used a lot. It is great to see all the activity; however, we could use your help. We have a good group of people on the kitchen committee this year: Eileen Unze, Donna Howard, Michelle Gallick, Judy Kirk and Pat Wilson. It is our job to buy supplies when needed, check the cupboards, refrigerator, and freezer for expired items, and do general housekeeping.
You can help us by doing the following:
For Wednesday night supper and Sunday morning refreshments, please either take leftovers home with you or give them away. What we have found is that food often sits in the refrigerator or freezer and never gets used. Eventually, it gets thrown out.
Please check for condiments before buying more. We have many bottles of ketchup and mustard already in the refrigerator. If they don’t get used up, they expire and get thrown out.
Please try not to leave things on the counters (tablecloths, napkins, coffee pots, electric roasters etc.) Eventually, things pile up and the kitchen looks very messy. If you bring equipment from home to use for cooking such as crockpots, please take them home when you are finished.
We are fortunate to now be able to dry dishes. This saves us from having dishes piled up waiting to be put away. Coffee decanters need to be turned upside for a few minutes to drain water and then can be put away.
We are very grateful for the many people who serve us on Wednesday night and Sunday morning. Working together ensures a kitchen useful to all of us.
NEWS
MISSIONS NEWS:
PEACE OFFERINGIn October, our church donated $1609 to the Peace Offering. Peace Church is able to keep 25% of this Offering to be used in our community. In keeping with our work on immigration, the Missions Committee has decided to give $400 to the Immigration Law Center of Minnesota.
ILCM is a nonprofit agency that provides immigration legal assistance to low income immigrants and refugees. This agency has been in business for over 20 years and has assisted more than ten of thousands immigrants to secure legal status in the US.
In addition, it works to educate Minnesota communities about immigration issues. This has helped to break down barriers and make meaningful improvements in immigrant families’ lives and allows them a safe and sustainable future in Minnesota. You can read more about their work at www.ilcm.org.
END OF THE YEAR
As the end of the year draws near, I would like to remind you that any donations for 2019 to the church need to be in by December 29th. If you have any questions about your donations this year, please email me at [email protected] or leave a note in the offering box in the office. I’m glad to help but if you verbally ask me I can guarantee I’ll probably forget. -Pat Wilson
NEWS OF THE CHURCH COMMUNITY:
Prayers for our congregation: Let us offer prayers for Betts Snyder who is staying with her daughter in Afton as she recovers from knee surgery; Charlie Koehler who is doing fine and hopes to be back in church this Sunday; Bernie Becker who is staying at Chapelview for the time being; Joan Amara who has recovered from kidney surgery; Caleb Dayegba who is preparing to make a trip “back home” to the Cameroon; and for those who are considering the possibility of joining our church.
Prayer for the world: Let us pray that the U.S. government allow more refugees to be resettled in the United States. The Minnesota Council of Churches has congregations ready to sponsor these newcomers but so few are being permitted that the churches are simply waiting to welcome families. At Christmas, we remember that the baby Jesus and his family were refugees when they had to flee to Egypt because King Herod had demanded that all Jewish infant boys be killed.
POINSETTIAS. The Deacons will be selling poinsettias once more this Sunday, Dec. 8. You can choose from red, pink, and white. The cost is $15 for a single and $20 for a double. They will be available to take home after church on Christmas Eve.
CHRISTMAS PAGEANT Do you have grandchildren, greatgrandchildren, or neighbors or friends with a youngster who would like to be in the
pageant? Tell them about our family-friendly Christmas pageant on December 22nd! Please let Pastor Heidi know their names and contact info. It’s a one-day event: any child who comes to church at 9:30 on Dec. 22 can have a costume and be in the pageant that day.
NEW MEMBERS! There will be a one-hour orientation for those considering joining the church on December 8 immediately after worship, with the aim of the new members joining in January. If you are interested, please let Pastor Heidi know! Join us for a simple meal and a chance to get to know each other and some church leaders, ask questions, and get more information so you can decide if you want to join. Email Heidi at [email protected].
COMMUNITY BINGO Please join us this Saturday December 7th at 4pm for free community bingo! A light meal will be served in the Fellowship Hall followed by bingo. Lots of fun prizes to be had! A great Get-To-Know-You time for members and guests.
We are seeking volunteers to help with bingo, meal service and clean up. Go to the link below to sign up or speak to Val Eng: https://bit.ly/2rPRsmZ.
TIDINGS The next issue of the Tidings will be the Congregational Meeting edition. If you would like to submit an article for publication, please email or mail it to [email protected] by January 15 for printing on January 27. This year’s congregational meeting will be held on February 16.
CALENDAR FOR DECEMBER
DECEMBER GREETERS AND COFFEE CAPTAINSThank you to everyone who signed up for the month of December, you are greatly appreciated for all that you do.
Lead Greeter for this month: Patty SchmelingCoffee Captain for this month: Julie North
Greeters for this month: Dec 1: Marian Ostendorf, Pat WilsonDec 8: Donna Howard, Teresa EmdeDec 15: Robin Councilman, Judy Kirk, Barb HenryDec 22: David and Julie North, Pat WilsonDec 29: Ron Abrahamson, Betts Snyder
Coffee Helpers for this month:Dec 1: Eileen and Bob UnzeDec 8: Rosemary Hall, Mary Ann ChristensonDec 15: Rosemary Hall, Betts SnyderDec 22: Eileen Bengry, Julie NorthDec 29: Judy Kirk, Marian Ostendorf
THIS COMING WEEK
Thursday, December 510:45 am – Dinner at Your Door
Friday, December 6No Intermission Community Meal
Saturday, December 74:00 pm – Free Community Bingo
Sunday, December 8Elder of the month: Dean Meyer
9:00 am – Adult Education9:30 am – Choir Rehearsal10:30 am – Worship11:30 am – Coffee Fellowship1:00 pm – Nutifafa
Liturgist for December 8 will be: Donna Howard
COMING NEXT WEEK
Tuesday, December 109:00 am – Quilting group6:00 pm – Yoga
Wednesday, December 116:00 pm – Wednesday Night SupperDinner: JoAnn Schutz, Lynn KubistaDessert: Susan and MarvinProgram: Advent Devotional
Friday, December 135:00 pm – Intermission’s Free Community Meal
Sunday, December 159:00 am – Adult Education9:30 am – Choir Rehearsal10:30 am – Worship11:30 am – Coffee Fellowship11:30 am – STEP1:00 pm – Nutifafa
Upcoming Dates: Dec. 18—7pm remember there is no Wednesday night supper on Dec. 18. In its place, there will be a quiet service of Advent devotions in the parlor at 7pm (but no supper).Dec. 22—10:30 MUSIC EXTRAVAGANZA; 9:30—Christmas pageant rehearsalDec. 24—5pm Christmas Candlelight Service
In the beginning of January, Pastor Heidi will be away. She, Frank and Zest are traveling to Tampa, Florida, on New Year’s Eve. They used to live there. A dear friend has invited Frank to come and stay at his house for the winter months. Heidi is going down to help him get settled. The friend and his son are going to widen some doorways and do lots of stuff to make the house handicap accessible. Rev. Scott Larson will preach the first and second Sundays of January and Rev. Dr. Alison Bucklin will preach on the third Sunday.
December / January BirthdaysMyrtle Nold Dec. 11Jerry Larson Dec. 16Danielle Reid Dec. 20Donna Howard Dec. 22Kim North Dec. 22David Councilman Dec. 31Eileen Unze Jan. 3
Charles Koehler Jan. 11Janet Armajani Jan. 12Eunice Goodrich Jan. 14Alex Staib Jan. 15Frank Vardeman Jan. 19Scot Volk Jan. 27Hadley Howard Jan. 28
If you would like to contribute an article toThe Tidings, please email it or mail it to [email protected] by the 15th of the month. Your article may be edited to fit. The next Tidings deadline will be January 15 for the January 27th newsletter.