Shenkel United Church of Christ And SHARINGS AND CONCERNS December 2013 & January 2014 SHENKEL UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST 1580 Shenkel Road Pottstown PA 19465 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED Shenkel United Church of Christ’s “The NEWSLETTER” is a monthly publication prepared, edited, and mailed by the leadership and staff to all members and friends of the church. It communicates news about our life, purpose, and mission as a Church of Jesus Christ. Information related to our partnership as a member of the United Church of Christ and wider church/community out- reach is included on a regular basis. The Church is located at Unionville & Shenkel Roads in North Coventry Township.
Transcript
Shenkel United
Church of Christ
And
SHARINGS AND CONCERNS
December 2013 & January 2014
SHENKEL UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
1580 Shenkel Road
Pottstown PA 19465
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
Shenkel United Church of Christ’s “The NEWSLETTER” is a monthly publication prepared, edited, and mailed by the leadership and staff to all members and friends of the church. It communicates news about our life, purpose, and mission as a Church of Jesus Christ. Information related to our partnership as a member of the United Church of Christ and wider church/community out-reach is included on a regular basis. The Church is located at Unionville & Shenkel Roads in North Coventry Township.
2013 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1
Communion Welcome back Pastor Bonnie! Luncheon af-ter 10:45 ser-vice
2
3
Quilters: 9:30 AM
4
BOCE: 7 PM
5
Community Lunch Bunch: 11:30 AM Choir: 7 PM
6 7
8 9 10
Consistory Meeting: 7 PM
11 12
Choir: 7 PM
13 14
15
Healing Prayers
Congrega-tional Meeting: 10 AM
16 17
Quilters: 9:30 AM Mid-Day Din-ner Club: Noon at Doug-lassville Hotel
18 19
Card Making Class: 10 AM Choir: 7 PM
20 21 Longest Night Service: 7 PM
22
Farewell/Thank you Luncheon for Doug Holder
And Caroling after luncheon
23
Community Meal: Noon at Christ Episcopal Church
24
Services 7 & 10 PM
25 26
27 28
29
One Service at 9:30 AM
30 31
January 2014
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1
2
Community Lunch Bunch: 11:30 AM
3 4
5
Communion
6 7
Quilters: 9:30 AM
8
Choir: 7 PM
9
10 11
12 13 14
Consistory: 7 PM
15
Choir: 7 PM
16
Card Making Class: 10 AM
17 18
19
Healing Prayers
20 21
Quilters: 9:30 AM
22
Choir: 7 PM
23 24 25
26
Annual Meet-ing
27
Community Meal: Noon at Christ Epis-copal Church in Pottstown
28 29
Choir: 7 PM
30 31
1580 Shenkel Road, Pottstown PA 19465 610.326.3535
Newsletter Editor: Judy Embriani Assistant Editors: Bill Baseley, Erika Augustine and Carol Lykens
“Blessed is the one who stays awake...”
- Revelation 16:15
Advent means “coming;” the season of Advent is the season of waiting in anticipation of the birth
of Jesus and the ushering in of God’s realm of peace, hope, joy and love. Although it sometimes
may feel as if that Realm will never arrive, I learned something about “staying awake” during my
sabbatical.
The Boundary Waters area of northern Minnesota is a beautiful and carefully preserved wilderness
area. No motor boats are permitted, and only a limited num-
ber of campers are allowed in on any given date. As you
might imagine, the area is filled with wildlife. While on a
Renewal in the Wilderness canoe trip there, I was thrilled to
see many loons swimming and diving (including a mother
loon feeding a fish to one of her chicks) a bald eagle soaring
overhead, and some amazing beaver houses. But much to my
disappointment (and I’m pretty sure I was the only one in our
group who was not simply relieved), none of us ever saw a
bear.
I kept watch everywhere we went. I looked for evidence of bears, I scanned the woods, the water-
ing spots and even our cabin’s compost site regularly for bears. I “stayed awake” - but I never
saw a bear.
The last night before we headed home we stayed in a motel in Ely, just outside the Boundary Wa-
ters area. It was nice to have hot running water, flush toilets and a restaurant to help us transition
back into civilization. So as we were driving down the deserted highway on our way to the airport
at 6 am the following morning, I had to do a double take when I saw a large brown animal lumber-
ing across the road directly in front of us. Yes - I finally got to see my bear!
But here’s the thing - although “staying awake” will not guarantee that the thing you are watching
for will appear (ask any kid who’s stayed awake as long as they could on Christmas Eve), “staying
awake” will guarantee that you won’t miss what you’ve been waiting for when it’s right in front
of your eyes.
This Advent, stay awake. And may you be blessed by doing so.
Be God’s,
Pastor Bonnie
SHENKEL UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST PAGE 5
12/1
Ruth Klein
NEED SPONSOR
NEED SPONSOR
8:30 :
Carol Pearson
10:45:
NEED READER
8:30: CUL—
Aaron Gray
10:45: CUL —
Jeff Graef
12/8
Charlotte & Jim
White
NEED SPONSOR
NEED SPONSOR
8:30:
Carol Pearson
10:45:
Need Reader
NEED USHERS
BOTH SERVICES
12/15
Lynne Moyer
NEED SPONSOR
NEED SPONSOR
8:30:
Carol Pearson
10:45:
Need Reader
NEED USHERS
BOTH SERVICES
12/22
Ashlyn Augustine
NEED SPONSOR
NEED SPONSOR
8:30:
Carol Pearson
10:45:
Need Reader
NEED USHERS
BOTH SERVICES
Christmas Eve
7 PM CUL:
Andrew Foss
10 PM CUL:
12/29
ONE SERVICE
ONLY at 9:30
NEED SPONSOR
NEED SPONSOR
NEED SPONSOR
Carol Pearson
NEED USHERS
* CUL = Communion Usher Leaders (will recruit members to assist in serving communion.)
1/5
NEED SPONSOR
NEED SPONSOR
NEED SPONSOR
NEED READERS
8:30: CUL
10:45: CUL
1/12
NEED SPONSOR
NEED SPONSOR
NEED SPONSOR
NEED READERS
NEED USHERS
1/19
NEED SPONSOR
NEED SPONSOR
NEED SPONSOR
NEED READERS
NEED USHERS
1/26
NEED SPONSOR
NEED SPONSOR
NEED SPONSOR
NEED READERS
NEED USHERS
* CUL = Communion Usher Leaders (will recruit members to assist in serving communion.)
“Flours” is a collection of pantry items or a monetary do-
nation of your discretion to the Cluster. If a cash donation
to the Cluster is made, a wheat arrangement will be placed
on the altar. Altar flowers are $30.00 and bulletin dedica-
tions are $6.50. Food Sculptures are also gladly accepted.
You can also dedicate a Choir Anthem with a donation
of $30. With ever-increasing costs of choral music, this
sponsorship will help stretch our budget and continue to
bring quality music to Shenkel. Dedicate your anthem to
someone special, an event in your life, or just to the fact that
you love music. Thank you for this needed contribution to
Shenkel. Blue envelopes are in the Narthex for your spon-
sorships.
There are many dates open for sponsorship and dedication
during this and the upcoming months. Please complete
one of the special flower/bulletin/anthem envelopes below
the sign-up chart, enclose your payment, and either put it
in the collection plate or in the Secretary’s box by the of-
fice door. You should sign your name on the chart in the
narthex by the appropriate date after you have completed
your envelope.
Shenkel UCC celebrates the sacra-
ment of Holy Communion at both
services on the first Sunday of
each month. Communion will
also be served at both services on
Christmas Eve. Each time com-
munion is served, some of the bread and non-
alcoholic wine that has been consecrated at the
altar will be saved in a traveling communion kit,
ready to go to the homes or hospital rooms of
members who were unable to be present, and
would like to receive the sacrament. Please let
Pastor Bonnie know if you, or someone you
know, would appreciate “distance-communing”
with their Shenkel Church family!
On Sunday, December
15th, we will have a congrega-
tional meeting at 10 AM, just
prior to the late worship ser-
vice. The agenda for this meet-
ing includes the election of the
2014 Consistory and the ap-
proval of the 2014 budget.
Please make every effort to attend.
On Sunday, January 26th,we
will hold the annual congrega-
tional meeting . Copies of the
2013 Annual Report and new
Shenkel UCC Church Directory will
be available for you to order.
HERE AT SHENKEL UCC…. PAGE 6
HEALING PRAYERS
The third Sunday of each month is a time for prayer
and anointing. Healing Prayers are offered during all
services on that day for anyone who desires individ-
ual prayers or prayers on behalf of another in need.
The Prayer Chain is in need of revision. We need
new volunteers to be on the prayer chain and make
calls. Freda Wanner and Ann Baccari would like to
be removed as the first people to be contacted and
placed at the end of the list. Please Contact Freda at
610-610-323-5229 or Ann at 610-953-3278 if you
would be willing to be part of the prayer chain.
November Consistory Highlights….
Our primary concern is in regard to the Basic Operating Budget for 2013 (What happened to BOB?). At the time of November’s Consistory meeting we were $36,141 in the red. Historically we see an increase in giving at the holidays, but we are concerned that this year will fall short again. Please help ensure that Shenkel’s ministry can continue to thrive.
The Stewardship Committee is planning more events for the next year that will provide fun and enter-tainment and will also help to raise funds.
Stained Glass Windows – The final bill for the Stained Glass Windows has been paid, but we still need to raise $10,069.75 towards the total cost. Finance and Consistory will be working on plans to cover this cost. Everyone’s help continues to be appreciated.
Discussed additional opportunities for the Youth to be involved in the operations of the Church. We will extend an invitation for Youth members to attend and be part of both the Consistory meetings and Stewardship Meetings.
For all in the Congregation: Please know that the Consistory Meetings are open, if you desire to learn more about the running of the church.
Complete copies of Consistory Minutes are available from the church office upon request.
ADMINISTRATIVE NEWS….
YTD Current Fund O.C.W.M.
Actual 102,565.42 9,661.50
Budget 130,225.14 9,166.67
Difference (27,659.72) 494.83
PAGE 7
As of October 31, 2012….
DO YOU HAVE NEWS FOR THE
BULLETIN OR THE NEWSLETTER? Just a reminder that all bulletin announce-
ments should be at the church office by each
Tuesday at noon to be included in that week’s
bulletin. Newsletter articles must be submitted by the 15th
of each month to be included in the next issue.
SAVE-A-TAPE PROGRAM
This is the easiest way to help our
church financially. Just ask for a Save
-A-Tape card at the customer service
spot at your local Redner’s store.
Show your card at the register when
you check out, then bring your register
tapes to church and deposit them in
the box in the Narthex. These tapes are collected rou-
tinely, presented to the store, and Redner’s donates a per-
centage of your total purchase to the church.
Be careful to bring your tapes in regularly instead of saving
them at home, as they do expire if not redeemed within a
certain time period. Also, please return the entire register
tape. Redner’s will not accept any register receipt that has
any part of it removed.
Keep up the good work and thank you, Redner’s!
PAGE 8 FOR YOUR INFORMATION….
LONGEST NIGHT
SERVICE Christmas can be a painful
time for some individuals. It
may be the first Christmas
without a loved family member
who has recently died; it may
be a time that has always been
difficult.
The constant refrain on radio
and television, in shopping
malls and churches about the happiness of the sea-
son, about getting together with family and friends,
reminds many people of what they have lost or have
never had. The anguish of broken relationships, the
insecurity of unemployment, the weariness of ill
health, the pain of isolation—all these can make us
feel very alone in the midst of the celebrating and
shopping.
We need the opportunity and time to acknowledge our
sadness and concern. We need to know that we are
not alone.
Our spirits sink, as days grow shorter. We feel the
darkness growing deeper around us. We need en-
couragement to live the days ahead of us.
For these reasons, a special ―Longest Night‖ Peace
Service is being offered on Saturday, December 21, at
7:00 p.m. at Shenkel United Church of Christ, 1580
Shenkel Road, Pottstown. Come and join us in shar-
ing and hearing prayers, Scripture, and music that
acknowledge that God’s presence is for those who
mourn, for those who struggle - and that God’s Word
comes to shine light into our darkness.
Everyone, regardless of church background (or lack of
it), is welcome. Please extend an invitation to your
friends, neighbors and colleagues.
ARE YOU A COMMITTEE OR A MINISTRY TEAM
CHAIRPERSON?
Something to think about….
believe it or not, the end of the year is fast approaching,
and your annual committee report will be due at the
church office no later than December 15th in order for the
annual report to be completed on time. Ministry team
coordinators are also welcome to submit a yearly update
for the annual report. Please consider this suggestion for
annual reports You can either just add bullets under
these categories, or incorporate these into a
more narrative report --
-- accomplishments during 2013
-- concerns or questions that arose
during the year
-- hopes and plans for 2014
Thank you.
WELCOME BACK!
Sunday, December 1, Pastor Bonnie
will officially return to our pulpit after
her three month sabbatical. After the
late service, we will have a ―Welcome Back‖ luncheon
for her in the social hall. The luncheon will be pro-
vided completely by the PRC and Fellowship Com-
mittees. All we have to do as her congregation is
come and celebrate with her and each other. No
doubt she will have lots to share with us about her
time away. Hope to see you there.
The Yale Spizzwinks (?), the world's oldest undergradu-
ate a cappella group, featuring Shenkel's Collin Gray, will be performing a public con-cert at Owen J. Rob-erts High School, Friday evening, January 10, 2014. Ticket informa-tion and concert de-tails forthcoming.
SHENKEL LOVES TO GIVE….
REMEMBER TOO….
The Pottstown Cluster Food Bank col-
lection at Shenkel is the 1st Sunday of
each month. Please place your items
in the large plastic bins in the narthex.
AND...Please bring in your used cell phones and empty
ink cartridges and place them in the box across from the
nursery or in the box located on the coat rack shelf
across from the office. The cartridges are
recycled to Staples and the church receives
credits toward the purchase of
office supplies. The used cell phones are given
to the police department to be distributed to
abused women.
Pottstown Cluster News – December 2013 & January 2014 The Cluster welcomes all cash, food
and clothing donations between the
hours of 8:30 am to 12:00 pm on Mon-
day through Friday. Please come to the back door off
the alley. Parking spaces at the rear of the building are
toilet cleaners multi-purpose cleaners. Blankets and sheets
are also needed. Please contact Vickie at 610-970-5995 for
more information.
Also the Cluster is planning to collect gifts for over 400
children. Shenkel will have an angel tree in the narthex
and hopes to collect gifts of unwrapped toys or clothing for
children 6 years and younger. Some suggestions include: gift cards, educational toys, books, coloring books/crayons,
dolls, puzzles and clothing.
See page 12 of this Newsletter for further details.
PAGE 9
January's Special Offering is
Bethany Children's Home - Bethany Children's Home provides
residential services for children and
adolescents who are unable to live
with their own or a substitute family. Founded in
1863 and related to the United Church of Christ,
Bethany serves more than 300 boys and girls each
year on its Womelsdorf, PA, campus.
Do you need a special gift? We still have some copies of Collin Gray’s CD of
original piano music, Reflections, available for
purchase. The CDs cost $15, and are available
from the church office. All proceeds will go to support
Shenkel work camps.
Tammy Graef is once again
working with Ministries on
Main Street, helping to pro-
vide holiday
meals for the
homeless. If you can provide any
help with donations of non-
perishable food items, paper
products, and especially frozen
turkeys, please call Tammy at 610-469-6085.
All help is greatly appreciated!
The mission of the Christmas
Fund is to provide assistance dol-
lars in situations of critical need, in-
cluding Pension Supplementation,
Health Premium Supplementation,
Emergency Grants, and Christmas “Thank You”
Gift Checks to lower-income retired UCC pastors.
The offering on Christmas Eve benefits Shenkel’s
Help Fund.
THANK YOU! to everyone who shared second
-mile gifts, time and energy during my sabbati-
cal. I haven't heard much yet (I've only been
home for 48 hours!) but I have heard that you all
have a lot of stories to share with me! Thank
you, too, for making the sabbatical possible for
me. I had a wonderful, renewing time, and I
have a lot of stories to share with you, too!
BULLETIN BOARD….
PAGE 10
Mid-Day Dinner Club
Shenkel's Mid-day Dinner Club
meets at 12 noon on the third Tues-
day of each month – and you’re
invited to join us! The next meeting date is Tuesday,
December 17, and we’ll be eating at the Douglassville
Hotel. The January location will be determined at the
lunch in December. The Mid-day Dinner Club is open
to young-at-heart adults of any age who enjoy eating
out and would like to get to know other Shenkel mem-
bers a little better. Call the church office if you’re able
to join us!
SHENKEL
QUILTERS
The Shenkel Quilters will meet on Tuesday(s) De-
cember the 3rd and the December 17th at 9:30 AM
in the church social hall. In January, we will meet on
the 7th and the 21st. We want to wish everybody a
warm, wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Margie Allen
COMMUNITY
LUNCH BUNCH
December 2013
COME ONE, COME ALL….
Joan Johnson, former Director of Ministry of Music here
at Shenkel, will be here to entertain us with her wonderful
musical talents on the piano. We will also get the opportu-
nity to sing along with her to jump start our holiday spirit.
Come out for a good lunch, great music, and lots of festive
holiday fun! Bring your friends and neighbors too. Please
sign up on the sheet in the narthex.
The cost of the event is $6.50, which covers your lunch and the cost of the program.
WHEN: Thursday, December 5, 2013
from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
WHERE: Shenkel UCC’s Fellowship Hall
1580 Shenkel Rd
Pottstown, PA 19465
For more information please call Ruth Klein at 610-326-4520.
CARD MAKING CLASS The card making class
generally meets on the
third Thursday of each
month at 10 AM The
next meeting will be on
Thursday, December 19th. The
January meeting will be on Thurs-
day, January 16. The cost of the
class is $8.00 which will pro-
vide all participants with three
beautiful cards
To insure there will be enough ma-
terials prepared for everyone,
please call Connie Armbruster at
610-326-6516 if you plan to at-
tend.
Hope to see you on December
19th and on January 16th.
Prayer Shawl Ministry
A Prayer Shawl Ministry is on-
going here at Shenkel. Members of this wonderful ministry knit and
crochet prayer shawls for people in
need of them. They also makes
blankets for newborn babies and
baptisms. These tal-
ented ladies have de-
cided not to meet at
church on a regular
basis, but continue
their work in the comfort of
their homes. They are always
looking for extra hands. If you
like to knit or crochet (or would
like to learn), please contact the
church office at 610-326-3535.
YOU SHOULD KNOW….
Sunday worship is never cancelled
due to snow or inclement weather.
If possible, though, please plan to
attend the 10:45 service to give
the snow removal crew time to
clear the parking lot and side-
walks. The choir directors and
Sunday School teachers will con-
tact you if there is a cancellation
of any programs. Of course, you
should always use your judgment
as to whether it is safe enough to
drive.
PAGE 11
STEWARD’S CORNER
It's almost three months that Pastor Bonnie went on something called a
―sabbatical,‖ but before she left, she called the troops together and made plans!
She asked people if they would like to assist with keeping the many activities going
while she was away. There were many people who responded and were excited to
be part of keeping the show going.
And kept it going they did! They were wonderful....so efficient and thorough. Pastor Bonnie will be
so happy to learn that everyone took their role seriously. She trained them well; every detail cov-
ered, and they were very serious and effective.
What a crew! I recommend that we all congratulate them and keep them on board. Pastor Bonnie
prepared them ―to the ―T,‖ and I think that means: terrifically, thoroughly, and trustworthily. If I had
hands, I would applaud them, but they will have to accept my paws and my praise!
Welcome home, Pastor Bonnie!!
Steward
ADULT
SUNDAY
SCHOOL CLASS 9:30 a.m. in the
Social Room
Join us Sunday mornings at 9:30 in the social hall.
Everyone is welcome!
Upcoming Classes:
December 1st — “Poverty” by Amy Rossman
from the Pottstown Cluster
In January: A series entitled “Five Wishes” which
will help anyone wanting to make their final wishes
known, with instructions on how to prepare for
those difficult end of life decisions.
COMMUNITY
LUNCH BUNCH
January 2013
COME ONE, COME ALL….
In January, we will welcome an expert on wildlife in
Montgomery County to tell us all about the white tail
deer that are so prevalent in our area.
Come out for a good lunch, an interesting program,
and lots of good fellowship. Bring your friends and
neighbors too. Please sign up on the sheet in the nar-
thex.
The cost of the event is $6.50, which covers your lunch and the cost of the program.
WHEN: Thursday, January 2, 2013
from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
WHERE: Shenkel UCC’s Fellowship Hall
1580 Shenkel Rd
Pottstown, PA 19465
For more information please call Ruth Klein at 610-326-452
Tis the Season….
PAGE 12
Once again, Shenkel will sponsor a
Giving Tree to help make the holidays
of those less fortunate a bit merrier.
The tree in the narthex holds orna-
ments that can be used to identify
holiday gifts and toys to be donated
to Bethany Children's Home or to the
Pottstown Cluster Toy Drive.
Gift requests for the Cluster will be printed on the
back of the ornaments, and a flyer with sugges-
tions for Bethany Children’s Home gifts is available
in the narthex.
Please help make the holiday special for these chil-
dren by taking an ornament and returning it to
church, attached to an unwrapped toy or gift certifi-
cate. Watch the Sunday bulletins for updated in-
formation. Deadline to receive gifts at the church
for both places is next Sunday, December 8th. If
you have any questions, please contact Carol
Stubbe at 610-326-5301 or see Pastor Bonnie.
Bethany Children’s Home
Each year the friends and sup-porters of Bethany come to-
gether to participate in an An-nual Christmas Program for our
youth. In addition to providing a safe and healthy living envi-ronment, Bethany works to help our youth
understand the process of giving, receiving and saying thanks. For many of our youth,
this will be the first holiday away from their families. For some, it may be the first time they remember receiving gifts. And, to re-
ceive these gifts from "strangers" can be a powerful example of Christian love.
Some time ago, a 15 year old girl left her cottage in tears, after a birthday party
planned for her. She explained that she had never before been given a birthday party or gifts. It was an overwhelming experience for
her. Holidays and personal accomplishments are important to celebrate. It is why, at
Bethany, we say a prayer and grace every night for the blessings we receive.
If you would like to help make this holiday season a little bit brighter for the youth at
Bethany, pick up a "Bethany Wish List" from the narthex
and drop off a gift at our Giv-ing Tree before December 8th.
Thirty copies of ―A World Awaits”, Daily Reflections
for Advent from the works of C.S. Lewis are available
in the narthex for your use in spiritually preparing for
the beautiful season of Advent. Together with the
words from scripture, Lewis’ language, in all its origi-
nal intensity, will help you focus on the meaning of
the Incarnation with all its promise for humanity.
Pick up your copy today.
Saturday, December
21 at 7 PM —
Longest Night Service, de-
signed to offer hope and
healing.
Tuesday, December 24 at 7 PM —
Children and Families Christmas Eve Service,
geared toward families with children, and will
include communion, light sticks, and a unique
presentation of the Christmas story.
Tuesday, December 24 at 10 PM —
A traditional Christmas Eve candlelight service
with communion and special Christmas music.
Last summer, a friend of mine shared this thought: ―We plan ~ and God just laughs!‖ For God
often has plans different from ours! When I wrote my article for last month's Newsletter, I as-
sumed that would be my final article. Wrong! Here I am again!
Our new Director of Music was to have begun by now, but had a family emergency and returned
to Russia to assist his father. Dmitry's Dad suffered a cerebral stroke. As of this writing, his
father still is not responding to treatments, and Dmitry remains in Russia. Let us keep Dmitry, his father, and their
family in our prayers.
In the meantime, our Chancel and Youth Choirs have been hard at work preparing for the upcoming Advent and
Christmas Seasons. It continues to be such a joy to work with all of the musicians! They are the best!
The Choirs and I looked forward to welcoming Pastor Bonnie back to Shenkel! We missed her! To welcome her re-
turn, the Chancel Choir prepared a special Anthem for the November 24th late Service. The Choir reprised the
beautiful anthem, ―Look at the World,‖ written by famed composer John Rutter. This anthem was first sung for Pas-
tor Bonnie when she was installed here at Shenkel. We hope all of you enjoyed hearing it.
On December 8th, it will be our joy to welcome home Susan Royer (if Dmitry has not yet returned) since I will be sup-
ply preaching for another church that day. It is always a blessing to have Susan share her gift of music with
us! Thank you, Susan!
The Youth Choir will sing in Advent, and at the 7 PM Christmas Eve service. The Chancel Choir will share special an-
thems at the 10 PM service that night.
During this busy season, may we all remember the “Reason for the Season!” I wish all of you a most Blessed
Thanksgiving, a holy Advent Season, a Merry Christmas, and God's richest Blessings for the New Year ~ 2014!
Yours in Christ's love,
Doug Holder
PAGE 13 MORE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW….
ALL CHURCH
CHRISTMAS
CAROLING
Immediately following the
luncheon for Doug
Holder on December
22nd , we will go Christmas
caroling together. We
should be returning to the church by ap-
proximately 3:00 for cookies and hot choco-
late. This is always a fun holiday experience,
so be sure to participate. Look for more in-
formation in the weekly bulletin.
In Appreciation…..
On Sunday, December 22ND, we will
celebrate the dedicated service of
Doug Holder as our Director of Mu-
sic Ministry with a Thank You Lunch-
eon immediately after late church. With his actual de-
parture date unknown, we set this date so as many as
possible can plan to attend to say our “Thank yous”
and extend our best wishes to him for the future. After
the luncheon, we will be going caroling, and of course,
we hope that Doug and John can join us for that too!
It’ll be fun time for all.
SHARE THE LOVE!
There are still a few spaces left on the Valentine's weekend workcamp at Old First UCC in Philadelphia. We'll head out on the evening of Friday, February 14 and will celebrate Valentine's Day in South Philly. On Saturday, we'll be working at Broad Street Ministries and preparing and serving dinner at Old First's Shelter. We'll decide together where we want to worship on Sunday before we return home. The trip is open to anyone age 13 and up. Please contact the church office or talk with Pastor Bonnie with questions or to reserve your spot.
WHERE IN THE WORLD IS ARIEL?
By Betty Kreiger
You may remember my wonderful granddaughter, Ariel Royer. She worked (and played ) with the Shenkel Youth Group for a year or so in the recent past and had a wonderful time with them, training them for leader-ship and service to Shenkel. She finished her time with Shenkel's youth, and moved on to serve in a mission program in Ammon, Jordon. She represents the UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST in their GLOBAL MINIS-TRIES. Many of you have asked: "Where's Ariel?" and she gave me permission to answer that question and share her activities with you. Here are A few words from Ariel:
Hello Shenkel Family,
I have launched into my work with the Orthodox Initiative, where I am serving as their Communica-tions Department for the year. One of my responsibilities is to create a website and manage social media. I am also working on spreading the word about our Winter Ap-peal. The mission of the Orthodox Initiative is to determine what populations are the most vulnerable in Jordan and assist them. Currently, that population is largely the Syrian refugee community that grows by the hundreds daily. This winter we are hoping to distribute winter coats, cook stoves and food. If you are interested in helping with this pro-ject, you can send your checks to Global industries, 700 Pros-pect Ave., #718. Cleveland, Ohio, 44115 USA, (with the indica-tion that it is for the Orthodox Initiative - Jordan.) Thanks for your support. I appreciate how attentive and interested you all have been in the work! I wish you were all here to see it. I miss you all and think of you often.
Love, Ariel
Ariel is pictured here with a little girl from Jordan named Su’ad that she met when delivering supplies to her town. More information can be found about the Winter Appeal on the bulletin board in the social hall and in the narthex. Please help Ariel’s mission.
PAGE 14 HELPING EVERYWHERE….
LUMINARIES FOR SALE
Our Youth Group will be selling lu-
minaries again this year to light our
way into church Christmas Eve.
This has become a lovely Shenkel
tradition. You can sponsor one or
two or five….or as many as you like.
Watch for our young folks in the
narthex in the coming weeks.
Birthdays…..
12/03 Hudick, Kyle
12/04 O'Drain, Mari
12/04 HUDICK, KORTNE
12/04 Baker, Taylor
12/04 Chidawu, Isabelle
12/05 REINERT, DAVID
12/06 Bade, Carl
12/07 McCullagh, Maggie
12/09 Dise, Abigail
12/10 FAUST, ELLEN
12/10 KLEIN, ROBIN
12/10 DECKMAN, CHRISTINE
12/15 Walters, Verna
12/15 Foss, Analexis
12/16 ELLIS, DAVID
12/17 KERLIN, PATRICIA
12/17 WOODMAN, ELLA
12/18 Caplan, Gillian
12/18 Miller, Sierra
12/20 Gergle, Judith
12/20 Shenk, Amy
12/21 Bortz, Betty
12/22 Helmers, Sara
12/22 KLEIN, TIMOTHY
12/22 FAUST, Jim
12/23 Miller, Dave
12/23 Palubinsky, Josh
12/24 AUGUSTINE III, TJ
12/26 Luckenbach, Jeffrey
12/26 Bevan, Anna
12/27 MCKIERNAN, TOM
12/28 MARKLEY, ADDISON
12/29 HAMPTON, GEORGE
12/31 MELLINGER, MELISSA
SHARING WITH OUR CHURCH FAMILY AND FRIENDS….
Shenkel will be praying for these randomly selected mem-bers and friends of our con-gregation during the month of December:
12/1 Denise, Joe, Joseph and Dylan Yannick
Pat and Don Laverty
Michael, Madison and Jonathan Miller
Americ, Kevin, Max, Myles and
Maggie Mccullagh
Carol and Ron Pearson
12/8 Taylor Murphy
Pat and Fred Kerlin
Barbara Sweinhart
Anna Baccari
Mary Lou and Harold Smith
12/15 Robin, David and Timothy Klein
Sara Helmers
Marilyn and David Lloyd
Horace Ingram
Elizabeth Bevan
12/22 Deb and Hunter Matthews
Bonnie Moore
Charlene Logan
Cindy, Gerry and Joshua Rogers
Lori and Frank Brewer
12/29 June and Frank Hartung
Brianna Megni
Debbie and Nicole Smith and
Tom Davis
Angela Reid Quashigah
Alyson Painter
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Shenkel will be praying for these ran-domly selected members and friends of our congregation during the month of January:
