WEEKLY E-MESSENGER FROM THE LUTHERAN CHURCH OF THE REFORMATION
For the Week Beginning December 21, 2018
Fourth Sunday of Advent
THE WEEK AT REFORMATION
Saturday – 5:00 p.m. Service of Holy Communion
Sunday – 9:30 a.m. Service of Holy Communion
Monday – 4 p.m. Christmas Eve Service of Holy Communion
Monday – 9:30 p.m. Christmas Eve Festival Service of Holy Communion
No Wednesday Eucharist on December 26th
Offering envelopes for 2019 have arrived. If you asked for envelopes in 2018, we reordered them for you in 2019. They will be available in the gathering area beginning this weekend.
We have a clothes closet/food pantry client who just received a therapy dog for her son with Downs Syndrome. And while this is awesome, it has added to the mother’s angst on providing for her son. The dog has been raised on Science Diet (young adult dog) dry food and she is asking for help getting it. If anyone would like to donate a bag of this dog food for this family, you can leave it in the church office and it will get to the family.
We have available in the office the nativity we’ve used for many, many years. It’s been glued, patched, painted, etc. to continue using it as long as we have. We’ve received a donation of a new larger nativity. Before donating or disposing of the old one, we thought we should make sure there isn’t sentimental value to the family that may have originally donated it. If anyone knows where the original one came from and/or knows if the family wants it, please let the office know as soon as possible. Otherwise we will do our due diligence and try to find it a home.
Our picture collage by Curt is at the end of this weekly newsletter
ADVENT
Saturday, Dec. 22 – Christmas Pageant dress rehearsal at 2 followed by the Parent’s time out! See below for details
Saturday, Dec. 22 – On the Saturday evening of Advent 4, December 22, at 5:00, we will hold a special worship service acknowledging that there are those who struggle with mourning, sadness, depression and other difficulties at this time of year when the world tells us we should be overjoyed. This service seeks to address the reality of the human condition while pointing to our hope in the One who is to come, the Incarnate Christ.
Sunday, Dec. 23th – SCS Christmas pageant followed by children’s party in fellowship hall after the pageant.
Sunday, Dec. 23 – It’s not too late to get your ornament! Our annual Christmas ornaments are up on the bulletin board in the gathering area and ready to be purchased for a donation. We’ve had a tradition here at Reformation for many years now where ornaments are made and members can “purchase”, for a donation, an ornament to take home for their tree. The proceeds from this “sale” is donated to our fund specifically to refurbish the SCS wing windows. Please consider purchasing one of these unique and beautiful Chrismon ornaments created by Lorraine Cotter and Sue Homza.
Handbell rehearsals every Sunday following worship at 11
Bible study continues on Sundays during Advent
The Children’s Program and Parents’ Time Out
On Sunday, December 23rd, the 4th Sunday of Advent, our children will perform a Christmas Program during worship.
Rehearsals are being held during Sunday school and will continue until the program date. Pastor Matt, Julia Homza, and a team of volunteers will be leading this each week in the class time from after Communion until 11:00.
There will be a dress rehearsal on Saturday afternoon, December 22, starting at 2:00.
Following rehearsal we will again offer a “Parents’ Time Out” from 4:00 – 6:00. The children are invited to stay and play, do crafts, and have dinner together, allowing their parents much needed time to prepare for the coming week!
CHRISTMAS
Wishing you all a Blessed Christmas
Thank you to everyone who helped to make this Advent and Christmas season happen here at Reformation. You are all appreciated!!
During Christmas Week into New Year’s the office will be mostly closed. Both Pastor Matt and Debbie will be checking mail and phone messages but PLEASE if you have a pastoral emergency, contact Pastor Matt directly on his cell at: 908-391-8906
There will be no weekly newsletter next week! Information for next weekend is below and there is also information for Epiphany – dinner church and worship
There is no Wednesday morning Eucharist on December 26th.
Christmas Eve
In response to changes in our congregational demographics and attendance practices, we made adjustments in our worship times for Christmas Eve last year that seem to have worked for most of our families. We will continue in this pattern this year, offering two Services of Holy Communion on Christmas Eve.
4:00 – This will be a service geared toward families with young children, though all are welcome. The Children’s Sermon will be the primary sermon at this service. Some hymns will be shortened, and portions of the liturgy will be done in call and response form, allowing non-readers to more fully participate.
9:30 – This will be a Festival Service of Holy Communion for Christmas Eve and will include lots of carols, choir, brass, handbells and candle lighting.
There will be no Christmas morning service.
The First Sunday after Christmas: On Saturday the 29th at 5:00 pm, and Sunday the 30th at 9:30 am, the 5th and 6th days of Christmas, we will gather for services of Lessons and Carols with Holy Communion.
PRAYER LISTS/REQUESTS
If you have someone on the prayer list and you would like them to remain on the prayer list for the new church year, please call (732-229-9180), email (reformationwlb@gmail.com) or leave a note on Debbie’s desk. Please remember, unless otherwise asked, we will put your loved ones name on the weekly spoken prayer list for 4 weeks and then they will remain on the prayer list below and in the monthly messengers indefinitely (until you let us know we can remove them).
PRAYER REQUESTS
Amy Appleton, JoAnne Anglilla, Linda Brady, Diane Clarke, Joy Crane, Isabella Downer, Bill Eidenire, Betty Errigo, Dave Fieltsch, Laurie Geckeler, Diane Kanach, Don Keller, Alan Keszler, Kathy Meyer, Mary Presley, Bonnie Skolnik, Helen Shiffler, Jeff Sperling, Ben Walker, Annelene Zimmermann,
UPCOMING EVENTS
We’ll soon be putting together our 2019 Church Directory. Please check the current directory and send any necessary changes for your information to the church office at reformationwlb@gmail.com. Please don’t assume we have any changes. We try to make the directory as accurate as possible but we do make mistakes from time to time. Thank you!
THRIVENT ACTION TEAM EVENTS – TIME IS RUNNING OUT!! HAVE YOU USED YOUR 2 THRIVENT ACTION TEAM EVENTS?
ANNUAL REPORTS: Calling all Committee Chairs!! It is time to prepare your annual reports. All reports are due in the office by January 7th. The annual congregational meeting is on Sunday, January 27th right after worship which means the annual reports need to be printed and ready to go by January 20th! Copies of last year’s annual reports are available in the church office.
We Recycle and Reuse…do you! If you did not order a box of envelopes, but find that you would like to use an envelope for your giving…we have lots of envelopes in the Church Office.
Existing dates and envelope #s have been blacked out for re-use. We ask that you please print your name and if you know your envelope # that would be appreciated as well (it would also be a big help to our counters).
See Debbie or Barbara Denegar if you want some envelopes.
EPIPHANY
Dinner Church, January 5th at 5:00 pm
13 days after Christmas, the Church keeps The Feast of the Epiphany. This feast marks the end of the Advent and Christmas cycle with remembering the coming of the Magi, Kings or Wise Men.
As Epiphany falls on a Sunday this year, and we’ll be observing it on Saturday evening, January 5th as well, the Worship and Music and Fellowship Committees have chosen this for our next Dinner Church event.
On that Saturday evening we will gather for a 3-course pot-luck dinner and Eucharistic celebration. As we share the pot-luck dinner, we will also pray, sing, read Scripture, hear preaching and share Holy Communion.
Those who have participated in our previous dinner church events have raved about how wonderful it is to spend an evening in prayer, praise, thanksgiving and Communion, all in a relaxed and casual setting. Why not give it a try!
The signup sheet is now on the kiosk. Please be sure to let us know you plan to come AND let us know what you plan to bring.
Plastic Film Recycling Challenge
What is plastic film? What does it look like to you? Any plastic less than 10 mil thick.
- Pallet Wrap and Stretch Film
- Plastic Grocery Bags
- Case overwrap
- Newspaper Sleeves
- Wood Pellet Bags
- Produce Bags
- Salt Bags
- Bread Bags
- Dry Cleaning Bags
- Ice Bags
- Ziploc@ & other Reclosable Bags
- Bubble Wrap
- Cereal Bags
What is the Challenge?
If we are able to collect 500 pounds of plastic within a 6 month period, the Trex Company will award our Church with Trex Bench. Collecting will begin this January. Help us make our 500 pound goal.
So before you throw out that plastic bag, please consider saving it for this challenge.
Did you know…
- That the plastic used for above listed items takes up to 500 years to degrade in landfills but never fully break down. Instead they become micro plastics that absorb toxins and continue to pollute the environment.
- The average family accumulates 15 bags per trip to the grocery store and these bags are used for an average of 12 minutes.
- Plastic Film is typically made from manmade materials that have a less porous density making it need a higher melting point.
PLEASE NOTE
YOUR PLASTIC DONATIONS MUST BE CLEAN, DRY AND FREE OF FOOD RESIDUE
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