calendar sustainer of our lifeaplchurch.org/newsletters/vol23-2018.pdf · 2018. 10. 3. ·...
TRANSCRIPT
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Sustainer of Our life
“I lie down and sleep; I wake again, for the
Lord sustains me…” (Psalm 3:5)
Lying down, sleeping and waking are some of the most common routines of
our life. They are such ordinary things that
no one even considers them magical or
special. When we want to go to sleep, we go
to sleep. Once it is time to wake up, we wake
up. It is the typical cycle of our biological
life. Then, how did waking and sleeping
become the special theme for a psalm in the
Bible praising and giving thanks to God?
David, known as the author, wrote
Psalm 3 when he was on the run from his
son, Absalom who had rebelled against him.
David had to flee with such urgency that he
had no time to put on shoes: he fled barefoot.
He was not able to sleep, since Absalom’s
army chased him all day and all night. While
on the run, David came to realize that even
the ordinariness of sleeping and waking
should not be taken for granted as just a
natural cycle of life, but should also be
considered as God’s abiding sustainment and
protection.
This reminds me of an experience
reported by a survivor of a World War II
Nazi concentration camp. He witnessed that
overnight the person next to him had died
due to hard labor, starvation, and disease;
there was now a cold corpse next to him. In
the camps there were many people who
could not survive through the night. The
survivor went on to acknowledge that even
our ordinary sleeping and waking do not
happen according to our ability or will or our
natural metabolic cycle, but with the help of
God’s grace and care.
After verse 5, King David continues:
“I am not afraid of tens of thousands of
people who have set themselves against me
all around since deliverance belongs to the
Lord; may his blessing be on your people.”
In his suffering and distress, David found
and relied on the powerful and delivering
hand of God who sustained and kept him
delivered out of harm’s way in his life even
without his knowledge.
We are now looking forward to
seeing the New Year of 2018. As we look
back on the year 2017, many of us may have
endured countless difficulties and afflictions
in life. I expect the next year will not be too
different. Sometimes, like David, we may
feel like ten thousands of afflictions have
been set out against us all around. We may
face all kinds of dangers and suffering
throughout the New Year, but we do not fret,
because our God is with us sharing his
loving care and protection. We believe that
deliverance belongs to our God who keeps
sustaining and protecting our lives. We can
find this faith even in our ordinary routines
such as sleeping and waking everyday. Amen.
In this Issue
Page 1
Calendar/Sustainer of Our Life
Page 2
Message from the President/Music
Ministry/Benevolence
Page 3-4
Prayer Section/A Salute to Our
Members/Bible Study Notes/Advent
Page 5
Oktoberfest/500th Anniversary
Page 6-8
Special & December Events
Page 9-10
Birthday Celebration/Special Birthday
Page 11
Council Report
Page 12-14
News from the Pews
Page 15
Trivia Corner
Page 16-19
Serving in Worship
10774 Rhode Island Avenue, Beltsville, Maryland 20705 (301) 937-7646
www.APLChurch.org
Calendar
Every Wednesday
6:30 pm Bible Study
7:50 pm Choir Practice
January
6th Saturday Season of Epiphany begins
7th Sunday
Baptism of our Lord
Un-green the church
28th Sunday
Annual Congregational
Meeting
February
11th Sunday
Transfiguration of Our Lord
Festive Day before Lent
14th Wednesday
Ash Wed. Service
7:00 pm (Lent Begins)
21st Wednesday
Soup Supper &
Mid-Week Lenten
Service Begins
March
10th Saturday
First Day of the Korean
School Spring Semester
11th Sunday
Daylight Saving Time Begins
25th Sunday
Passion/Palm Sunday
Holy Week Begins
29th & 30th
Maundy Thursday & Good
Friday Services
7:00 pm
April
1st Sunday
Easter
Potluck Brunch
Volume 23 Winter Issue 2018
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Message from the President
I hope everyone had a blessed Christmas. During the Christmas holiday our church members
participated in several outreach programs. We helped with the collection of canned food and toys for
the holiday food and gift program sponsored by the Women’s Community Club of Beltsville. We also
donated to Gifts of Hope and the Maryland Food Bank. Thanks to everyone for your generosity in
giving to these programs. They were all a huge success.
We had a very nice spread at our Christmas pot luck brunch and cookie exchange, and we had lots of
fun at our Chinese gift exchange, on December 17, 2017. Again, thanks to everyone for making these
traditional events very successful.
As we are about to welcome in the New Year and reflect on all that is happening in our lives and
around the world, we must be aware God’s presence in our life and be thankful for all the blessings
God has bestowed upon us during the past year. We must also look forward to a good year and not
forget to make some new resolutions and set some goals for the New Year. Maybe we will repeat
some of those that we set for last year that we tried so hard to keep, but could not. Best wishes to all
of you with your New Year’s resolutions, and I hope you have a happy, healthy, and blessed New
Year.
The church council has already started preparing for the New Year and is busy planning for our
annual congregational meeting to be held on January 28, 2018.
Finally, I want to thank all of you for making our church such a beautiful place in which to worship.
May God continue to bless all of you. Have a great year!
Annie Gajadhar, President
Music Ministry
Abiding Presence is privileged to have our wonderful and faithful choir members: Rich
Moore, Steve McKisson, and Donna Mertens (when she is in town.☺). Each week, they
greatly enrich our worship service by offering their gift of song. This past Christmas
Eve, Bette Deller, Annie Gajadhar, and Nathan Na made our service extra special by
joyfully accompanying the choir with the bells. They all truly live by the directive
proclaimed in Psalm 95:2, “Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him
with music and song.” Abiding Presence is truly blessed!
Laura Kalshoven, Choir Director/Pianist
Benevolence/Outreach
From Thanksgiving through the Advent Season, our members again expressed their gratitude through
generosity to The Maryland Food Bank, the synod’s Gifts of Hope program, and the Women’s Club of
Beltsville holiday food and toy drive. It is too early for totals, but we will report them in the spring
issue.
All budgeted benevolence for 2017 has been paid.
Anna Graeber,
Outreach Committee
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In Our Prayers: Members: Anna Graeber, Laura Kalshoven, Martha McKisson, Ming Yee Chen,
and Betty Wellborn Our Friends: Bernadine, Bob, Dale, Paul, David, Jerry, Jimmy, Ji-young, Julia,
Kathy, Kevin, Kristine, Les, Linda, Lisa, Martin, Michael, Mick, Raz, Carl, Steven, Mike, Sam,
Richard, Samantha, Jamie, John, Tom, Harold, Ricardo, Chris, Richard, Li, Walter, Wayne, Wol-Mak
Park, and Zally.
Happy Birthday to: Jan Kalshoven (1/1), Jongkil Na (1/20), Marlon Gajadhar(2/10), Sherlon
Gajadhar(2/10), Ming Yee Chen (2/24), Josephine Kalshoven (2/25), Stephanie Boyd(3/1), Chris
Ham (3/18), Joshua Ham (3/19), Pat Thornberg (3/20), Martha McKisson (3/22), Betty Wellborn
(4/8), and Ramesh Das (4/20)
A Salute to Our Members – Jeanne Byrnes
In this issue we want you to get to know one of our members we don't see often enough! Jeanne
(Behnke) Byrnes splits her "church time" between us and another Lutheran church, but we won't hold
that against her as she actually belongs to Abiding Presence and was raised and married in our church.
She and husband, Jim, were married by Pastor Taylor, and their two boys were baptized by him.
Jeanne's parents and grandparents (who started Behnke's Nursery) were members of Abiding
Presence, but when she was growing up her Dad was in the Air Force so they lived in many places.
When her dad retired from the Air Force, her parents settled in Beltsville - helping out with the
nursery business. Jeanne and her brother put in time at the nursery, but that was not to be her calling.
She graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in Computer Science and swiftly
landed a job with NASA at The Goddard Space Flight Center. There she met her husband, and before
long their two sons, Ian and Christian arrived. Ian is in Norway, having gotten his doctorate in
radiation physics. Christian works for a computer company specializing in making games.
Jeanne's responsibilities include oversight of 12 data centers associated with NASA which are located
all over the US. Consequently, she travels! This leaves little time for other pursuits, but she is a
conscientious daughter who keeps in close contact with her mother, Ellie, living in southern Maryland.
Her dad, Roland, died several years ago. Ellie does wonderful needlepoint work, and was very helpful
in the production of our kneeling cushions that we still use today.
In her meagre spare time, she enjoys music, and movies, but she fondly remembers being a
participant in CROP walks with other Abiding Presence teens, as well as other Social Ministry
pursuits of the years long ago.
We are grateful for having had the whole Behnke family associated with Abiding Presence for many,
many years.
Bible Study Notes
It is known that Paul wrote five letters, three of which survive, to the church in
Corinth. This correspondence attests to Paul’s enduring relationship with the
Corinthian church, a longer relationship than with any other of the congregations
he helped plant. The three surviving letters are 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians
chapters 1-9, and 2 Corinthians chapters 10-13. Thus, 2 Corinthians is not a single
letter but a combination of 2 letters around the same general time period in the
mid-50s of the first century, but each addresses different situations.
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We moved on from 1 Corinthians to 2 Corinthians after Pastor returned from South Korea in
November. 1 Corinthians reflects Paul’s sense of what the freedom in the Gospel means (not a license
for quarrel, division, sexual immorality, etc.), the role and nature of love, the distinction between the
Greek notion of wisdom and God’s wisdom, and his views on topics such as marriage. In 2
Corinthians Paul addressed the Corinthians criticism of his ministry to them. Therefore, we can peek
into Paul’s individual and personal perspectives in dealing with pressure under sharp attack in 2
Corinthians.
Prior to the writing of 2 Corinthians, the congregation had express complaints against Paul: he had
postponed coming to them and had apparently written things to them that caused them pain. Calling
on God as his witness, Paul defends himself saying that that he makes decisions with sincerity and frankness by God’s grace, not by earthly wisdom. He tries to convince them that certain actions he
made were to spare them with his love and care, not with indifference. It is interesting and
simultaneously perhaps a little embarrassing to see that the most prominent theologian in the New
Testament, who is also responsible for the spread of Christianity all over the world, had to deal with
ordinary grudges that are still common in churches even today.
Paul was not for ‘everyone’ after all. He was just a human being. In other words, he had limits and
weaknesses along with brilliant talents and a deep sense of calling. He was not daunted at all,
however, regarding the distress and anguish the criticisms may have caused. With patience he waded
through them with a wide range of arguments supported by a sophisticated mastery of Greco-Roman
rhetoric, and especially, through faith and power in Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection present
in his own ministry.
Season of Advent
Advent is a church season that is four weeks long in which we are to prepare our hearts for Jesus’
birth. In the seventh century before Christ, Isaiah wrote many of his prophecies to comfort the Israeli
nation in a time of great uncertainty, especially in relation to regional conflicts, the fall of Jerusalem,
the exile to Babylonia, and the eventual return from the exile. In our time, many churches have short
litanies for each week in Advent that express the beautiful verses found in Isaiah’s writings. Each
week emphases one of four ideas: hope, love, peace, joy.
The first week is about hope. The advent wreath is symbolic of these four ideas. Indigo, blue or
purple candles represent each idea. As the weeks go on, a new candle is lit and added to what already
has been lit. The second week, two candles are lit. One is the hope candle from the first week and
then a second one is for peace and comfort. The third week is about joy, and the fourth is love. Many
wreaths have a white, fifth candle in the middle to represent Christ the light. Day has come, and the
fifth candle is lit on Christmas Eve and Christmas.
For each week, there is a scripture related to the ideas. In Advent of 2017, the Old Testament readings
are;
Week Idea
1 Hope Isaiah 64:1-9
2 Peace Isaiah 40:1-11
3 Joy Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11
4 Love Luke 1:46-55 (Mary’s Magnificat)
5 Light Isaiah 9:2-7 (Candle is lit on Christmas)
Quietly meditate on these verses and the changes Christ brought to the world. Imagine what a surprise
the three kings must have felt when they saw the baby Jesus! Listen to The Messiah by Handel as
well for several of Isaiah prophecies are set to music.
Richard Moore
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Oktoberfest & Celebration of the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation
On October 29, 2017 our church held a combination
Oktoberfest and Reformation celebration at Abiding
Presence. The décor was Bavarian and the program was
about the Reformation. We had a delicious potluck, which
included some German food and root beer bottled to look
like real beer bottles! Lunch was followed by a program featuring
activities about Martin Luther and the Lutheran Reformation. We also
celebrated Murzeena Gajadhar’s October birthday.
The program began with a quiz about Martin Luther. Next came two short entertaining videos about
Luther, a rap about famous Lutherans, and a musical rendition of Luther’s song, “A Mighty Fortress
is Our God,” which later became the hymn of the Reformation. Following that was a cartoon video of
chickens and roosters dancing the chicken dance, which is traditionally danced at all Oktoberfests.
Last, we played a game of “Pin-the-Theses-on-the-Church-Door.” Lydia Kalshoven painted a
wonderful church door for us, and everyone seemed to enjoy being blindfolded, spun around, and
dizzily trying to stick their miniature copy of the 95 theses on the Luther rose. Ann LaVigna’s aunt
crocheted 10 small monks holding crosses, which we used for prizes. They were perfect! Attendees
were sent home with handouts to read and complete, including a short biography of Luther, a maze to
help Luther find his hammer and a Luther rose to color with an explanation of what the colors mean.
It was a day of forgetfulness. Annie forgot to bring the skirt to her Dirndl costume so had to keep her
slacks on and camouflage it with a long apron. Bette forgot the boxes of pencils she had for the
Luther quiz and had to scramble around the office to find enough pencils and pens for the attendees.
Jan forgot to bring his laptop computer and the cables to connect it to the projector that Chris Ham
left for us to use. Like a trouper, though, Jan found a way to rig things up and make it all work out,
and I think everyone had a good time.
Lydia’s Church Door Our Men in Tyrolean Hats Three Ladies in German Dirndls
Another Table of Members Honoring Murzeena’s Birthday Holding Our Crocheted Monks
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Special Events
Dinner at T.J.’s in Beltsville – October 25, 2017
A few people from church took Anna Graeber and her sister, Martha, to dinner to enjoy some time together and wish Anna well before her surgery that was scheduled for October 30th. The social
committee made the arrangements and took Anna a potted flower and card from the congregation.
Martha was given some Maryland souvenirs, with which she was very pleased. All had a good meal
and a good time!
Holiday Bus Trip – November 30, 2017
Pat Thornberg and Bette Deller celebrated the magic of the
Christmas season early this year! They went on a bus trip to
Lancaster, PA on November 30th with a local senior citizen group
called the Beltsville Young at Heart Club to see a special Christmas
variety show at the American Music Theater entitled Home for the
Holidays. This was a musical extravaganza featuring the American Music Theater’s singers, dancers,
and orchestra performing some favorite holiday songs and hymns. The singing and dancing were
wonderful. The stage sets were colorful and festive. The costuming was beautiful, and the portrayal of
the holiday traditions we all look forward to each year put to music was very creative and
entertaining.
The trip included the bus ride up and back, lunch before the show
at the Hershey Farm Restaurant in Strasburg, Pennsylvania, and
time to browse in the souvenir shop right next door to the
restaurant after lunch before boarding the bus again to head over
to the show in Lancaster. Pat and Bette both had a wonderful time,
and the show really helped put them in the mood for the holidays!
It was a great show! They wished more of you from church could
have come along on this one.
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December Events
The Greening of the Church – December 10th was the date chosen to decorate the
church for Christmas. The social committee, Annie Gajadhar and Bette Deller, hung
six wreaths on the sanctuary windows, and tacked greens around the doorways of each
office and room and the sanctuary ahead of that date to make it easier. The tree and
cross in the lobby were decorated beautifully with beads, ornaments, and lights by
other members on Sunday morning. It was a great time of fun and fellowship.
Cookie Exchange – Five members participated in our Christmas cookie exchange on December 17th this year: Jan Kalshoven, Laura Kalshoven, Annie Gajadhar, Gene Lehr,
and Bette Deller. Each participant baked and packaged six or more cookies to exchange
with the other participants and baked an additional dozen or so to share with church
members at the holiday brunch held on that day. Each participant went home with a nice assortment
of cookies baked by others to share with their family and holiday guests, and the congregation
enjoyed some of those baked by each at our holiday brunch.
This Year’s Cookie Bakers Bette Deller, Gene Lehr, Annie Gajadhar, Jan Kalshoven, and Laura Kalshoven
Our 2017 Christmas Brunch – A holiday brunch was held on December 17th. The
food was delicious, as usual, and included many tasty dishes including some Korean
favorites. For dessert we had a delicious cake baked by Gene Lehr and a wide array
of delicious Christmas cookies baked by those who participated in the cookie
exchange. All enjoyed a wonderful meal and some tasty desserts on this Sunday
before Christmas!
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Chinese Gift Exchange – This game has become an annual tradition at Abiding
Presence and one that is greatly enjoyed. Those who participated brought a wrapped gift
that would be suitable for either a man or woman priced at or under $20. The
participants then drew numbers to determine the order in which they would choose a
gift for themselves. When their turn came, they could either choose a gift from the gift table or take
one away from someone else. This year there was a lot of gift stealing going on, which made the
game a real laughing event.
It was a riot due to all of the “gift stealing” from one another that went on.
Keisun Na was the first one to steal a gift, taking a beautiful reversible blanket
away from Annie Gajadhar. Later, Julia Kalshoven stole the sleep collar that Pat
Thornberg had received. Nick Hajek then stole the sleep collar from Julia so Julia
stole the blanket from Keisun, who had stolen it earlier from Annie. Keisun now
got another turn so she stole the candles from Jason Kalshoven. Jason then stole
the sleep collar from Nick so Nick took his new turn to steal the flash light and insulated water bottle
from Laura Kalshoven that she had chosen from the gift table. Laura was now without a gift so she
chose the last one on the table, and it was a beautiful wooden platter with 4 coasters. Somewhere in
all the confusion, Jan Kalshoven stole the tin of cookies from his daughter, Lydia, who was thrilled at
the chance to choose another gift and loved the small ceramic soup bowls & pot she drew. At the end
each participant who brought a gift went home with a gift from someone else, and we were all rolling
with laughter during all the swapping of gifts during this year’s gift exchange game.
Annie Gajadhar begins the Game Nick Hajek, Julia, Laura, Jan, Jason, Lydia Keisun laughs after gift stealing Kalshoven
Advent Worship Service on December 24th – This year Christmas Eve Day fell on
a Sunday so Abiding Presence had two worship services on that day. One was held at
9:30 in the morning and one was a candlelight service held at 7:30 that night. The
morning service was festive with the singing of traditional Christmas hymns, a
beautiful choir anthem, and a wonderful sermon delivered by Pastor Na. The church
looked festive after the greening that was done on December 10th, and the members
were filled with the Christmas spirit. It was a delightful service, and we all looked forward to the
candlelight service planned for that evening with a church full of poinsettias and lots of candlelight.
This is such a beautiful and exciting time of year! Christmas Eve Candlelight Worship Service – On Sunday evening, December 24th, we had a beautiful candlelight service of worship at 7:00 pm. Red jar candles were lit
in each of the six sanctuary windows, and members filed in carrying small white
candles and singing the Christmas carol entitled Silent Night. The altar floor and the
tabletops throughout the sanctuary and foyer were adorned with gorgeous red
poinsettias covered in gold foil pot covers from Behnkes, and the Christmas tree in the corner of the
foyer looked beautiful with its white lights and gold and white ornaments. The cross in the foyer was
also decorated with gold beads. The church looked beautiful for the celebration of Christ’s birth! The
choir sang special Christmas music, and Annie Gajadhar, Nathan Na, and Bette Deller played hand
bells along with the choir anthem adding a special nuance to the music.
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Birthday Celebrations
As is our custom, we put a candle in whatever dessert we had and sang Happy Birthday to members
who showed up at church on a Sunday near their birthdays in September, October, November,
December. Here are the members with whom we celebrated during the fall of 2017.
Annie Gajadhar – September 3rd Gene Lehr – September 11th Julia Kalshoven – October 2nd
Murzeena Gajadhar – October 18th Jean Opeka – November 17th Jason Kalshoven – December 13th
Special Birthday Celebration
Jan Kalshoven turned 70 on January 1, 2018 so we decided to surprise
him with a special observance during our coffee hour on Sunday,
December 31st. Even though Jan is not an official member of our church,
he feels like one of us. He comes to worship with us often and offers so
much to our discussions during coffee hour! He has also frequently
shared his technological and engineering knowledge with us and helped
us resolve some issues in those areas. We also love his snow cone
machine, which he generously leaves in our church to enjoy using
whenever we like.
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We consider Jan one of our own, and we really appreciate all that he has contributed to our church
life so we took a little money from the social committee funds and bought him a couple of small gifts.
One of them was a special photo frame with his birth year and this year engraved on it (1948 and
2018) and a group photo of some of the church members taken this December inserted into it. Along
with this, we added a bottle of wine with a special birthday label on it to help him celebrate at home
and to remind him of this special birthday. We of course sang “Happy Birthday” to him and took a
photo of that and then enjoyed some special refreshments provided by the social committee for the
coffee hour on that day. Happy Birthday, Jan!!
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Council Report
September - Pastor Na thanked Billy Clark for handling our billing issues
with PNC and WSSC and for taking care of our HVAC maintenance, exit
and ceiling lights and malfunctioning hot water heater. The pastor also
thanked the publication committee for their work, the fellowship committee
for the pizza party and ice cream social, and the Kalshovens for providing a
snow cone machine. He also thanked Jean Opeka for giving us a new
printer/copier. Laura Kalshoven was given permission to use the church for weekly Girl Scout
meetings again this year. Pastor announced that he would be visiting his parents in South Korea for 3
weeks in October. We made plans for the Oktoberfest and the celebration of the 500th anniversary of
the Lutheran Reformation to be held on October 29th. October – Bette Deller reported on the fellowship committee’s plans for the Oktoberfest on October
29th. The décor and menu will be in keeping with an Oktoberfest theme, and the program will focus
on Martin Luther and the Lutheran Reformation. The program is to include a quiz on Luther, a game
of pin-the-theses on the church door, and some short entertaining videos about Luther and the
Reformation. Ann LaVigna will provide prizes for the games.
Billy Clark reported on the situation with WSSC and the need to repair or replace our hot water
heater. We discussed reducing the size of our ad in the Beltsville news to cut the cost in half. Anna
Graeber will contact the Beltsville news about it, and Bette Deller will design a new ad. Gene Lehr
volunteered to place an ad in the Greenbelt newspaper for November and December and suggested
that others could pay for an ad in that paper from time to time. We planned to get a group together to
take Anna Graeber and her sister Martha from Germany to dinner before Anna’s upcoming surgery.
We voted to accept Laura Kalshoven as Anna’s replacement as Treasurer during Anna’s recovery.
November – Pastor Na thanked everyone for their support during his three-week absence while he
visited his parents in South Korea. Billy Clark announced that the hot water heater has been fixed.
Pastor Na thanked the council for their work on changing the Beltsville News ad to a smaller version.
Pastor Na visited Anna Graeber on November 11th following her October 30th surgery and reported
that she is doing well. He has also been visiting Ming Yee Chen at Riderwood every Saturday to keep
her spirits up and to provide socialization.
We discussed the repair of our organ, which no longer works. Due to its age, parts for it are no longer
made and even if a part could be found, it would cost about $1000 to fix. We will continue to look for
a solution. We also discussed our outreach programs for the holiday season. Again, this year we will
participate in the Gifts of Hope charity and the Maryland Food Bank. A publications committee
meeting was announced for this month to plan the January issue of the newsletter. The budget
committee will work on the budget for 2018. We also made plans for the Christmas events for
December and the dates for each were announced. Pastor announced that there will be two services on
Christmas Eve since it falls on a Sunday this year. One will be the regular 9:30 am worship service
and the other an evening candlelight service at 7:00 p.m.
December – There was no council meeting held in December. The next council meeting will be on
January 7th to make plans for the Annual Congregational meeting on January 28, 2018.
Bette Deller, Council Secretary
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News from the Pews
- Anna Graeber is now recovering slowly (as is to be expected) after her 12-hour surgery for pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP) at Johns Hopkins. PMP is a hard-to-detect and rare cancer striking about 1 on 100,000 people. A tumor in the appendix grows and eventually bursts through the wall of the appendix into the abdominal cavity, where the released mucinous material spreads cancer cells. Surgery attempts to remove as many cancerous cells as possible. If all goes well, the one-time bathing of the abdominal cavity in heated chemotherapy (during surgery) is the only chemo. Regaining appetite, weight gain, and strength are her present challenges. Anna give thanks for the congregation’s prayers and assistance. - Ming Yee Chen is able to get around in a wheel chair after breaking her hip last year. With the assistance of trusted aides, she enjoys watching television, and hearing from her girls and grandchildren, as she did on Christmas Day. - Betty Wellborn is unable to join us at church because of bouts of vertigo, but otherwise she feels generally well. The usual aches and pains of age appear, but she is fortunate to have loving family nearby, and spends her time curled up with good books and listening to the radio. - On Saturday, December 16, Stephanie Boyd Gajadhar graduated from the University of Maryland
University College. She received her bachelor's degree majoring in Business Administration and minoring in Human Resources Management. With a lot of hard work and dedication, she received her degree in three and a half years while also working full time. Additionally, she was a part of the Alpha Sigma Lambda honors society throughout her college career. Next up.... her master's degree in business after a well-earned vacation and time off.
- Pastor Na paid a visit to his parents in South Korea back in October. His father has been ill and slowly recovering. He spent very meaningful time with them for mountain hiking, shopping at Korean traditional markets, worshipping together at his father’s church, and having plenty of conversations about his whole family history from 1930s before Korea was divided into North and South. It was really hard for him to leave them alone there because none of immediate family members had survived in town since his brother untimely passed away in 2009. He is planning to visit them more often. - Chris Ham runs an after school supplemental education program, Kumon Math and Reading center, to help kids to do better. On the other hand, he has been working as a full time Program Manager at a US defense contractor, Raytheon Company, pursuing many new military programs in South Korea. In 2017, he made many trips to South Korea and other places around the world to support Raytheon’s current programs and new business pursuits. (He missed lots of Sunday services at APLC, though)
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The fun facts about his trips to South Korea in 2017 are as follows... 1. He made total of TEN (10) business trips to South Korea (Every 1.2 months on average) 2. Total flight time "in the air" was 270 hours (14 hours outbound + 13 hours inbound = 27 hours round trip X 10 trips = 270 hours) 3. This is equivalent to 1.57 months in the air if you fly 8 hours per day for 5 days a week 4. He stayed total of 73 nights at various Hyatt hotels in Korea (according to Chris' World of Hyatt account) and 20 more days in non-Hyatt hotels. 5. Rental Car? (too many, lost count, had an accident in Korea, too) 6. Met Pastor Na and Mrs. Na in Seoul, Korea, and took them around for a day. 7. Plus about 7 additional trips to other places including US domestic, South America, and etc. As a result, Chris has 2 herniated disks on his back and lost lots of family time. - Bette Deller’s 16-year-old grandson, Mitchell, began looking at colleges with his family this fall. Their first trip was to Virginia Tech on October 7th, which was about a 4-hour drive from their home in Ashburn, VA. Here is a photo of Mitchell and a friend and former neighbor at a Virginia Tech football game and beside a statue of the mascot for that college. Also shown below is a photo of Mitchell and Brooke, Bette’s grandchildren, wearing shirts from Virid, their dad’s e-commerce company in Reston, VA. This photo was taken at a backyard pool party that Bette’s son held for his employees in September. Bette likes the photo in the matching shirts.
Bette’s granddaughter, Brooke, turned 13 on October 29th. Bette and the other grandparents celebrated with her on October 28th at Brooke’s home in Asburn, VA. Her son, Steve, prepared a delicious chicken parmesan dinner for them.
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- On Nov 15, Donna Mertens left the USA with Randy to go to New Zealand, Tasmania, Australia, West Java and Bali. She visited Fiona Cram in NZ, saw lots of seals and sea lions in Tasmania, and was a visiting professor in Australia and West Java. They worked on research to address the disenfranchised Indigenous people and youth through initiatives that focus on social, economic, and environmental justice. Bali was pure pleasure with son Jeff, Randy, and friend Pat coming over despite the Mt. Agung threatening eruption. SCUBA was awesome. She came home Dec 31.
Donna & Randy in Hobbiton in New Zealand With a koala in Australia With Pat & Jeff celebrating where the Hobbit movies and Lord of the Rings Christmas in Bali movies were filmed.
Sea lions on Bruny Island south of Tasmania Manta ray underwater in Bali
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Trivia Corner
January – Historical figures Paul Revere, Betsy Ross, Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock and Franklin D. Roosevelt were born in January. On January 1st, 1776, the first American flag, the "Grand Union" was presented. Betsy Ross later added the stars in place of the Union Jack.
February - On February 2, 1967, the American Basketball Association (ABA) was
established. It only had four teams (New York Nets, Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, and San Antonio Spurs) and later merged with its competition, the National Basketball Association (NBA). The cold month of February is a great time to stay warm indoors and watch basketball games on TV.
March – On March 6, 1950 Silly Putty was introduced as a toy by Peter Hodgson. It was invented in 1943 by James Wright in an effort to make synthetic rubber. Silly Putty is noted for its unusual characteristics. It bounces, but breaks when given a sharp blow. It can also float in a liquid and will form a puddle if given enough time. In
addition to its success as a toy, other uses for the putty have been found. In the home, it can be used to remove substances such as dirt, lint, pet hair, or ink from various surfaces. Because of its adhesive characteristics, it was used by Apollo astronauts to secure their tools in zero-gravity.
April – April is grilled cheese month. A grilled cheese sandwich is probably the first meal that most of us learn how to cook at home by ourselves. It's the perfect midnight snack or soup-dipper. It's great for kids, but is never turned down by an adult. It's salty, gooey, crisp, buttery, and comforting in all the right ways. April
would be a great month in which to make a yummy grilled cheese sandwich.
Bette Deller
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SERVING IN WORSHIP JANUARY 7TH 14TH
Ushers Billy Clark & Jean Opeka
Jean Opeka Keisun Na
Acolyte Josephine Kalshoven Annie Gajadhar
A-Minister Ann LaVigna Anna Graeber
Lector Jean Opeka Richard Moore
Communion-A Annie Gajadhar Bette Deller
Chancel Care Anna Graeber Annie Gajadhar
Counters Annie Gajadhar & Pat Thornberg
Billy Clark & Chris Ham
21ST 28TH
Ushers Anna Graeber & Annie Gajadhar
Bette Deller Billy Clark
Acolyte Keisun Na Nathan Na
A-Minister Annie Gajadhar Bette Deller
Lector Steve McKisson Ann LaVigna
Communion-A Chris Ham Donna Mertens
Chancel Care Bette Deller Ann LaVigna
Counters Anna Graeber & Jean Opeka
Annie Gajadhar & Bette Deller
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FEBRUARY 4TH 11TH
Ushers Anna Graeber & Jean Opeka
Annie Gajadhar Keisun Na
Acolyte Josephine Kalshoven Marlon Gajadhar
A-Minister Steve McKisson Anna Graeber
Lector Richard Moore Steve McKisson
Communion-A Jean Opeka Anna Graeber
Chancel Care Keisun Na Ann LaVigna
Counters Billy Clark & Chris Ham
Jean Opeka & Pat Thornberg
18TH 25TH
Ushers Anna Graeber & Jean Opeka
Billy Clark Ann LaVigna
Acolyte Keisun Na Lydia Kalshoven
A-Minister Annie Gajadhar Bette Deller
Lector Bette Deller Jean Opeka
Communion-A Anna Graeber Annie Gajadhar
Chancel Care Annie Gajadhar Bette Deller
Counters Anna Graeber & Annie Gajadhar
Bette Deller & Pat Thornberg
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MARCH 4TH 11TH
Ushers Anna Graeber & Annie Gajadhar
Bette Deller & Keisun Na
Acolyte Nathan Na Annie Gajadhar
A-Minister Steve McKisson Billy Clark
Lector Billy Clark Jean Opeka
Communion-A Bette Deller Chris Ham
Chancel Care Keisun Na Jean Opeka
Counters Billy Clark & Chris Ham
Anna Graeber & Pat Thornberg
18TH 25TH
Ushers Billy Clark & Nathan Na
Jean Opeka Anna Graeber
Acolyte Lydia Kalshoven Keisun Na
A-Minister Jean Opeka Richard Moore
Lector Richard Moore Passion Sunday Reading
Communion-A Donna Mertens Jean Opeka
Chancel Care Keisun Na Ann LaVigna
Counters Annie Gajadhar & Bette Deller
Billy Clark & Chris Ham
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APRIL 1ST 8TH
Ushers Annie Gajadhar & Bette Deller
Billy Clark Nathan Na
Acolyte Nathan Na Lydia Kalshoven
A-Minister Steve McKisson Anna Graeber
Lector Bette Deller Richard Moore
Communion-A Anna Graeber Annie Gajadhar
Chancel Care Annie Gajadhar Bette Deller
Counters Annie Gajadhar & Bette Deller
Billy Clark & Chris Ham
15TH 22ND
Ushers Jean Opeka Anna Graeber
Bette Deller Keisun Na
Acolyte Marlon Gajadhar Annie Gajadhar
A-Minister Richard Moore Bette Deller
Lector Ann LaVigna Anna Graeber
Communion-A Chris Ham Donna Mertens
Chancel Care Keisun Na Jean Opeka
Counters Ann LaVigna & Anna Graeber
Annie Gajadhar Pat Thornberg
29TH Ushers Anna Graeber
& Jean Opeka
Acolyte Keisun Na
A-Minister Billy Clark
Lector Steve McKisson
Communion-A Jean Opeka
Chancel Care Keisun Na
Counters Anna Graeber & Pat Thornberg