St. Peter’s Pikeland UCC * 1193 Clover Mill Rd., Chester Springs, PA 19425 * 610-933-6419

email: stpeterspikelanducc@verizon.net www.stpeterspikeland.org

Advent is the season of preparing for the arrival of

God’s own Son. Our December here at St. Peter’s

was filled with the flurry of activity as we joyfully

prepared our hearts, minds and sanctuary for the

birth of Jesus.

On the night of Sunday, December 3rd we had a

full house for our Hanging of the Greens Service.

We turned the sanctuary into a Christmas wonder-

land of reds, greens and light in preparation for

the celebration of Jesus’ birth!

Our Christmas season here at St. Peter’s was

heart warming and fulfilling for everyone who

entered our doors. As you read through this

month’s Beacon, you’ll see all the glory and

joy with which we were blessed.

During our worship service on Sunday,

December 10th, our Music Director, Kat

Bowman directed our children in another

fabulous Christmas pageant. This year,

the children had a script written specifi-

cally for them and the modern times. Kat

Bowman’s friend, Debbie Bower, wrote

this amazing script in which the entire

congregation greatly enjoyed.

The musical talents of Andrew Wookey,

Mackenzie Wookey, Joey Newell and Jim Phillips were also

shared during this beautiful program.

Weeks leading up to Christmas

…. Thank you to our Advent Wreath candle lighters

each week: The Shupes, the Nordhoff family, the

Martin family and The Brinton-Bomba family.

Thank you to Michelle Case and Shelby Poston for

lighting our candles at the 5 pm Christmas Eve ser-

vice.

…. Thank you to those who donated to St. Mary’s

Franciscan Shelter throughout the Advent season,

having run into Fred Wookey out front (thanks Santa

Fred!). St. Mary’s Shelter in Phoenixville is one of

our church’s outreach missions.

…. Thank you to the Sewing Circle for taking

Christmas gifts to the Pocopson Home, and to all the

children who made Christmas cards for the residents

there.

…. Thank you to the carolers who joined together to

bring Christmas joy to of our members at their

homes.

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Hanging of the Greens

…. To Laura Yeakle and all those who helped make

this year’s Hanging of the Greens service another

beautiful and meaningful worship experience. Do-

nors of greens (special thanks to the donor of the

tree and wreaths), helping hands at the Saturday

workshop, and set-up volunteers are all appreciated.

Thank you to the music of Kat Bowman, organ and

piano, the choir, Jan Mest on piano, and the Thin

Line, helping to create the magic that is Christmas.

…. Thank you to those who brought gifts to the

Hanging of the Greens for the children of Bethany

Children’s Home. The offering also was received

for Bethany. You once again helped needy children

believe in the Spirit of Christmas! Bethany was

doubly blessed, because we adopted Keck Cottage

this Christmas season.

… Thank you to Kat Bowman and cast for provid-

ing us with a beautiful, modern telling of birth of

Jesus. What a wonderful group presentation

which truly increased the Spirit of Christmas as we

approached Christmas Eve!

…. Thank you to those who purchased poinsettias

to help make our sanctuary look beautiful and

“Christmassy.”

Thank you to Annamae, who always takes care of

the flower orders and is always busy behind the

scenes. Annamae knows many, many details that

need to be remembered. And thank you to those

special elves who get the poinsettia racks up and

down.

To Our Musicians

We are thankful not just for the Christmas season,

but for all that they do. THANK YOU to Kat

Bowman and the Senior Choir. The musical talents

of everyone involved brings such joy and happi-

ness to our ears and hearts!

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Thank You

Thank you to Santa Fred Wookey and all of the

donors who so generously donated to St. Mary’s

Shelter through the month of December. This

was the very best year we’ve had in many years.

Around $4,000 was raised! Thank you for mak-

ing a difference in many lives this season.

CHRISTMAS EVE

Our Christmas Eve services touched the lives of

many members, both family members and visitors

to our church here on the hill. It was a night filled

with peace, hope, love and joy. It is our sincere

hope that no matter where you spent your Christ-

mas, you spent it in good company and good

health.

St. Peter’s is and always will be a beacon of

light to all who seek it.

Caroling

On the night of Friday, December 15th, 9 brave

carolers ventured out in the snow to gather in the

homes of Tekie Wise, The Lawsons, Barbara Shiv-

ers, Ernest Coccia and Joan Fink to sing the spirit

of Christmas into everyone’s hearts. The tempera-

ture was in the low ’s but the warmth of the Christ-

mas spirit was rising with each note sung!

Thank you to the carolers who set out on this cold

night to spread love and Christmas cheer!

After caroling, we returned back to Fellowship Hall

for a plentiful assortment of goodies spread out by

Pastor Susan.

Room to Read

Thanks to every-

one who made

contributions and

purchased books this year!

Our 2017 campaign again fo-

cused on Girls’ Education. It

was well received by our congregation, raising

$4,500!

The other good news? We were also able to take

advantage of a timely triple match (3:1) offer

thanks to a very generous donor. So… our $4,500

contribution will net Room to Read $18,000!!

That will pay for 60 girls’ scholarships next year.

Awesome!!

Your donations continue to help provide the life-

long gift of education to thousands of girls in the

developing world. Thanks again for your contin-

ued support of our mission!

MONDAY, JANUARY 29th 2:00-7:00 pm

There will be another Red Cross Blood Drive in our

Fellowship Hall on Monday, January 29th from 2:00-

7:00 p.m. Please contact Annamae Moore to sched-

ule an appointment. If you won’t be seeing her in

person, feel free to call her at 610-608-8005.

2018 Offering Envelopes

If you have not picked up your

2018 offering envelopes, you

may do so in Fellowship Hall.

While We’re Talking

Offering…… Please take a moment to fill out your commitment

form for 2018 if you have not done so already.

These commitment forms are so crucial to the plan-

ning of our budget. Completed forms can be placed

in the offering plate or handed to a Deacon. Thank

you!

UN-HANGING OF THE

GREENS

I wanted to say a big “thank you” to those who helped with this year’s Hanging of the Greens ser-vice. It has always been my favorite service at St. Peter’s. I love the involvement of the entire con-gregation and love seeing new faces!

I hope you are enjoying our beautifully decorated Church this Christmas season!

The “Un-hanging” of the Greens will take place right after worship on Sunday, January 7th. Please consider staying to help if able.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! -Laura Yeakle

Coffee Hour and Altar Flowers

Sign Up Sheet Please take a moment to take a look

at the sign up sheets posted in Fel-

lowship Hall for 2018 coffee hour

and altar flowers. There are plenty

of spaces available!

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Semi-Annual Congregational Meeting

On Sunday, January 28, 2018, immediately after wor-

ship, the Semi-Annual Congregational Meeting will

be held. Please plan to attend, to assure that we reach

a quorum for conducting business. The 2018 budget

will be presented for review and approval.

During worship that day, the

new Consistory members will

be installed.

CALL EM ALL:

We have implemented an all-call system to reach

our members specifically for inclement weather

and church closings. If you would like your

number on this list, or if you would like your

number updated, please contact the church office.

A Taste of Phoenixville

Please join us at ‘A Taste

of Phoenixville’ 2018, a

benefit for the Good Sa-

maritan Shelter, on

Thursday January 18,

2018 from 6-10 pm. Our

festive event will be at

the elegant, historic Phoe-

nixville Foundry and will again feature delicious

dishes from our area’s finest restaurants.

Once a year, more than 600 fun-loving people turn

out to turn up the support for the regional commu-

nity, for the Good Samaritan Shelter, and for doz-

ens of restaurants who stop at nothing to present

their most delicious dishes! You can purchase tick-

ets on www.tasteofphoenixville.com or call the

Shelter office at 610-933-9305.

This fundraiser is the most significant and im-

portant source of funding for our program at the

Shelter. Please plan on attending and, if you are

unable to attend, please consider a donation.

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NEW MEMORIAL FUND POLICY

The Deacons and Consistory constructed a new Me-

morial Fund policy, to help guide memorial dona-

tions to various areas of church life.

A family does not have to make a decision right

away, of course. If the memorial gifts are not ap-

plied to a specific need, they may then apply the gifts

to one or more of the following areas of church life:

· Capital improvement

· Music

· Youth

· Cemetery

· Mission Outreach

· Outdoor/landscaping

· Congregational assistance

If the family does not desire to designate the gifts to

a certain category, the Deacons will then decide how

to best place the donations.

A list of specific projects or gifts will be presented to

the family. If the total donations are above $1,000,

then, if practical, the deceased loved one will be me-

morialized on or near the project or gift.

Contact Wayne Freese for questions

St. Peter’s Concert Series Concert

The Whirlwind Quintet per-

forms at St. Peter's on February

17th at 3:00 in the afternoon.

The Whirlwind Quintet is a

woodwind quintet from the

Main Line area featuring John

Kauffman (flute), Ernest Baker

(oboe), Jerilyn Greenfield (clarinet), Don Green-

field (bassoon), and Jane Murray (french horn).

The group has been performing in the Chester

County region for years, most recently giving a

concert at St. John's Lutheran Church in Phoe-

nixville this past spring.

Kat Bowman makes a guest appearance with the

group to perform the piano sextets by Poulenc and

Thuille. A reception is to follow the performance.

Join us for an afternoon of fantastic music!

Book Club

The next book selection for our

Ladies Book Club is For the

Love, by Jen Hatmaker.

Best-selling author Jen Hatmaker

is convinced life can be lovely

and fun and courageous and

kind. She reveals with humor and

style how Jesus’ embarrassing

grace is the key to dealing with

life's biggest challenge: people. The majority of

our joys, struggles, thrills, and heartbreaks relate

to people, beginning with ourselves and then the

people we came from, married, birthed, live by,

go to church with, don’t like, don’t understand,

fear, compare ourselves to, and judge. Jen knows

how the squeeze of this life can make us competi-

tive and judgmental, how we can lose love for

others and then for ourselves .

Jill Cook will be hosting this meeting at her home

on Wednesday, January 10th at 6:30 pm

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Winter Food Drive

It is that time of the year that we

contribute to the PACS food pantry

in Phoenixville in January and Feb-

ruary. Please see the list below of needed items for

PACS. Bring your donations into Fellowship Hall.

-Non perishable foods such as cold and hot cereal,

fruit juice, pancake mix, soup, peanut butter, jelly,

canned meats, canned fish, cheese spread, Jello and

pudding mixes, macaroni and cheese, spaghetti,

spaghetti sauce, canned stew, canned pasta, rice,

canned potatoes, canned vegetables, baked beans,

canned fruits, dried fruit, cake and biscuit mixes,

coffee, tea, creamer, powered or canned milk, mus-

tard, catsup, mayonnaise, salad dressing, oil, vine-

gar, syrup, sugar, salt, and pepper.

-Cleaning supplies such as, bath soap, shampoo,

toothpaste, laundry soap, bleach, cleanser, steel-

wool pads, general purpose cleaners, paper prod-

ucts, napkins, bathroom tissue, paper towels.

-Baby supplies such as, disposable diapers, talcum

powder, lotion, baby food, formula.

Thank you for your generosity,

The Sewing Circle

Thank You from Pocopson

“The spirit of Christmas is the spirit of love and of generosity and of goodness. It illuminates the picture window of the

soul, and we look out upon the world's busy life and become more interested in people than in things.” Thomas S.

Monson

Dear Kathleen and Members of St. Peter’s Pikeland Sewing Circle,

The response to this year’s Gift Giving Program at Pocopson Home has once again been astonishing! We

are so fortunate to have the compassion and consideration of so many of you in our community who give so generous-

ly to our residents. “Thank you” cannot fully express just how much we all (the residents, the Activities Department,

our Administration, etc.) truly appreciate the incredible charity and kindness we see every year from the Chester Coun-

ty community.

Thank you for your participation in the 2017 Gift Giving Program at Pocopson Home. By your beneficent

coordination, programming, and donations, you have provided an elder living in a nursing facility with the greatest gift

of all – the gift of being remembered and acknowledged!

Thank you for thinking of the residents of Pocopson Home and for your kind and overwhelming generosity.

Sincerely,

The Residents of Pocopson Home

Sewing Circle Celebrates Christmas

On Wednesday, December 6th, the ladies of the

Sewing Circle (and the men) gathered for their an-

nual Christmas party. A delicious pot luck meal

was shared at the luncheon.

The group gathered Christmas gifts for Pocopson

Home residents along with the Christmas cards that

the Sunday School children had prepared.

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January Monitors

1/7– Nick Warner

1/14– Newell

1/21– Montieth

1/28– McCarthy

Thank you to our December Volunteers

Elementary: Joyce Rosen, Julie Beatty, Deb Wetty, and Cherri Romano

Monitors: Warner, Phillips, Nordhoff, Nicholson

Each year, starting in November, the Sunday School children worked on Christmas cards to be taken to the residents of Pocopson Home. If you have any craft items or old Christmas cards you’d like to donate to the supplies for next year’s cards, please leave them in the church office.

Deb Wetty became a grandmother to twins born on De-cember 13, 2017! Deb’s son Jon and his wife Monica wel-comed their sons at Chester County Hospital.

Luke Adam weighed in at 6 lbs 11 oz and 20 1/2 inches at 8:08 pm

Connor Mason weighed in at 6 lbs 5 oz and 21 inches at 8:10 pm

If you have questions or concerns regarding this program, please contact a member of the

Board of Christian Education -

Julie Beatty, Jill Cook, Denise Harlow, Cherri Romano, Joyce Rosen, Judy Shupe, Kathleen Wachsmuth,

Deborah Wetty, and Lisa Wilson.

Page 8

John and Barbara Borzillo Ian and Sally Mansmann

Bob and Jane Breisch Reid and Kirstin Smith

January Birthdays

Jeannie Leaman 1/1

Sean Harlow 1/6

Declan McCarthy 1/6

Ed Benjamin 1/7

Eileen Biddle 1/7

Andy Bomba 1/7

Marielle Stewart 1/8

Diane Campbell 1/9

Kathleen Wachsmuth 1/9

Amelia Cook 1/12

Aidan Stewart 1/14

Rob Cottone 1/16

Carolyn Wilson 1/18

Chip Griffiths 1/20

Don Giordano 1/22

Mary Jo Pandjak 1/22

LeeAnn Michener 1/24

Laura Yeakle 1/24

Christine Merryman 1/24

Judy Smythe 1/25

Elizabeth Werner 1/26

Bob Frederick 1/27

Michelle Case 1/27

Richard Mest 1/27

Matthew Bierer 1/28

Ashley Werner 1/28

Gus Orr 1/28

Jan Orr 1/28

Dan Johnson 1/29

Brian Neiman 1/29

Luke Wilson 1/29

Sonja Wheelan 1/30

William Miller 1/31

February 14- Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday this year lands on February 14th. It marks the begin-

ning of the church season of Lent, a time of 40 days leading up to East-

er, not including Sundays.

Our church and the Lutheran church are offering combined ser-

vices on Ash Wednesday:

A 12:00 Noon service will be held at

St. Peter’s Lutheran

A 7:30 p.m. evening service will be held here at

St. Peter’s UCC

Both pastors will co-officiate at the services, and members of both

churches are invited to either service. Holy Communion and the impo-

sition of ashes will be offered.

February 17– St. Peter ’s Concer t Ser ies Concer t 3:00 pm

February 25– Mission Sunday

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Andrea Lafleur Andy Bomba Barbara Broyles, friend of the Wachsmuths Bernadette, Cheyenne, Mary Bob Dewilde Carol Meyer Carolyn Caswell Celeste Wright, friend of Anne Breiling Cesar Barta, soccer coach of the Wookeys Chett and Jeanie Breiling Chris Webb, son of a friend of Lynn Mailey Chris Koniers, friend of Judy Smythe Daphne McGill, friend of the McCarthys Debbie Sproule Diane DeForrest, Kathleen Wachsmuth’s niece Diane Yeakle Doris Ingham, Joyce Rosen’s mother Don Basile, Jennifer Basile’s father-in-law Drew Peden, friend of the Stein Family Dudley Smythe Edna Hannum Elisabeth Geltrude, Laura Dick’s niece Friends and family of Jeanne Lalley , Gwen Davidson’s cousin Glenn Booraem Greg Francis, Lee Ann Michener’s brother Jack Bailey, friend of Linda and Eric Johnson Jamie P. & family, friend of Holly Brinton Jashown Banner, former student of Jackie Warner Jennifer Osborne John Frick, friend of Steve and Kathy Krasley Joan Fink Justin, friend of Judy Smythe Katie MacPherson, Nancy Smith’s Granddaughter Kimberly Mack, Marian Garber’s daughter Larry Brinkmann, Karen Dick’s Uncle Leila Page Lisa J., friend of Holly Brinton Bomba Lois Pollard, Karen Wilson’s Mother Margaret Breiling Mary Andersen, friend of the McCarthys Mary Gerhard, friend of Kathy and Steve Krasley Michelle Case Mike Solerno, friend of the Micheners Nora Frank, friend of Nancy Smith Pat Fisher, friend of Bob and Jane Breisch Peter Mahler, friend of Smythes Reagan Basile Rick Cassidy, friend of the Davidsons Robin Fetter, dear friend of Gail Wetzel and Micki Menkins Rose Young, friend of the Brinton-Bombas Roz Weinstein, friend of Bob and Jane Breisch Ruth Moan, Karen Dick’s Aunt Sally Mehrens, sister of Lynn Mailey Sharon Divis, daughter of Judy Smythe Stephanie Tyree, friend of Nancy Smith Sue McVay, friend of Mary Jo Pandjak Sydney Cagle Sylvia Houff, Kathleen Wachsmuth’s sister Sylvia Lawson Tom Yeakle Vicki Johnson, friend of the Micheners Virginia Fledderjohn

Our Prayer List

Church Staff Rev. Douglas Hanson,

Pastor

Annamae Moore,

Pastoral Care Coordinator

Kat Bowman,

Director of Music and

Organist

Jill Cook,

Church Secretary

Deborah Wetty,

Nursery Attendant

Debbie Wolk,

Bookkeeper

Wayne Freese

Cemetery Manager

Church Officers 2017

President of Congregation –

Mark Myers

Secretary of Congregation –

Kathleen Wachsmuth

President of Consistory –

Pete Warner

Secretary of Consistory –

Michelle Case

Treasurer – Ken Whitlatch

Elders

Sarah Hackman– Chair

Julie Beatty, Diane Dunn,

Kathleen Wachsmuth,

Cathy Woodruff,

Diane Yeakle

Deacons

Jim Phillips-Chair

Ben Campbell, Wayne Freese,

Ted Morgan, Joe Thomson,

Charlie Shupe

Trustees

Pete Wilson-Chair

Pete Warner

Fred Krisch, Pam Latta,

Richard Nicholson, Tom Raichle