new bethel church...2010/12/09 · new bethel church december 2010 2 new bethel church december...

New Bethel ChurchDecember 2010

1

New Bethel ChurchDecember 2010 Newsletter

Pastor’s Ponderings

Some interesting things to ponder, from the internet:

Christmas Traditions Cloaked in Mystery

Much about Christmas remains veiled and puzzling. It harbors a mystery of faith and has a rather checkered history.

For more than 300 years after Jesus' time, Christians celebrated his resurrection but not his birth. The later Christmas festival was even banned in 17th century England and in early America.

The observance first begin in fourth-century Rome, timed to coincide with a midwinter pagan festival honoring the imperial army's sun god, Mithra. The December date was taken over to celebrate Jesus' birthday.

But on what day he was born is unknown. Even the precise year is uncertain. However, it was not in the year 1 A.D., as the calendar's Anno Domini (Year of the Lord) suggests.

Its dating system derived from an error about the year of Christ's birth by a sixth-century monk in Rome, Dionysius Exigus, in working out the starting point of the Christian era.

Scholars since have calculated that Jesus' birth came in about 6 or 7 B.C., meaning paradoxically "Before Christ". The revised time was determined partly by the fact that Herod the Great ruled Judea when Jesus was born and history records that Herod died in 4 B.C.

In what month the birth occurred, or on what day, has been a matter of speculation for centuries. Possible dates include: January 6, February 2, March 25, April 19, May 20, October 4, November 17.

A British physicist and astronomer, David Hughes, has calculated that the date was September 17, 7 B.C., based on various scientific evidence, including that of a conjunction of two planets, Jupiter and Saturn, in the constellation Pisces on that date.

He concludes in a book that this extraordinary celestial display was the "star" seen by the distant wise men.

The 17th century German astronomer, Johannes Kepler, similarly had calculated a three-planet conjunction, including Venus as well as Jupiter and Saturn, in the same constellation in 7 B.C.Continued…


2


Pastor’s Ponderings, Ctd.

In any case, a variety of months and days have been used over the centuries in different parts of the world to celebrate the occasion. Some Eastern Orthodox churches still do it on January 6.

Christmas was banned in 17th century England when Oliver Cromwell and his puritan followers gained temporary rule, forbidding what was called the "heathen celebration of Christmas."

The holiday similarly was banned in colonial New England. Christmas wasn't made a legal holiday in Massachusetts until 1856.

For all of the clouded chronology and legal background of Christmas, however, the biggest mystery is in its message -- that God has entered the human race in love for it, on with it, and one of it.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the word was God... and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth," the Bible says.

That is the mystifying core of Christmas, an awesome concept that has challenged hearts and minds since. It holds that Jesus was truly human, sharing the nature of all people, yet also truly God. "Emmanuel -- God with us," Scripture says. "The light of the world." .

Pastor Dave

Pastoral Acts

Baptisms: November 26-Kailynn Maey Fegley- Daughter of Shannon Fegley and Jeffrey Schaeffer Jr.

Libby Sue Lehner- Daughter of Kara and Daniel LehnerLeonard James Walter- Son of Lucille and Daniel Walter

Marian Louise Westbrook- Daughter of Molly Clay and John Westbrook

Welcome to the Lord's Family!


3


Upcoming DatesDecember 5th

Annual Congregational Meeting following worship

December 6th

Joint Board 7:00PM

December 12th

Sunday School program- 9:00AM

December 15th

Women of New Bethel- 7:00PM

December 19th

Caroling Hayride- after Sunday School

December 24th

3:00PM Live Nativity4:00PM "Half-A-Tree" Family Worship7:30PM- Candelight Worship

HAPPENINGS

Short NotesWe now have available assisted listening devices for those who are hard of hearing. If you could benefit from one, they can be found in the basket on the front balcony pew.

If you're not taking your bulletin home, please recycle it in the basket in the narthex.

The amplifier that "pipes" down the sound from the Sanctuary to the downstairs "chairs area" is broken and because of it's age, can not be economically repaired. If anyone has an amplifier to donate, see Pastor Dave. A stereo system that is unwanted would also fit the bill.

MayfestThis coming May a Mother's day weekend festival is in the works. We're looking for youth and adult leaders to help us organize food, games, entertainment and a whole lot more. If interested please see Linda Schroeder. More volunteers are needed to make this a fun filled success! Special Mother's Day activities are planned, maybe even a horse drawn carriage ride for Mom!


4


New Bethel Social Networkshttp://newbethelchurchkempton.wordpress.com/

Collecting Email AddressesIn an effort to perhaps cut costs by sending out items electronically, instead of by US mail, the Joint Board is asking for your email address. Please send the address to [email protected]. We will put together an e-mailing list of those who wish to be sent information electronically. Please put on the subject line "collecting."

Webmaster and Newsletter Editor

Have news to share? Send it to Sara Walter. You can contact her at: [email protected] or 484-788-5781.

If you are in the hospital…Privacy rules are in place in our area hospitals and it is important that these are known if you want Pastor Dave to visit you while you are in the hospital.

Lehigh Valley Medical Center: When you are admitted make sure to fill out a form divulging your church membership. The following codes will make the process easier: UCC Congregation 457 and Lutheran Congregation 274. If your name is identified with one of those code numbers when the Pastor calls, the pastoral care office will tell him you are in the hospital. These forms must be filled out every time you are admitted. Your congregational identification does not carry over from previous hospital stays. Also, please have a family member or friend call the church office or Pastor's home when you are admitted, 610-756-6589 or 610-944-5819. No one from the hospital will call the church indicating that you are a patient.

Reading Hospital: A volunteer will call the church office if you identify yourself as a member of New Bethel Church. Hospital codes are UCC Congregation 799 and Lutheran Congregation 495. At times this process takes a while. It is best if you or a family member call 610-756-6589 or 610-944-5819.


5


2011 Flower Chart is posted!You can sponsor bulletins and dedicate flowers by signing up on the chart found on the bulletin board.

When signing up for flowers, New Bethel Church asks that you provide the flowers for your special Sunday. The flowers can come from anywhere you choose, even your own garden. If you order flowers, the following florists have keys to the church and can deliver them directly:

Jackie and Daughter: Main Street, Kutztown, 610-683-7070Collene’s Crafts and Flowers: North White Oak St., Kutztown, 610-683-9330Weis-Kings Supermarket: State Street, Hamburg 610-562-3828 (ask for flower shop)

Church Cookbooks

Looking for a gift for that cook in your life? The Church Cookbook is the perfect answer. The price is now $12.00. See Karen Blitch for a copy.

Women of New Bethel Food Collection

From now until December 12, the Women of

New Bethel will be collecting food that might be used for Christmas or New Year's dinners. There is a box in the narthex for you to place your nonperishable food items. They will be delivered to Friend Inc. after the 12th. During the holidays, please help others that are less fortunate.

Instrumentalists and Singers Those interested in being instrumentalists for our Christmas Eve service, or who want to share their talents during the prelude, are asked to contact Sharon Seaman or Ruthann Lutz. Let us sing (and play) our praises to the newborn king!!!


6


Crosswalk and ULTRAS News

Things will happen for Crosswalk and ULTRAS in January. Stay tuned!

New Bethel Youth News

Sunday School News Sunday School planning meetings will be held the first Wednesday of every month

at 7:00. Anyone is welcome to attend and share their ideas. Children's choir will be singing the second Sunday of each month. The Christmas Program will be held on December 12th this year during the church

service. On December 26th, there will be a special group Sunday School with the theme of

“Wise Men.” There will be a lesson and a craft. Beginning January 2nd, the fellowship will be moved to the main Sunday School

room (chairs area) to better accommodate the growing popularity and allow people to spend more time getting to know each other.

Service projects are quickly approaching, they will be done in February and May. We are currently brainstorming for ideas.

New Preschool Language ClassesNew Bethel has offered space to our community for two special pre-school classes. On Friday morning Spanish is taught and Wednesday morning Pennsylvania Dutch. If you have a child that you'd like to enroll in one of these classes, or if you want more information, stop by during or before class time and speak to a teacher. Things get going at about 9:30AM. Also the Pennsylvania Dutch teacher is looking for native Dutch speakers to assist in her class. If you'd like to help our youngest generation to discover our rich local language and culture, see Pastor Dave or Tina Gammons.


7


New Youth and Community OpportunitiesSee Barb Dieter if interested.

Homework HelpNew Bethel Church is starting a “Homework Help” tutoring service. Students can call New Bethel Church and leave a message containing their name, telephone number, subject they need help with, current grade, and a time and date that is good for them. The student will be called as soon as a “tutor” is matched with them. Confidentiality will be respected as there are several rooms that may be used for privacy if needed. There will be two “tutors” on the church grounds at all time. The help sessions will be held at New Bethel Church or at PJ Place across from the church.

Want to be in a band?Do you Like Christian music? Do you play an instrument? Then New Bethel church wants You! New Bethel church is creating a bank where teens and kids “at heart” can play their instruments and create a celebration of God’s love, grace, and understanding. Friday nights will be a musical marvel at New Bethel church! You can rock from 6pm to 8pm at PJ Place. You do not have to be a member of New Bethel church to join or “hang-out”. If Friday doesn't work we'll find another night.Come have some fun, play some music, and enjoy the benefits God sets before us!

Bridging the GenerationsBridging Seniors and youngsters- growing across the generations. We will all get to know our congregation better while helping our youngster's writing and public speaking skills. We will match any senior a with an ULTRAS student. The ULTRAS student will interview the “senior” and get to know them over a several month period and then present the life story of their new friend during worship. Both the ULTRAS student and the senior will make a new friend, learn about a different generation and receive a small gift from the congregation.



8


PJ Place Update

The renovations to the schoolhouse to convert it to our new youth and community center PJ place are almost complete. We thank all who helped and especially Dan Walter who oversaw the project and did much of the work. The following is a list of items that are still needed that we hope to collect through donations. Please note that in the case of furniture, for instance, if we receive an over-abundance, some of the items will be donated to Goodwill or another appropriate charity. Please see Dan Walter about times to drop off larger donations. Small sized donations can be dropped off on the PJ Place or church porch.

Books/CDs/DVDs/VHS tapes - rated G to PG-13Lamp Shade

Our Wish list:

A Wii gaming system

Thanks in advance!!

Worship Service Cancellation InformationIf Sunday Worship is canceled due to bad weather, announcements will be broadcast on radio station WAEB- AM 790 and television station 69. Information will be posted on their websites as well. Please note that WEEU has suspended the reading of church closings on its broadcasts and WAEB does not guarantee that the closing will be read on the air. Your best bet is channel 69 (WFMZ) or its website, www.wfmz.com.



9


New Bethel Union ChurchJoint Board Meeting Minutes

Monday, Nov. 1,2010 7:00 PM New Bethel Church - Social Room

Attendance:UCC Pastor Blitch Lutheran

Betsey Nehf Wayne LongJanet Albright Delano Schucker

Tim Kleinsmith Rick Foulke

The meeting was called to order at 7:05 PM. Pastor Blitch opened with a prayer.The minutes were read and approved.

Treasurer's Report: Approved by T Kleinsmith/B Nehf.

New Business: A member of the community that teaches PA. Dutch and Spanish is looking for a place to have classes for preschool children. Pastor Dave suggested the use of the church. One class would meet on a Wednesday morning and the other on Thursday, with a total enrollment of about 12 students.

Federation: The subject of Federation has been discussed for over a year and has shown increased interest in the last few months. It has been decided to conduct a non binding straw poll at our congregational meeting in Dec. It was proposed that three options be on the straw poll: 1. Keeping things the way they are. 2. Looking into a Federation. 3. Combining the two congregations as either UCC or ELCA.

Outside Fence to Basement: It has been suggested that improvements are made to the railing for the outside stairway. Children are playing on the pipes and could fall into the stairway. Possible remedies are being discussed.

Continued…


10


Worship AssistantsDECEMBER 2010

December 5, 2O1OGreeters Brian & Riemke BondAcolyte Casey KuhnsLector Jon BondUshers Delano Schucker – Jeff Schucker

Joanne Waidelich – Sandra Wessner

December 12. 2O1O—Sunday School ProgramGreeters – Lectors – Ushers Members of the Sunday SchoolAcolyte Bradyn Lutz

December 19. 2O1OGreeters Ethan Bond & Richard BondAcolyte Allie SandersLector Richard BondUshers Richard Albright – Janet Albright

Jon Bond – Richard BondContinued…

New Bethel Union ChurchJoint Board Meeting Minutes

Wage Increases: The Parish Staff Relations Committee has recommended a 2.5% increase for Pastor Blitch, Organist and Secretary. The Joint Board voted to increase these wages with a motion by R Foulke/T Kleinsmith.The next meeting of the Board is Dec. 6, 2010. Meeting was adjourned at 8:10 PM.Respectfully submitted by

Respectfully submitted by Delano R. Schucker


11


Worship AssistantsDECEMBER 2010

December 24, 2O1O—Christmas Eve Service (Early Service)Greeters Members of the Sunday School Acolytes DJ Dieter – Megan WaidelichLector Leslie BowerUshers Noel Bond – Hannah Jeffery

Katie Schroeder – Allison Waidelich

December 24, 2O1O—Christmas Eve Service (Late Service)Greeters Christian Graff – Kayla Graff

Zachary Hoffman – Lynsey JefferyAcolytes Leah Dietrich – David SchuckerLector Linda FoulkeUshers Shelby Brett –Lisa Dietrich

Linda Foulke – Rick Foulke

December 26, 2O10Greeters Mark & Margaret SnyderAcolyte Reuban ZettlemoyerLector Rick FoulkeUshers Willis Henry – Dustin Hoffman

Woodrow Kamp – Tim Kleinsmith

Christmas Gift SuggestionsTo your enemy, forgivenessTo an opponent, tolerance

To a friend, your heartTo a customer, service

To all, charityTo every child, a good example

To yourself, respect.--Oren Arnold

new bethel church...2010/12/09 · new bethel church december 2010 2 new bethel church december...

Documents