the december 2011 church mouse

The Church Mouse Monthly newsletter for the members & friends of Community Congregational Church of Elburn

The Pastor’s Page…. I don’t watch much TV but I did spy one commercial recently that was capti-

vating. It was simply a series of photos of babies sleeping, one at a time, with the

music playing in the background, ―Silent night, holy night … sleep in heavenly

peace.‖ I think the ad was to promote disposable diapers, but what I got out of it was

an image of peace.

I am reminded of the story of two ranchers, one who raised cat-

tle and one who raised sheep. Each one feared the other. The sheep

owner carried an orphan lamb, of which there were many each spring,

to the neighbor cattle rancher, and said, ―I've got so many orphan

lambs, I can’t raise them all. Will you help? If you would raise this

lamb on a bottle, it would really be a favor.‖

The cattle rancher could not resist the charm of the growing lamb. He soon

came to know that the sheep owner could be trusted. Finally, peace came. The peace

lamb made the difference.

If we ever needed to understand why God chose to incarnate Godself in the

form of a human baby, we can now appreciate why: it is a human being in its most

vulnerable state that evokes something tender and open in us. It is a baby, even an

animal baby, that seems to melt in us all the defenses and rebuttals and resistances.

God sent Jesus, a peace child, that we humans might learn to trust God. God

sent a peace lamb who would become the Prince of Peace, that we might hear and

understand the better way, and walk in the light of God’s love through Him.

This is why it is important that we as believers determine to make the holiday

season into a holy season, by focusing on the baby in the manger more than the shop-

ping lines and tinsel, more even than the grand Christmas dinner with all the relatives

on hand. The world desperately needs peace, our nation needs peace, our communi-

ties need peace and each of us desperately needs peace. Holiday songs and sayings

talk about peace but none shows the way to that peace – if peace could be achieved

simply by human effort, it would have been accomplished long, long ago. Come to

the manger and drink of true peace, the peace that passes understanding: Advent wor-

ship every Sunday, 10:30 a.m. and Christmas Eve Worship, 7:00 p.m. May you have

a blessed, peace-filled Christmas!

“And He shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” – Isaiah 9:6c

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” - Jesus in John 14:27

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Michelle

December 2011

Church Office Hours:

Monday through Friday

9:00 am to 1:00 pm.

Phone: (630) 365-6544

[email protected]

INTERIM PASTOR

Rev. Michelle Prentice-Leslie

MODERATOR

Sharon Lackey

VICE-MODERATOR

Mary Royer

TREASURER

Tammy Eckstrom

FINANCIAL SECRETARY

Cindy Doede

CHURCH CLERK

Karen Baston

MINISTRY ASSISTANT

Linda Miller

+++

Please use our street address when

corresponding with the church:

100 E. Shannon Street

Elburn, IL 60119

The Post Office will forward mail

to us for about 18 months.

+++

Our website is constantly

being updated. Check it out!

www.ccc-elburn.org

Happy

Birthday

December 2011 Community Congregational Church page 2

Musings from the Moderator… December for me is dominated by Christmas. There is Christmas gift giving, Christmas programs,

Christmas cookies, Christmas music, Christmas worship and Christmas decorations. I'm sure this hap-

pens to everyone. Sometimes we are overwhelmed thinking of what we want to do for Christmas and

disappointed when we think of what we can actually do. That is the great thing about being a part of this church

family. By working together, we can accomplish so much more to help our community and those less fortunate. We

can do this not only during the Christmas season but all year long in our tithes and offerings. Please give generously

in December and all through the year.

See you in worship!

Your Friend in Christ, Sharon Lackey Moderator

Just from Jessie… We’ve had a great year so far with Youth Group and

our Sunday morning study group. We’ve served the

church as ushers and worship assistants, as well as done

outreach at Feed My Starving Children. Here’s what’s to come!

DECEMBER: 12/7 FMSC, 6:30-8:30pm

12/11 Usher in church (arrive by 10:15am)

12/21 ALL YOUTH-Christmas Party w/ Gift Exchange

JANUARY: 1/4 FMSC, 6:30-8:30

Begin preparing for 30-Hour Famine!

FEBRUARY: 2/8 FMSC, 6:30-8:30pm

2/11 30-Hour Famine Begins/Sleepover @ Jessie’s

MARCH: 3/7 Sr Hi-COURAGE Begins

3/18 Jr Hi-COURAGE Begins

Bowling Event-TBD

APRIL: 4/13-14 GAME DAY YOUTH CONFERENCE!!

Begin fundraising for mission trip!

MAY: 5/2 Sr.Hi-MADE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE Begins

5/20 Jr. Hi-MADE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE Begins

JUNE: 6/18-22 RADIUS MISSION CAMP, AURORA!!!

Santa’s Sleigh -Adopt A Family

Once again our church will participate in the Con-

ley Outreach project to help some local families

have a brighter Christmas, despite tight financial

circumstances. This year we are sponsoring two

families: The first family has two girls ages 10 and

12. The second family has a boy 18 and two girls

ages 11 & 15. There are still a few items on the

sleigh in the Narthex that have yet to be purchased

and we request your help in filling this need. Also

needed are gift cards for groceries from area super-

markets. Please bring unwrapped gifts—with gift

receipts—to church by December 7. If you would

care to give a check to help purchase remaining

gifts or gift cards, make the check out to the church.

Thank you for helping make Christmas just a lit-

tle nicer for some local families.

Sunday School News………from Karen Diesel

First of all, thank you to Theresa Biddle who has

filled in for me while I was recovering. For Sunday

School, we are preparing for the children’s Christ-

mas program on Sunday, December 18 during the

worship service. It is such a blessing to work with our chil-

dren, who are so receptive to the good news of Jesus and

how He works in our lives. And thank you to the congrega-

tion for your warm support of our children when they perform

in worship. They bring us such joy!

PLEASE CALL!!

If you are in the hospital and would like a visit from Pastor Michelle, call the church office at 630.365-6544 or Pastor Michelle herself at (630) 267-7555. Re-member, because of the new privacy laws, we do not always know when you are hospitalized. PLEASE let us know or have someone call for you.


Mitten Line The Mission and Outreach Ministry has once again strung its Mitten Line on the railing in the Narthex and the clothesline is filling up fast! Mittens, scarves, hats, and warm socks that are donated will be taken to Laz-arus House for distribution to their clients. Remember that they serve not only women and children, but many men, so the need for men-size win-ter gloves, hats, socks and scarves is especially great. Thank you for bringing your donated items during No-vember. Items will then be delivered to Lazarus house for December distribution.

Please address all mail to the church

using our street address:

100 E. Shannon Street

Elburn, IL 60119

CROP Walk Thank you to everyone who supported the

2011 CROP Hunger Walk on October 16.

Lots of people ask about just how the

money is used around the world. Here is

a link to a short video that will warm

your heart and show where your generous donations

are used:

ChurchWorldService.org/women&water

HELP

HUNGER

Elburn Christmas Stroll The Elburn Christmas Stroll will take place on Friday, December 2 from 5-8p. Many activities are available for families to enjoy as they make their way through Elburn, in-cluding one here at church! Once again we will host a cookie decorating and craft station for children in Schneider Hall and refreshments for all. The Crafty Crafters will have a table of their hand-made items for early Christmas shoppers. A new feature to the Stroll is a Holiday Bazaar at the Elburn Community Center, featuring stained glass jewelry & sun-catchers by our own Lisa LeMaire. She will also exhibit on Dec. 3, from 8a-3p at John Shields Elementary School, 85 Main Street, Sugar Grove.


Thank You Everyone! We have so much to be thankful for here at

Community Church! First of all, for everyone

who attended and helped to host the fellow-

ship time after our Thanksgiving Eve service. We had over

75 people from seven local churches in attendance! And

thank you Nancy Zak and Elma Wilmath for the festive

flower arrangements for the altar that night.

The Hanging of the Greens and the assembly of the

Advent Boxes could not have been accomplished without

the energy and enthusiasm of several dozen people. Our

church looks lovely and the Advent boxes will bring cheer

to our homebound friends.

Happy Birthday

Best wishes to these members and friends who are celebrating December birthdays.

December 3 Norm Bergquist December 4 Steve LeMaire December 5 Brian Thielgaard December 9 Jan Currier December 11 Dennis Lemon December 15 Rachel Rae Hukle December 17 Rowland Bateman, Carolyn Hughes December 19 Jon Pangborn December 21 Fred Miller December 22 Katie Holloman December 23 Larry Bergquist, Harry Krauspe December 26 Betty Weston

Happy Anniversary

Congratulations to these celebrating December wedding anniversaries:

December 16 Jim & Elma Wilmath 44 years December 29 Row & Stevie Bateman 49 years

If you know of birthdays or anniversaries that are missing from the calendar or listed incorrectly, please call the office so they may be added/corrected. Thank you.

Theatre Opportunity

Albright Theatre, 100 N. Island Avenue, Bata-

via, presents “The Best Christmas Pageant Ev-

er.” This is the story of how a family of ―mean‖ kids learns

about the true meaning of Christmas through

one church’s presentation of their Christmas

pageant. Ministry Assistant Linda Miller is

cast in the role of Rev. Hopkins. Tickets are

$10 for adults, $7 for students and seniors.

Performances are Dec. 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18.

Fri. 7:30p, Sat. 2:30p & 7:30p, Sun. 2:30p Rated G

Reservations are highly recommended: 630-406-8838

Women’s Fellowship!

All women of the church are welcome to attend the next meeting of the Wom-en’s Fellowship Friday, December 9 at 1:00pm in Schneider Hall. Bring a friend! This isn’t an actu-al “church” meeting, just a gathering of friends for coffee, treats, laughter and conversation. There’s always a seat for you around the table. Because we all enjoyed the healthier salad menu from past months, everyone is encouraged to bring some sort of soup or salad or healthy side dish: fruit, veggies, hearty bread, light dessert. We have had up to 14 people around the table, so plan accordingly and join in the fun and fellow-ship!


A Blessed Christmas To All from the staff at CCC

Taking Down of the Greens Isn’t it Newton’s Law that states: “What goes up must come down?” That’s true, not just in the world of science, but here at CCC, too. We’ve set aside Saturday, January 7at 9:00am for the task of UN-decorating the church. This always goes faster than the decorating, so if you can give us just an hour of your time, we’d re-ally appreciate it. Sign up sheet is in the Narthex.

Stephanie

Jesús

Pastor Michelle

Jessie

Linda

AMEN Group The AMEN Group continues to meet

faithfully on the second Tuesday of

each month (note the new day) at 6pm in

the Nursery. The group meets for an

hour and continues to pray for the special needs of

individuals, our church, the community, and the

world. It’s a big job! Won’t you come and add your

voice and heart to the good works of this group? All

are welcome.

Ushering Teams for December

December 4—Team #4 Captain: Pangborn Family

December 11—Team #5 Captain: Jessie & Youth Group

December 18—Team #1 Captain: Karen Baston

December 24—Team #2 Captain: Kurth Family

December 25— Worship with Hope Anglican Church 5p


December 4 ~ Second Sunday of Advent 9:00 a.m. Sunday School

9:20 a.m. Bible Study

10:30 a.m. Worship with Holy Communion

11:30 a.m. Fellowship

5:00 p.m. Hope Anglican Worship Service

December 11 ~ Third Sunday of Advent 9:00 a.m. Sunday School


10:30 a.m. Worship


3-5 p.m. Open House at Pastor Michelle’s house


December 18 ~ Fourth Sunday of Advent 9:00 a.m. Sunday School


10:30 a.m. Worship; Sunday School Christmas Program



December 24 ~ Christmas Eve

7:00 p.m. Worship with special music and candlelight

December 25 ~ Christmas Day

NO Sunday School or 10:30 a.m. worship. All are encour-

aged to worship at 5:00 p.m. with Hope Anglican Church.

January 1 ~ First Sunday after Christmas 9:00 a.m. NO Sunday School


10:30 a.m. Worship with Reverse Offering



WARNING : ADVENT VIRUS Be on the alert for symptoms of inner Hope,

Peace, Joy and Love. The hearts of a great many

have already been exposed to this virus and it is

possible that people everywhere could come down

with it in epidemic proportions. This could pose a

serious threat to what has, up to now, been a fairly

stable condition of conflict in the world.

Here are some signs and symptoms of the

Advent Virus: A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather

than on fears based on past experiences

An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment

A loss of interest in judging other people

A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of oth-

ers

A loss of interest in conflict

A loss of the ability to worry. (This is a very seri-

ous symptom.)

Frequent, overwhelming episodes of appreciation.

Contented feelings of connectedness with others

and nature

Frequent attacks of smiling

An increasing tendency to let things happen rather

than make them happen

An increased susceptibility to the love extended by

others as well as an uncontrollable urge to extend it

Please send this warning to all your friends. This virus

can and has affected many systems. Some systems

have been completely cleaned out because of it.

~ from an anonymous email

Lazarus House Dinner With the weather getting cold, more clients

at Lazarus House are more grateful than ever for

the hot meals provided by local churches and oth-

er organizations. Our church provides an evening meal on the

fifth Friday of whatever months have a fifth Friday.

The next opportunity to help with a fifth Friday meal is

December 30. Remember, Lazarus House usually has quite a

stockpile of frozen food (meat, vegetables, etc.) as well as canned

items and bottled sauces on hand that you can use. Just give them

a call at your convenience (630-587-2144) and see what’s availa-

ble. Then plan your meal around what they have on hand. You

can even pick up the items way ahead of time and store them in

the church kitchen. Thank you for helping the guests at Lazarus

House and representing our church in this vital outreach effort.

CHAMBER PORK CHOP DINNER

The Elburn Chamber of Commerce will host its annu-

al pork chop fundraiser Tuesday, December 13 from

5-7pm. Tickets are $12 each and the dinner is available at Lion’s

Park—PICK UP ONLY. Meal consists of 2 pork chops, baked

beans, coleslaw, dinner roll and applesauce. As a member of the

Chamber, we have tickets available in the church office.

December 2011 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2-4p Knitting

6:30p Girl Scouts

7p Choir

2

5-8p Elburn

Christmas

Stroll

(see page 3)

3

9a Scouts

4

Team 4 ushers

9a Sunday School

9:20a Bible Study

10:30a Worship with

Holy Communion

11:30a Fellowship

5p Hope Anglican

5

6

9a Crafty Crafters

7p Ministry Mtg.

(see note above)

7:30p Scouts

7

11a Seniors Bible

Study at Meadows

4p Midweek Bible

Class

5:15p Confirmation

6:30p Feed My

Starving Children

8

2-4p Knitting

7p Church Council

9

1p Women’s

Fellowship in

Schneider Hall

10

9a Scouts

11

Team 5 ushers

9a Sunday School

9:20a Bible Study

10:30a Worship

11:30a Fellowship

3-5p P. Michelle’s

Open House

5p Hope Anglican

12

7-8p Tiger Scouts

13

9a Crafty Crafters

5-7p Chamber Pork

Chop Dinner

(see page 6)

6p AMEN

Group

7:30p Scouts

14

11a Seniors Bible

Study at Meadows

4p Midweek Bible

Class

5:15p Confirmation

6p Youth Group

15 2-4p Knitting

6p Girl Scouts

7p Choir

7p Scout Pack 107

16

17

18 Team 1 ushers

9a Sunday School

9:20a Bible Study

10:30a Worship –SS

Christmas Program

11:30a Fellowship

5p Hope Anglican

19 20 9a Crafty Crafters

7:30p Scouts

21

11a Seniors Bible

Study at Meadows

4p Midweek Bible

Class

5:15p NO Confirma-

tion Class

6p Youth Group

22 2-4p Knitting

MOUSE

Deadline

23

5:30p Den 11

24

CHRISTMAS EVE

7p Worship

Team 2 ushers

25

CHRISTMAS DAY

No Sunday School

or Worship Service.

Please join Hope at

5:00 p.m.

26

7-8p Tiger Scouts

27

9a Crafty Crafters

7:30p Scouts

28

11a Seniors Bible

Study at Meadows

4p Midweek Bible

Class

5:15p NO Confirma-

tion Class

6p Youth Group

29 2-4p Knitting

30 6p Lazarus House

Dinner

31 NEW YEAR’S EVE

NOTE: All committee and board reports are due in the church office by

January 3 for the Annual Report. The Annual Meeting will be

held on January 15 after worship and all are encouraged to at-

tend. ALSO: In place of the ministry meeting on Dec. 6, mem-

bers are encouraged to attend a special meeting at the village hall

concerning a proposed new business only a block from the church.

Community Congregational Church 100 E. Shannon Street Elburn, Illinois 60119

December 2011

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

God is still speaking,

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the december 2011 church mouse

Documents

peace lamb

prince of peace

heavenly peace

peace child

c peace

image of peace

drink of true peace

human baby