This is the time of the year when we hear " Jingle Bells," Frosty the Snowman, " Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," and people are rushing to and fro, buying gifts, making family plans, deciding on Christmas dinner. It is a time when we are swept up in the rush of Christmas, but we should all pause to remember that Christmas is not really about those songs, presents, dinners. It is a time to recall, once again that Mary,
"brought forth her first born son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger."
And the angel said,
"Behold , I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be for all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."
Christmas is our time to celebrate the birth of Christ and to give thanks for the gift which we have received. As the carol says: "Come let us adore him, Christ the Lord."
To help us prepare for this joyous time we have the Sunday School Pageant on the Fourth Sunday in Advent, at the 10:30 AM Worship Service on December 19th. As always we may all participate in this service as we receive the body and blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Our Christmas Eve Service will be held on December 24th. This year we invite all members of our St. Peter's family and their friends and neighbors to come together at our 9:00 PM Service to celebrate Christmas. We will have one service this year so that our entire congregation can unite as one to sing the carols with our choir to the Glory of God and then partake in the Lord's Supper. What a wonderful way to usher in the Savior's birth.
For this one service we have tried to keep the essential elements of the 7:30 and the 11:00 PM services. We hope that we will all find it a happy and rewarding experience.
On behalf of the Worship and Music Committee we wish all of you a Merry Christmas, and a healthy, happy New Year. And as Tiny Tim said, "God bless us, everyone."
Let us look forward to the new year with hope and confidence.
Bill and Pat Shebey
Worship and Music Chairpersons
The meeting of December 13th was opened with a prayer from Pastor Richard Kiesling, our Vice Pastor.
The Call Committee went over the Congregation Mission profile briefly. A few changes were made and is ready to be sent to the Synod.
Under Communications:
-a thank you from the Girl Scout Troop 654 for the use of the building.
-a letter inviting the Stewardship Committee to a meeting conducted by
Rev. Scott Schantzenbach in New Brunswick on January 11th.
Pastor Dick reported visiting most of our shut-ins and giving them communion.
The Christian Education Christmas Pageant is all ready to go and the children are looking forward to doing so.
Evangelism changed the sign outside to let people know about our service on Christmas Eve.
Social Ministry has set the date of April 30th for the Spring Fling.
The Christmas Eve Service will be at 9:00 PM on the 24th.
The Property Committee had a fire inspection and many lights were replaced in the exit signs due to the inspection. Also, an estimate for a railing on the outside of the Mercer Avenue door was obtained. Work will proceed before the winter weather arrives.
Committee and Organization reports are due in the church office by Monday, January 3rd, to be included in the Bulletin of Annual Reports for the Annual Meeting on January 30th.
Our next Council meeting will commence at 7 PM due to Rev. Scott Schantzenbach joining us as well as the fact that we have the budget to go over.
Having heard all reports, we closed with the Lord's Prayer.
Our Alternative Worship Experience is offered each Sunday morning at 8:30 a.m. Our own Linda Nietman is leading this service . If your schedule prevents you from attending our 10:30 a.m. Traditional Service, or if you are looking for something a bit different, come see what our Alternative Worship Experience is all about. Communion will be celebrated the first Sunday of each month.
Office Hours
The church office is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8:30 A.M. - to 1:00 P.M. If the door is not unlocked, please ring the bell or knock.
Sunday School/Adult Forum
Christian Education is available for all adults every Sunday morning at 9:15 am in the Nursery Room with Pat Johnston leading the class. If you are here for the early "Alternative Worship Experience," or if you are bringing your children to Sunday School, stay; Christian Education is for you, too!
Our Sunday Church School program for all ages is held at 9:15 A.M. every Sunday morning!
Christmas Eve Service
Our Worship and Music Committee announces that this year there will be one service on Christmas Eve - at 9:00 pm. This will also be a Friendship Service. Ask relatives and friends to attend church with you.
The service will incorporate the format of our old
11:00 PM Carol Service with the inclusion of Holy Communion. This is an exciting new beginning, and appropriately, at Christmastime!
Christmas Tree Decorating and Caroling
On Sunday, December 19th we will all meet at the church at 3:00 PM to decorate our chancel trees and go caroling to our shut-in members and friends. Thank you to our Lutheran Men in Mission for for all their efforts purchasing and preparing the trees. For more information, see Linda Nietman who is coordinating this event. Please plan to be with us as the tradition continues.
ELCA World Hunger Appeal
Approximately 60% of the ELCA World Hunger budget is channeled through our key partners, Lutheran World Relief (LWR) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), for their relief and development work. ELCA members and congregations are strongly encouraged to give gifts to our own church's work. Gifts to the ELCA World Hunger Appeal are then used to support LWR, LWF, and other partners. Isn't the Christmas Season the perfect time?
Annual Meeting
Our annual Congregational Meeting will be held on Sunday, January 30th, immediately after the church service. All committee chairpersons and organization leaders need to be preparing annual reports to be included in the Bulletin of Annual Reports for the meeting. These reports are due in the church office no later than Monday, January 3rd. Your promptness will be greatly appreciated.
The Call Committee, consisting of Art Klatt, Evelyn Troy, Irene Plitz. Barbara Henriksen, Odessa Lemley and Patrick Salaman, has been diligently working to complete two documents that must be submitted to the New Jersey Synod of the ELCA in order for us to take the next steps in the call process. The Committee will make a presentation to Council at the December meeting and, with Council approval, the proposal will be presented to the Congregation for final approval at the Annual Meeting.
The Call Committee has five options to consider for the Church. They are:
1. Call either a full-time or part time minister
2. Call an Interim Minister for a period of one year
3. Share a minister with another church
4. Merge with another church
5. Close our doors forever and each of us go our separate ways to find a new church home
The impact of pursuing any one of the above options is monumental and it is one that only the Congregation should approve. To approve any of these options we need at least 25 members of the congregation present at the Annual Meeting. This meeting will definitely be one of the most historic moments in the history of St. Peter's and it is your obligation to be part of the decision. Please come out on Sunday, January 30th, 2005, and be a part of St. Peter's history.
If you have any other pertinent issue to bring before the congregation, resolutions will be accepted in writing by the Vice President of Council, Orvie Hoffman, on or before January 26, 2005. These items of business will be handled on the meeting agenda under "Other Business and Comments."
Conference on Congregational Ministries
The 16th Annual Conference on Congregational Ministries will be held on Saturday, March 12, 2005, at Steinert High School in Hamilton Township, NJ. This year's theme will be, "Raise up Leaders: Passing on the Faith." The keynote speaker will be The Rev. David W. Anderson, Director of Home and Congregational Renewal at the Youth and Family Institute in Bloomington, Mn. Mark your calendar now, and watch for announcements about registration materials.
Women of the ELCA
The Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (WELCA) invite all women to participate in their many activities. Meetings with a specific theme or activity are usually held at the church on the second Tuesday of each month at 7:30 PM. Our Katie's Quilters usually meet twice a month on a Wednesday morning at 10:00 and a Friday evening at 7:30. In June, 2004, our women delivered 110 quilts, plus health kits and used clothing to Lutheran World Relief center in Maryland. Food items for FISH, the local food bank, are continually collected and delivered. They assist our Lutheran Men in Mission at our Annual Dinner Theater. Thankoffering Sunday is held in November. Many other opportunities for fellowship and service are coming along. As you can see, our women are very active. To find out how you can join in, and to find out what's happening when, please talk to an active member, watch for announcements in the Sunday bulletin, or call the church office (908-754-0530)for further information and/or the name and phone number of the proper contact person. Our Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America look forward to welcoming you!
Lutheran Men in Mission
Our Lutheran Men in Mission (LMM) meet the first Tuesday of each month at 7;30 PM at the Church. All men of the church, young and senior alike, are welcome and encouraged to attend. We need you! If you need a ride, please see or call Ken Troy. LMM sponsored our Annual Picnic, a Philadelphia theater trip to see a son of the congregation perform, and Mother's Day refreshments and carnations. They organize and cook for our Annual Dinner Theater. Work days at the church are also scheduled when a need arises. Many other opportunities for fellowship and service are coming along. As with the Women's Group, to find out how you can join in, and to find out what's happening when, please talk to an active member, watch for announcements in the Sunday bulletin, or call the church office (908-754-0530)for further information and/or the name and phone number of the proper contact person. Our Lutheran Men in Mission look forward to welcoming you!
Ministry to Persons Without Homes
It seems like only yesterday that we were all meeting to decide if we wanted to pursue a homeless ministry in our congregation. Now it is almost fifteen years later and we have had to makes another important decision. The regular volunteers who have been committed to this program all felt that it was physically too demanding. Our members are dwindling and it gets harder and harder to fill all the volunteer spots, even with minimum numbers, and even with people doubling up. Loss of members who still help us out and future losses attributed to moving also entered into the decision. I also felt that it was time to give up the responsibilities of being coordinator. So, after much discussion, the committee voted unanimously to disband the ministry in our church.
As I look back over all of these years, I think of all the good that we did and we are very proud of the differences that we have made in many people's lives. As volunteers we received as much as we gave to others who needed our caring spirit. Our guests could count on us and the other churches in the program to fulfill their basic needs so they could plan how they would approach their futures. We smile when we recount some of the memorable stories. Many lives have been touched by us.
Many on the committee feel that they still want to help with the FISH Hospitality Program. I have contacted Sarah Coppola, the coordinator at Trinity Reformed Church, in North Plainfield. She would be happy to have volunteers, so I am compiling a list of names and phone numbers to give her. If you want to help, please let me know what you want to do so I can add your name to the list. FISH Hospitality Program is always looking for volunteers for their Floating Volunteer List. You can contact them directly at 732-968-5957.
A heartfelt thank you goes to each and every one of you at St. Peter's who has supported this ministry in some way. I hope that our lives are better because we have helped others. When we began this ministry we wondered how long it would be needed. Unfortunately, it still is!
Educacion Popular en Salud (EPES) was born in 1982 as a project of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Chile and formed its first health promotion groups in the poor neighborhoods of Santiago and Concepcion in the depths of the dictatorship.
Over the past two decades, EPES has grown from a small emergency-response team to an innovative force in championing health care for the poor through the training and organized participation of the people themselves.
EPES promotes a broad view of health that includes personal dignity and social and economic well-being, with an emphasis on confronting health problems by understanding the underlying conditions that cause them. Local residents (generally women) define community problems and are the main actors in the search for solutions.
The cornerstone of EPES approach is to train teams of health promoters rather than individuals. Currently, 100 health promoters belonging to 12 permanent teams in five shanty towns tackle issues such as breast cancer, domestic violence, sexual and reproductive rights, women's sexual health, AIDS, teen sexuality, mental health, acute respiratory infections and environmental pollution.
Chile's return to elected rule and changing social trends prompted EPES to reexamine its educational and institutional models. As a result, in 2002, EPES left its home in the Lutheran church to become an independent foundation, while maintaining close links. In doing so, EPES also reaffirmed its commitment to the construction of long-term relationships.
The challenge ahead is to assure long-term financial support, because, in the words of one EPES supporter,"health promotion EPES-style is not just a project or an intervention, or even a strategy. It's a way of life."
(Taken from "Building Resistencia" - 2003)
Thank you, St. Peter's for your faithful support these 24 years. A New Chart will be made up for 2005 for you to sponsor a friend or family member, in honor of a special occasion, or in memory of a loved one.
