Midweek Newsletter: Wednesday, November 29th, 2023.

 

NARTHEX NEWS

WEEKLY EDITION

NOVEMBER 29^th, 2023

 

FROM THE NEWS DESK

OF

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

LEBANON, INDIANA

128 E. Main St. ~ Lebanon, IN 46052~ (765)482-5959

https://www.lebanonfpc.org ~ office@lebanonfpc.org

 

 

In the midweek newsletter this week:

~ Reminders & Celebrations

~ Advent Season: with notes on theme, music, candle lighting, and more

~ Poinsettia Info

~ Gourmet Seekers Info and Time for Tea Tearoom Info          

~ Gretel’s Days Off

~ PPM Christmas Program!

~ Open House: Nativities from Around the Globe

~ Toy Drive

~ Weekly Devotional/ Prayer Room

Reminders:

Live & Learn: There is Live & Learn this Saturday in the Church Library, meeting at 11am.

Liturgist for December is George Piper. Elder for December is Dennis Brannon.

Communion Sunday this Sunday.

There is a new “These Days” devotional available on the table in the lobby/hallway.

There has been a black umbrella in the breezeway. Does it belong to any of you? If so, please either come and claim it or contact the office for clarification. Thank you.

The Longest Night, A Service of Compassion & Peace, will be held Thursday, December 21^st at 7pm in the FPC sanctuary.

Celebrations: Happy birthday to a really great crew. We love each one of you. We hope your year is exciting and new, and that you remember God loves you!

Happy Birthday to: Mary Piper, 12/2; and Lisa Erwin, 12/5!

Advent Season:

Advent Theme for Nov. 26^th:

The theme for Advent this year is “Joy to the World”/ Nations in the Nativity. Each Sunday in Advent this year, you will get to travel around the world – no passport required! Twenty-one different countries are assigned to each pew. Each week you can visit a different country. Information about the countries will be posted on the pews. Come, worship, learn and grow together. No jet-lag, no expensive plane fare, no traffic as you move from country to country, no over-booked hotels – Just friends, fellowship, and Godly worship. Come hear how the goodness and love of God travels the globe and spans the ages of time.

 

Music Notes:

As said, our theme  this year for advent will be “Joy to the World”.  Will you help us make a joyful noise? This Advent season we will enjoy music shared by special ensembles, solos, duets, etc. Thank you to those contributing time and talent to this important part of the Advent celebration. If you are still interested in making a musical contribution to the upcoming Sunday services, please contact Lisa Hutcheson ASAP:  lisahutcheson@yahoo.com

Advent Candle Lighting!

Thank you for the volunteers. This week’s candle lighting will be done by Bess Wilkes and Margi McConnaha.

 

This Sunday’s theme is Rome: This Sunday, we will travel to Persia. Bess Wilkes will provide cookies from Rome. The recipe for this sweet treat will be included on a special bulletin insert. (These are going to be delicious! Make sure you try some and take the recipe home!)

Poinsettias Info: 

If you have not paid for your poinsettia order, you may do so at any time. It is $17 per plant. Checks should be made out to the church with “Poinsettia” in the memo line.

Want to dedicate your flower to someone? Leave the information with Gretel in the office and she will see that it gets into the bulletin. There is also a sign-up sheet for dedications on the hallway bulletin board. Thank you.

Gourmet Seekers: The Gourmet Seekers Group will go to Parky’s Smokehouse in Lebanon on Friday, Dec. 1^st. There is a reservation for noon that day. Meet at the church at 11:30 or at the restaurant at noon. You are welcome and invited to attend the PPM Christmas Concert Dress Rehearsal at 10 am that morning. The timing of the lunch has been arranged to give you enough time to do both.

Time for Tea Tearoom Info:

The Time for Tea lunch group will be visiting a “Tearoom” on Thursday, Dec. 7^th, meeting at the church at 12:45 pm, returning to church at 3:30. The tearoom is in Clayton, IN – “Ms. B’s Teas”. If you have questions about this event, please contact Nancy Turner at: 317-443-7277 or naturner241@yahoo.com 

 

Gretel’s Days Off: In December, Gretel will be taking some days off: December 21^st, as well as December 25^th through December 29^th. Unless otherwise decided, the office will also be closed during that time. You can reach the church anytime via email or leave a message on the office phone. Thank you for your support and patience during her absence.

PPM Christmas Program!

The Preschoolers will hold their special Christmas Concert on December 1^st and 3^rd. Friday, December 1^st, is their dress rehearsal. The program will begin at 10 am. The church is invited to this, and Lori Rowe, PPM Director, encourages you to come out. The students are adorable, and they and their teachers work very hard preparing for this special event. Sunday, December 3^rd at 5:30 pm, is their program for the PPM parents and families only.

 

Open house: Nativities from Around the Globe! You are invited   to an open house  at the Trinity Lutheran Church on Dec. 2^nd and 3^rd from 1-3 pm. This open house will feature a collection of over 75 different nativity sets from around the globe. Considering the theme of FPC’s Advent season this year, this open house seems extremely timely! Trinity Lutheran is located at 2625 Elm Swamp Rd, Lebanon.

Toy Drive! FPC will be participating in the Myrtle Bailey Boone County Toy Drive this year. Boxes will be in the lobby for collection beginning this week. The ages: infants through age 18. Suggested items:

For infant – diapers, wipes, shampoo/conditioner, diaper bags; for teens: fairy lights, cosmetics, perfume/cologne, mirrors, wallets.

For any age: books, cold weather gear, toys, games, sports equipment, hygiene items, school supplies.

This is the 47^th annual Myrtle Baily Toy Drive for Boone County. Thank you for your support.

Weekly Devotional: Holiday Wrapping

“. . . and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes . . .” (Luke 2:7)

Now that the Thanksgiving holiday has passed, Christmas décor/ foods/ gift suggestions have arrived in full force in the stores. (In some places it was out as early as October!) Among the glitter and glamor offered to the public for the holiday season is often a box or two of wrapping paper selections. Some rolls are wide, some are thinner. Some wrapping paper is recyclable. (Did not know this? Check labels because yes there is some paper, but not all, that can be recycled after use). There is everything from reindeer, to Santa, to candy canes, to poinsettias, to Christmas villages, to elves, to angels and everything in between. Perhaps you have your own box of wrapping paper selections. To be honest, mine spend the year leaning up in a corner of my closet, awaiting the holiday season to be brought out and examined according to which kind best fits which gift. (Unless I have run out of birthday themed paper and am desperate to see which, if any, can be safely used as multi-purpose paper! Anyone else do this?)

Growing up, however, I recall my mother had a box of holiday wrapping paper. I don’t remember where she stored it during the year but I do remember when she brought it out. She would set up a card table in a spare room, complete with her “holiday tool kit” – tape, scissors, ribbon, gift tags, and – of course – the wrapping paper. At some point in the season, usually as the date grew closer to Christmas Day, she would close the door to this room and disappear inside. We all knew that space was now off-limits for anyone but her. My mother took great care in the wrapping of packages and the presentation of gifts. One of the favorite parts of Christmas for me and my sisters in our childhood, and then for my children when I adopted the tradition for my family, was seeing what the living room would look like on Christmas morning with Mom’s display of gifts. At least one of my children learned well from her grandmother and she, too, takes great care in the wrapping and presentation of gifts.

What do the trappings of Christmas look like according to the story of the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ? The King of kings wrapped in humility. Divinity wrapped in humanity. Royalty wrapped in poverty. Hope and Promise wrapped in the pain and suffering of the cross. New Life wrapped in grave clothes. The resurrection wrapped in the crucifixion. Eternity with the Lord wrapped in faith in the saving work of Jesus Christ on the cross.  

            Do you know loneliness? Let it be wrapped in the promise of Jesus Christ to never leave or forsake you. (Hebrews 13:5,6) Do you know pain or sorrow? Let it be wrapped in the peace promised by Jesus Christ. ( John 14:27) Do you need wisdom? It is wrapped in truth, given by the Holy Spirit. (John 16:13) Do you need direction and guidance? It is wrapped in trust in the Lord. (Proverbs 3:5,6)

            My mother loves to give. It lifts her heart to spend time, resources, and energy to give to others. I will forever cherish what Christmas looked like for me growing up: it was a presentation of love. My Heavenly Father also loves to give. It lifts His heart to spend all of Time and Heaven’s resources to give to us. He gave His utmost to give us eternal life. The birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the ultimate presentation of love: Love wrapped in the gift of Jesus Christ. Hallelujah!

 

Prayer Room:

Prayer is important to the body of First Presbyterian Church. Are you interested in joining the prayer chain? Would you like to learn more about the role of prayer in our lives? Please contact Phyllis Duff, Prayer Coordinator, at (765)482-1485/ raduff2@att.net.

The following prayer is taken from the Christmas hymn “Away in a Manger”, author of the lyrics is anonymous. The Presbyterian hymnal “Glory to God” suggests that this hymn originated among Pennsylvanian Lutherans in the late 19^th century.

Dear Heavenly Father, 

“Away in a manger, no crib for his bed, the little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head. The stars in the bright sky looked down where he lay, the little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay.

Be near me, Lord Jesus; I ask thee to stay close by me forever and love me, I pray. Bless all the dear children in thy tender care, and fit us for heaven to live with thee there.” Amen.