Midweek Newsletter: Wednesday, December 13th, 2023.

 

NARTHEX NEWS

WEEKLY EDITION

December 13^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

~ The Gift of Treats

~ Christmas in the Coffee Corner

~ You Are A Gift To Us!

~ Toy Drive – last week!

~ Hanukkah Around the World

~ Weekly Devotional & Prayer Room

Reminders:

It’s national Hot Cocoa Day today! Grab yourself a cup of hot chocolate, and, while you savor its goodness, reflect on God’s goodness in your life.

Tonight in the church building there is a PPM Family Event: This information was shared in previous announcements with various groups from the church who have been using the church for practices during Advent season. I am reminding you here again that the church will be in use for PPM from 5:30-8:30 this evening. Thank you.

Live & Learn: There is Live & Learn this Saturday in the Church Library, meeting at 11:30 am.

There will be a bell choir practice on Dec. 18. Further questions or concerns? Please contact Kendra Whipkey.

Gretel’s Day Off/Church Office Closed: Gretel will not be in the office on Thursday, Dec. 21^st. If there is some way Gretel can assist you, please contact her before this date. She will be back in the office on Friday, Dec. 22^nd.

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

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

Celebrations: Happy celebrations 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 Anniversary to: John & Arlene Quinn, 12/14! Dennis & Teresa Brannon, 12/18; Jerry & Nancy Jones, 12/20; Steve & Lynna Shaw, 12/20!

Happy Birthday to: Nancy Williams, 12/14; Emily Weddington, 12/15; Scot Hutcheson, 12/16; Nancy Kincaid, 12/16!

 

Advent Season:

Advent Theme for Dec. 10th:

The theme for Advent this year is “Joy to the World”/ Nations in the Nativity. We have been traveling around the world this Advent season: starting with Persia, then Rome. Last week we went to Egypt. Are you enjoying the banners and signs on the pews, sharing information about different countries? Have you been visiting a different pew each week to learn about different parts of the world? Come join us in the Advent celebration. We pray you find joy and peace as you worship and fellowship here at FPC.

 

Music Notes: There have been wonderful musicians sharing their talents with us this Advent! Come this Sunday and worship the Lord through the beautiful presentation of music by talented artists, including The Advent Accapellas, Presbyterian Ringers, and more.

Advent Candle Lighting!

Thank you to all our volunteers. This week’s candle lighting will be done by the Nunley family.

 

This Sunday’s theme is Israel: This Sunday, we will travel to Israel. Bess Wilkes will share the treat this Sunday. It will be as delicious as the other scrumptious treats we have had this Advent season – so be sure to try it and take the recipe (bulletin insert) home to make it yourself!

The Gift of Treats: There will be special treats this week, in addition to the sweet from Israel which Bess will be sharing. Leanna Woody is a long-time friend of FPC. She loves you all dearly and has missed you very much. She is so grateful for all the love you have shared with her through calls and cards, well wishes and prayers and wanted to do a little something to thank you. She sent special treats to you for this Sunday’s fellowship. Please enjoy them and join me in thanking God for this precious FPC friend.  

Christmas in the Coffee Corner! Christmas came to the coffee corner here at FPC! Yummy coffee flavors are available, just in time for the holidays. Come on Saturdays to Live & Learn, Sunday morning for worship and fellowship, or come for a visit to Je or the church office staff. Ask us about our Christmas coffee and we will fix you a hot cup of coffee from your favorite of the following selection: Red Velvet Latte, Chocolate Mocha, Polar Peppermint (with chocolate!), Pumpkin Spice, and Maple Pecan.

You Are A Gift To Us! Each of you are a gift to those of us who work in the church. However, it is very hard to wrap an entire building! So, in lieu of that, the office doors for Pastor Je and the church office have been gift wrapped, complete with a simple Christmas message from us to you. We love you and we thank you for your generosity, your support, your compassion, your care, and your concern. May God bless you and keep you and make His face to shine upon you. May you experience His peace, joy, hope, and love this holiday season and throughout the year.

Toy Drive! Last week for Toy Drive Collection! ! The DEADLINE IS DECEMBER 17!  The Myrtle Bailey Boone County Toy Drive is in its 47^th year of operation, and we are thrilled to be a part of it. There is a large, wrapped box in the lobby – and I am so excited to tell you it is filling up! But don’t stop now! I happen to know for a fact that there is another big box waiting in the wings. We would love to need to pull it out too! Drop off your gifts during Preschool and Church business office hours (open Monday through Friday until 5). Come to Live & Learn on Saturday mornings, grab a little lunch with friends, learn about the Bible from our fun and knowledgeable Pastor Je, and bring your gifts to drop in the gift box. Or come on Sunday morning, worship with the FPC family and bring your gifts along – the gift of your presence as well as the presents of toys and game for kids.

Gifts are for 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.

Shop on, folks, and have fun giving!

Hanukkah Around the World:

FPC has been celebrating Advent by traveling around the world. When I learned of different Hanukkah traditions around the world, I thought I’d share the interesting information with you. Hanukkah for 2023 started the evening of Dec. 7^th and runs through Dec. 15^th. Hanukkah is an important holiday for those of the Jewish faith. While there are some aspects of observing Hanukkah which are the same or very similar for many, like lighting the Hanukkah Menorah, some places celebrate the holiday with their own traditions. I share a few of them here:

Yemenite and North African Jews: The Hebrew Festival of the Daughters (“Chag HaBanot”) is a celebration of women observed on the seventh night of Hanukkah. This celebration is still preserved by Tunisian Jewish communities today. It is a night filled with singing, dancing, lighting the menorah, and commemorating brave Jewish heroines.

Bukharan Jews: One of the oldest diaspora groups, they celebrate Hanukkah with a flat menorah which uses oil and cotton wicks and prayers set to musical tunes called “shashmaqam”, or “six notes”.

Ethiopian Jews: For more than two thousand years, these Jews lived isolated and disconnected from other Jewish communities, they only recently learned of the story of Hanukkah. One of their traditions is to eat a spicy chicken dish called “doro wat”, served with a holiday bread called “dabo”.

Columbian Jews: One Jewish community in Columbia created a new tradition in which they substitute the traditional Hanukkah dish of potato latkes with fried plantains.

Italian Jews: Jews in Italy serve a special Hanukkah desert called “precipizi”: fried balls of dough lightly sweetened, infused with olive oil, fried and then dipped in honey.

Hungarian Jews: Budapest enjoys large celebrations for the Festival of Lights. For eight whole days, people celebrate with concerts, theatrical performances and special fried foods.

Would you like to learn more about Hanukkah and its various traditions? Visit Chosen People’s website: www.chosenpeople.com (Information here gathered from the December 2022 issue of The Chosen People’s newsletter: The Light of the World is Born.)

Weekly Devotional: Little Surprises

One morning recently I was standing at my front door, looking out through the little peephole. In addition to the bright morning sunshine and the (thankfully!) clear streets outside, I saw a tiny red Christmas ornament and the end of a candy cane. Why, you may ask, did I see part of a candy cane and a Christmas ornament through my peephole? I have a wreath hanging on my front door which is decorated with candy canes and red and white Christmas ornaments. When I went to look outside, I forgot that I could see part of the wreath through the peephole. The sight was a little Christmas surprise for me.

            Do you like surprises? Not everyone does. But God shares surprises with us all the time, doesn’t He? Sometimes these surprises are fun, like unexpected blessings, and sometimes these surprises are difficult, like challenges or illnesses which He allows us to experience. Mary received quite a surprise the day the angel Gabriel visited her and told her she would be the mother of God’s Son, Jesus. (Luke 1:26-38). It is reasonable, I believe, to think that a wide range of emotions ran through Mary as she contemplated this news. But her response was one of humble submission and praise to her Heavenly Father.

            How do we respond to the surprises in our lives? It is easy to respond with joy when we are graced with an unexpected blessing. What about when the surprise is difficult? When Jesus was still yet very young, Mary was warned by a prophet that difficult times lay ahead. (Luke 2:34, 35). To this as well she responded with humility and trust. We can see this in her support of her Son’s ministry and her worship of the Father which Jesus spoke of. May we ponder God’s surprises in our hearts, as Mary pondered things in her heart. (Luke 2:19) And may we praise Him continually.

 

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.

Dear Heavenly Father,  We lift to You our concerns, cares, and love. We honor You, and we thank you for the surprises You bring to our lives. Use them to teach us and to glorify You. Amen.