nazareth hometown news nov/dec

8/8/2019 Nazareth Hometown News Nov/Dec

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TO GOD BE THE GLORY

Nov/Dec 2010

1711 Grant StreetHopewell, VA 23860

www.nazluthchurch.com

The Hometown News is

a publication of

Nazareth Evangelical

Lutheran Church.

Member of the

Lutheran Church

Missouri Synod.

Inside this issue:

Church Officers 2011 2

Fall Festival Update 3

Advent Message 4

General Announce-ments

8

Pastors Corner 10

Youth Activities 12

The Hometown NewsThe Newsletter of Nazareth Lutheran Church

PEACEThanksgiving Eve ServiceWednesday, November 24, 7PM

Mid-week Advent IDecember 1, 7PMRev. Art Umbach leads us through a Bible study on prayerand spirituality followed by a short-prayer service. Soupsupper at 6PM.

Midweek Advent IIDecember 8, 7PMLectio Divina prayer service. Soup supper at 6PM.Midweek Advent IIIDecember 15, 7PMLectio Divina prayer service. Soup supper at 6PM.

Midweek Advent IVDecember 22, 7PM12AMThe sanctuary will be open for those who would like tocome for silent prayer with the LORD.

Christmas EveDecember 24, 7PMJoin us for a special Christmas Eve service with a specialchildrens message, hymns, and candle lighting.

Christmas DayDecember 25, 10AMCome and sing your favorite Christmas hymns! Do youhave a favorite? Tell us during the hymn sing and we willsing it!

Join us as we receive spiritual renewal through prayer, contemplation, and worship

of our LORD to receive Grace and harmony between ourselves and God.

New Years Eve ServiceFriday, December 31, 7PM

Lectio Divina prayer service


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Page 2 The Hometown News

2011 Church Officers and Board Members

On November 7, the congregation of Nazareth Lutheran Church voted in the following servants

for Christ. As a congregation, we thank you for your service.

President Clint Reierson

Vice President Eddie Hanford

Recording Secretary Jean Joyner

Financial Secretary Janet Antol

Treasurer Kay Grochowaski

Board of Trustees Andy Martin, Raymond Rayner, Benny Soltez

Board of Maintenance Jim Morris

Board of Elders Adrian SlimmenBob Dry

Charles Minor

Board of Deacons Thelma Klein, Carol Slimmen, Karen VanWorth

Board of Finance Marilyn Antunes

Board of Stewardship Gene Fistler

Board of Missions & Outreach Kara Canada, Angie Morris

Board of Christian Education Sandy Wunder

ABLAZE FOR GODS MISSION! Conversations about Christ

Ken Reiner, of Ballwin, Mo., shares a recent conversation with a Hindu family on an airplaneflight.

This experience took place in September, on a flight from St. Louis, Mo., to Omaha, Neb. TheLord brought a couple from India to sit next to me. The husband and I began conversing almost

immediately. We shared our work history, etc., for some minutes, and he began asking about theuncertainty of the next life. He and his wife were Hindu. God helped me share the certainty I havein Christ--His living the perfect life and covering up my imperfect life. Hindus believe you have tolive a very good life so that you can move on to a better next life. He asked a lot of questionsabout how Jesus was God and proof for that. He has a daughter who is a Christian. I suggestedthat he might read the Gospel of John. The one hour flight was then over and we said goodbye.

We pray the Holy Spirit sparked enough interest for the two to follow through.

For more stories like this see http://www.lcms.org Look at the guide list on the left and seeAblaze! Movement.
http://www.lcms.org/http://www.lcms.org/


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Page 3Nov/Dec 2010

Fall Festival and Yard Sale UpdateSponsored by the Outreach and Mission Board

Article by Kara Canada

What a wonderful event!! We hadlots of help Friday Night and Saturday. Whata wonderful team of people we have here atNazareth Lutheran Church. God blessed uswith a sunny day and lots of great people for this event. Yard Sales are a lot of work and

we made it look easy. Thank you so much for your time and efforts.

We all arrived on Friday, Oct.22 at 6:00 p.m. to help price and sort through all ofthe items available for the sale. We also priced the bake goods contributed. We were

amazed at how much had been given. Then

on Saturday, Oct. 23, at 7:00 a.m. everyonearrived on time ready to move out the ta-bles, chairs and set-up tents. Then wemoved all of the items donated out to theyard on City Point Road and they came. Wehad people walking around the parking lot;while we were setting up, ready to buy.There was even a little bit of a traffic jam at

the corner of City Point and Grant Street.

Our Youth Group took on the task of selling food and running the games. They

were a huge help in so many areas. We need to be very proud of their extra efforts.

The children that attended were able to play games like fishing and bean bag toss.They participated in the Cake Walk. They enjoyed making bird feeders and turkeys. Theyalso decorated their faces with butterflies, flags, animals and flowers at the face painting

station.

At the end of the day we had earned a nice sum of money to place in our Emer-gency Relief Fund, which I have been informed will be matched by Thrivent Financial. Wedonated the remaining items left to The American Veter-

ans and The Shepherds Place.

Again, this day would not have been possible with-out the congregation giving their time and donations.Thank you so much.

The Lord our God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of

the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. -Deuteronomy 7:6


4/14

Come Lord JesusBy Pastor Voss

Parousia! Adventus! Advent!You have officially been introduced to the Greek, Latin, and English versions of coming! We look

forward to our annual celebration of Christs first comingChrists first Advent.

This year, Christmas is on a Saturday, so within 24 hours after our Christmas Day service, few of uswill be discussing Christs first Advent and we will begin thinking about and teaching and preaching the

Christ who has already come.

Id like to think we could absorb, that is, understand and comprehend and appreciate the First Advent

of Christ for us from now until Christmas Day, but Im afraid we cannot. The tell-tale signs are all of thethings we do during Advent and Christmas that have nothing to do with Jesus Christ. Maybe one of thereasons there are people who do not enjoy Christmastime is because there is no time to appreciate and

ponder and reflect upon why it exists in the first place.

As a church, we are trying to make it easier for all of us to appreciate the First Advent of Christ bydesigning our Advent worship and gatherings with contemplation and prayer in mind. Peace. Renewal.

Grace. These are just a few of the gifts we receive through Gods Word regarding the birth of a heaven-ly King. The Word and its benefits will be coming to you during Advent.

Advent of a son and the Son

I have spent the past month talking to my son William about his birthday. Almost every day I talkabout the plans we have: the friends, the candy, the presents. I do it because I love to see the excitementin his eyes. I love to tell him stories about when he was born and how much it meant to his mother andI. I re-enact how we felt and what we said and how special he is to us. I tell him about how God blessed

us with him. The smile on his face grows bigger with every word.

Now is about the right time for all of us to begin talking to our sons, daughters, mothers, fathers,friends, and strangers about Christs birthday. Lets talk about the plans we have: the fellowship of soup

suppers, the worship, the Christmas play, Christmas Eve service, and Christmas Day hymn-sing service,the plans we have made in our homes. If we share our excitement over what we are doing for Christsbirthday with others, we may see an excitement in their eyes as well. You will find that when you tellpeople about such plans, you are not offending them or their beliefs, but sharing a part of what makes

you happy and excited. In faith, we grow closer together as we celebrate the birth of Gods Son.

The idea that Christmas is about more than food and presents is a welcome message. Parents whowelcome a newborn into the world dont care about how many gifts they receive or how much moneythey have on that day, they simply celebrate the life given to them! Simple, pure, joy. Now, this Advent

season, give thanks for the simple, pure, and joyfully message that a child was born for us in Christ Jesus.


5/14

An English Church Music Composer:Ralph Vaughan Williams

An Article Contributed by Jan Graham

Did you know that Ralph Vaughan Williams, one of the best known English com-posers of the 20th century, also wrote music for hymns? For All the Saints is oneyou know well!

Born in 1872, his father, Reverend Arthur Vaughan Williams, was the rector of thechurch in Down Ampney. His mother was Margaret Wedgewood, the great-granddaughter of the porcelain producer Josiah Wedgewood. Reverend VaughanWilliams died when Ralph (pronounced Rafe) was three and the family relocatedto his mothers family home in Surrey. One of his aunts began teaching him music

when he was six followed in the next few years with violin and piano lessons. He continued his les-sons in piano, violin, the viola, and music theory at Londons Charterhouse School. Afterward heattended the Royal College of Music in London where he be-came good friends with Gustav Holst, and Trinity College,Cambridge where he received a Bachelors degree in musicin 1894 and B.A. in history the following year. He began his

musical career as a church organist, later focusing on teach-ing, directing choirs, and composing. In the early 1900s hetraveled through the English countryside to collect folk songsfrom singers and musicians notating them for future genera-tions. Captivated by the beauty of the music and the historyin the lives of ordinary people, he included many folk songsin his compositions. The English Hymnalof 1906 includedhis arrangements of 35 folk songs along with some of hisoriginal hymn-tunes. Also during this time he developed a deep appreciation of Tudor church musiccomposers, especially Thomas Tallis. His first masterpiece, composed in 1910, was the Fantasia ona Theme by Thomas Tallis.

When England was drawn into World War I, Vaughan Williams enlisted in the Field Ambulance Ser-vice and saw combat action as a commissioned second lieutenant in the Royal Garrison Artillery inFrance and Greece. Extended exposure to artillery fire initiated progressive hearing loss whicheventually resulted in severe deafness when he was in his seventies. As were many of the Englishsoldiers, he was deeply affected by the carnage of the war and the loss of many close friends in-cluding the composer George Butterworth.

Vaughan Williams composed nine symphonies, five operas, film music, church music, and works forchorus and orchestra. Some of the church music included Songs of Praise (1925), Oxford Book ofCarols (1928), and Songs of Praise for Little Children (1933). As the musical editor ofThe EnglishHymnalhe composed several hymns that are now known worldwide including the following found in

the Lutheran Service Book: For All the Saints, Come Down O Love Divine,At the Name of Jesus,Come, My Way, My Truth, My Life, and Hail Thee Festival Day(which we sang on Easter Day).Several other hymn-tunes such as Down Ampney, Kings Lynn, Kingsfold, Weston, Forest Green,and others are English folk tunes that Vaughan Williams arranged to be sung with the words of aparticular hymn. Hymn tune names are found in the back ofLBW.

Although he was quite a celebrated composer during his lifetime, he shunned awards with the oneexception of the Order of Merit, conferred upon him in 1938. After his death in August of 1958 hisashes were interred at Westminster Abbey near where Henry Purcell is buried.

Sing with joy alleluia!


6/14


Sincere Thanks!

Dear Friends at Nazareth,

I just want to thank all of you for all your cards andprayers during my recent hospitalizations and illnesses.They were very much appreciated and show what a car-ing, loving people are at Nazareth. God bless all of you

as He has so richly blessed me.

Your sister in Christ,

Marilyn

Dear Nazareth Lutheran Church,

On behalf of the Hopewell School Board, I would like to ex-press our appreciation for the donation of school supplies val-ued at approximately $180.00 to the students of Harry E. James

Elementary School.

Thank you for supporting the children ofHopewell City PublicSchools.

Respectfully.

Winston O. Odom, Ed.D.

A youngster writes:

DEAR NAZARETH LUTHERAN CHURCH,

THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HELP. WE APPRECIATE ALL

YOUR HELP.

LOVE, H.E.J.

To the wonderful folks of Nazareth Lutheran Church,From the bottom of our hearts we thank you for

your charity and your generosity, especially in these

difficult economic times.

Annessa Jones,

School Counselor

Harry E. James School

[email protected]

541-6408

Dear People of Nazareth Lutheran Church,

Thank you for your donations of school supplies.We truly appreciate your support towards our stu-

dents' success!

Sincerely,

Dupont Elementary School

Happy Birthday!

November 6 Joy Voss

November 10 Juliana Layne

November 11 Polly Sodat

November 14 William Voss

December 4 Jonah Fistler

December 9 Rev. David Voss

December 13 Borgny Hampton

December 15 Stephen McLeod

December 18 Hobo Logan

December 19 James Eckenrode

December 20 David Petik

December 22 Jordan Hanford

December 27 Bea Schultz

December 31 Thelma Klein
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Page 7Nov/Dec 2010

For our Brothers and Sisters in Christ in Nursing Homes -

Velma Fleming, HHCC (227)For our Brothers and Sisters in Christ who are home-bound -

Mary PetikFor our members and friends serving our country in the military -

Bruce Layne Danny Petik Chris Graham Dustin Petik James Ecken-rode David Petik Jeff & Stacey Crossen Jeffrey Head Steve Foxx BrandonEdwards Mike McKinzie Stacey Wells

For our members and friends away at college Landry Doane Casey Davis

For our members who are sick, hospitalized, in need of spiritual care or recuperating -Evelyn Rayner Rowena Carter Bob and Annette Dry Kathy Beahm Jenny

Graham

Marilyn Antunes

Lillian Lockton

Joey Reierson Nicki Thomas BarneyHampton Gerald Koren Bob Dry

For our friends who are sick, hospitalized or recuperatingJonathan Weston Rita Joyner Joann Miller Jeff Walter Suzie & Joe Hilton DorothyKunkel Freddie Gonzalez Kay Slade Bernard CarterThomas Slimmen Richard Brinkley, Jr. Carolyn Kennedy Vera PlvanChase & Charlie Bennett

For the families of the Saints departed

Pray for One Another Prayer List updated as of November 6, 2010

Bible Study and Adult Confirmation

We now have six confirmationstudents! Please continue to

encourage and invite anyone

who has not received thisfoundation of Christian teach-

ing.

WEDNESDAYS 7:00 PM

Pastor Voss continues the

Revelation Bible Study in the

church fellowship hall.

Join us at 6PM on Wednes-

days for a meal and fellow-

ship! This Bible study ends on

November 17.

Whether you are young or old,

visitor or pillar, we have a Bible

Study for you!

SUNDAYS 9:30 AMMeet in the Old Church Room

at 9:30 AM for a Bible Study on

Hebrews led by Al Schneider.

Arnie Slimmen continues to

lead an eight weekadult con-

irmation class in the confer-

ence room. If you are new to the

Lutheran faith and/or would

like to join our church, please

contact Arnie to join in.

YOUTH CONFIRMATIONYouth in grades 711 are

encouraged to join in our

Confirmation program. You

have two options:

Weekly students meet every

Sunday at 9:30 AM.

Bi-Weekly students meet

every other Sunday at

8:30AM (to 10:30 AM).

Contact Pastor Voss for spe-

cifics. This is a two-yearprogram which the youth

can join in on at any time.


8/14


General Notes

MISSION OPPORTUNITYIn February, a nurse and a nurse anesthetist that I work with are going to Haiti on a medical mission

trip. They are going with the Haiti Outreach Ministry group.(www.haitioutreach minis-

tries.org)From now till the beginning of Feb., I will be collecting the following items to send with

them...Tylenol, Ibuprofen, chewable and liquid Tylenol, Benadryl, cough drops, Monistat cream, anti-

biotic cream, Tums and Vitamins. There will be a basket on the table near the mailboxes for your do-

nations. These people need our help...let's show them the love of God. Thanks, Cindy R.

CHURCH CHOIR

Calling All Choir Members, Past and Present!

Please look around at home and weed out any old

music you have! We are particularly looking for a

music songbook called "Carols Alive". Any ques-

tions please see Cindy R. Many Thanks!

NURSERY HELPER POLICY

We surely do need helpers in our nursery! There

are some times when we are almost overrun with

children. However, we have to abide by the Stand-

ards of Operation for the nursery, which state that

helpers must be 13 years old, in the 8th grade, and

be enrolled in conirmation or else have made ar-

rangements to be enrolled. This may rule out a few eager young people, but it does not rule out adult

members. Please contact Sue Skalleberg at 731-6959 if your are willing to help out. Thanks.

BEAUTIFUL GIFTS THAT CHANGE LIVESArtisans around the world feel the beneit of our purchases from the Lutheran World Relief Hand-

craft Project. With more than one

thousand beautiful handcrafts to

choose from, youre sure to ind the

perfect item for every occasion!

Shop online at lwr.org/handcraft or

call 888-294-9660 to receive your

free LWR catalog.

CHILDCARE

James Eckenrodes mom has a child-care service, and she currently has

some openngs. If you need this ser-

vice or would like more information,

please call Elke at 530-1254 or on

her cell at 691-8369. She will care

for newborns on up in age. Hours

are 6:30am to 6:00pm.
http://ministries.org/http://ministries.org/http://ministries.org/http://ministries.org/


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Page 9Nov/Dec 2010

VISIONA FIVE WEEK SERMON SERIES

JANUARY 2011

TRUSTING IN GOD

EMRACE THE FUTURE

TO THE GLORY OF JESUS CHRIST

Boards of Finance and Stewardship

The boards met on October 17 to complete the 2011 proposed budget which was presented to the ChurchCouncil on October 18. The proposal will be presented to the Congregational Assembly on November 7

for approval. Copies of the budget are available from your mailbox in the annex.

We are now in the program phase of the Consecrated Stewards program. Each week between Oct. 17

and Nov. 14 letters will be mailed to the membership, publicity will be updated, inserts will be placed in

the worship folders, stewardship journeys will be presented, congregational ministries will be highlighted,stewardship-based Sunday School and Bible study materials will be used and Pastors sermons will focus

on stewardship. Our guest leader, Pastor Keith Loesch, led us in Bible study on Nov. 7 and will deliver

the sermon on Nov. 14.

Commitment cards will be handed out by the ushers during the worship service on November 14 andmembers will then be asked to make their financial commitment to the Lords work. Immediately follow-

ing the worship service, all members will gather in the fellowship hall for a celebration luncheon. Please

mark your calendars for this important event in the life of our congregation.

Publication Dates for the Hometown News in 2011

ISSUE AVAILABLE ONLINE PAPER VERSION MAILED

JAN/FEB JANUARY 3 JANUARY 5

MAR/APR MARCH 7 MARCH 9

MAY/JUN MAY 2 MAY 4

JUL/AUG JULY 5 JULY 7

SEP/OCT SEPTEMBER 6 SEPTEMBER 8

NOV/DEC NOVEMBER 7 NOVEMBER 9


10/14

PASTORS CORNERCHURCH GROWTH USING GODS METHOD IS KINGDOM GROWTH

I have seen what happens when a church puts church growth as their num-

ber one goal. They grow! They will give things away to those who come. They

will remove the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lords Supper from worship.They will preach on glory and self-help and how to succeed and stay away

from such concepts as Gods Law and our sin. This methodology works to

grow membership! People like a worldly looking church and worship, but

through these methods is Gods Kingdom growing? Can Gods Kingdom grow without the Word

preached (Law andGospel) and Sacraments at the center of Worship (Baptism and the Lords Sup-

per)? No. A church can grow in number, but without the Word, Gods Kingdom does not.

At the heart of what we do is, and always will be, the Word of God. Our number one goal is to stay

true to the Word and keep it at the core of all that we do. When we are committed to the Word then

God grows His Kingdom through us!

Isnt it wonderful to see all of the Baptisms we have had lately? When one child or adult is Bap-

tized, we usually have at least a dozen visitors who are here to see it and hear Gods Word. Whatbetter way to engage the world than through Gods promises of Baptism?!

From the beginning of time, God developed a perfect plan for church growth, and it is bound to his

plan for Kingdom growth which can only come through Word and Sacrament. The same Holy Spirit

that grew the Christian church from dozens to billions can and is using us to reach our community.

His methodologies have always been the sameWord and Sacrament to the glory of Christ.

ONLINE BOOK STUDY: SIMPLE CHURCHStarting in January, Pastor Voss leads a two-month online book study of

Simple Church. We will be reading about how to simplify what we do so that

we can focus our work for the Lord on our mission to share the Gospel. In oth-

er words, we will constantly ask the question, How can our church organiza-tion best serve our Gospel mission?!

Lets consider how we can de-clutter and focus as we read this highly regard-

ed book. No need to schedule your calendar to participate. This is on online

book study that we will discuss via an online forum.

Order your book through the church ofice by leaving a message with Karen We will purchase used

books in early December.

Register for this online book study today by going to our webpage:

www.nazluthchurch.com (registration begins November 10). At

the bottom of the web-page you will see the picture on your left

with the books. Simply click on it to register for our online forum.

THANK YOU RECEPTIONI was so happy to have so many of you show up for the thank you

reception. Joy and I truly appreciate all that the servants of this

church have done over the past year. We are so appreciative of all

of you who consider it an honor to serve Christ at Nazareth. God is

using us to make a difference in many lives. We look forward to

hosting this again next year, and maybe next time I will beat Madi-

son at Wii ping-pong. Until then, let us serve with gladness!


11/14


Pastor Voss tries to figure out how fishing

poles can actually catch candy.

Skittles?!! Throw it back!Im fishing for Snickers.

Did you sell anything today?

Yes! Someone actually purchased my

entire collection of Engelbert Humperdinck!

That was me.

God bless you.

There are 10 seats and only 4 of us. Can arational adult please tell me why we all just

cant sit and start eating the cake?


12/14

Thanksgiving Donations

We will be assisting people in need during the Thanksgiving Holidays with food and monetary donations.Please start shopping for items that will assist them in having a nice Thanksgiving meal. We are looking for turkey

donations and items that allow them to enjoy all the traditional fixings. Here are some suggestions: instantmashed potatoes, canned green beans and/or vegetables, boxed stuffing, gravy and pumpkin pie mixes.

There will be plastic bin in the Narthex (front entrance of church) that will say Thanksgiving Donations

starting Sunday, November 7th. We are asking that the items or donations be brought in by Sunday, November21st. We will be delivering them to the families before Thursday, November 25th. Please let us know if you are

aware of someone that would be in need of these services.

Outreach and Mission Board

Ann Hanford, Martha Sodat, Kara Canada,

Kathy Petik and Sue Skalleberg

Nazareth Lutheran Church

Youth activity

For Fall and Winter

Yard Sale & Fall Festival, October 22-23

The youth helped with this event by pricing items and setting up on Friday Evening. On Saturday, they sold hot

dogs, chips, drinks and candy bars all day long.

November

The youth will have a gathering at Ann & Eddies house on November 6th. They will have hot dogs & chili.

December

The youth will have their annual Christmas Party, gift exchange and Christmas Caroling. More details to follow.

January

The youth will assist in church service. Pastor Voss will help the youth to develop and conduct this service.

On October 1, 2010, Tina Doane met with the youth to identify projects, get togethers and missions for thecoming year. They decided to get together once a month to meet and share in Christian Fellowship. They dis-

cussed exploring the possibility of hosting a week of missions at Nazareth this summer.

The Hometown News


13/14

BOARD OF OUTREACH AND MISSIONS UPDATE

FALL FESTIVALThe Board sponsored the Yard Sale and Festival held on October 23rd. Seven individuals requested tablesand others made donations to the church to be sold at the yard sale. There were good a number of vol-unteers for that day and also some for the day before to help price and organize. The Quilters had theirOpen House where they sold their handmade items and tickets for the quilt raffle. Kara Clark has beeninstrumental in organizing this event for Nazareth.

CHRISTMAS FAMILIESThe Board decided to adopt 3 families for Christmas. Two of the families are currently attending Nazarethand the other is a family in which Nazareth helped last year. The request for gifts will be placed on theChristmas Tree in the Narthex after Thanksgiving. All gifts will need to wrapped, tagged & returned to the

church by December 19th. All unwrapped gifts will be wrapped and delivered on December 20th.

2011 POSITIONSKara Clark has agreed to be the chairperson for one of the boards and Martha Staples and Sue Skalleberghave agreed to serve with her. The boards would like to continue to function as one board for 2011. If

this is not possible Kara would like to the chairperson for the Board of Outreach.

Nov/Dec 2010


14/14

TO:

Nazareth Lutheran Church1711 Grant StreetHopewell, VA 23860

Nazareth Evangelical

Lutheran Church

Reaching out to all in faith and love.

Sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ

Serving joyfully!

nazareth hometown news nov/dec

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