I’ve been visiting a lot of people in my new job as a hospice chaplain who will lose a loved one close to the

Christmas holiday. This can be an especially devastating time of year to suffer a loss. In all honesty though, how

deep one’s spiritual practice is makes all the difference in the world as to how a person is impacted by losing

someone during this season.

If one’s spiritual practice during the Advent/Christmas season amounts to showing up to a church on Christmas

Eve then the effect can be overwhelming. For many the season is all about family and memories. There’s

nothing wrong with that, but it lacks depth. As important as families are, they are also imperfect and can never

give our life all the meaning it needs. As wonderful as memories of past joy is, it is also now the past. We live

always in the present, and if we are not joyful in our present no memory is going to change that.

Only deep spiritual practice overcomes the pain of loss in this holy season. When we take the time to worship on

Sundays and at Advent services, we hear a message of waiting. Even as the days shorten into longer periods of

darkness, each week the number of candles we use grows. We are reminded that no darkness can overcome the

Eternal Light that is God. In fact, the darker it gets the more our light shines. And on that most holy Christmas

night, we see a church full of lit candles and are reminded our waiting has been worth it. The Christ child has

come to tell us the promise is true: Not even death can put out the light of eternal life.

Every year my hope is renewed during this holy season no matter what losses I experience or see during it, and I

look forward to sharing the light with you on Christmas Eve.

Peace,

Pastor Steve

From the Pastor...

Salem United Church of Christ

Oak Lawn, Illinois N E W S a n d N O T E S January 2018; Issue 467

January Scripture Readings

The Revised Common Lectionary is used in a broad array of churches and offers passages for each Sunday. Usually they are Old Testament with a related Psalm, Gospel and Epistle Readings (with some seasonal variations).

Although it is not the practice in our church to read all the passages each Sunday, you may wish to do that as preparation for weekly wor-ship.

Here are the passages for the upcoming weeks:

January 7, 2018

Genesis 1:1-5

Psalm 29

Acts 19:1-7

Mark 1:4-11

January 14, 2018

1 Samuel 3:1-10 (11-20)

Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

John 1:43-51

January 21, 2018

Jonah 3:1-5, 10

Psalm 62:5-12

1 Corinthians 7:29-31

Mark 1:14-20

January 28, 2018

Deuteronomy 18:15-20

Psalm 111

1 Corinthians 8:1-13

Mark 1:21-28

January Greeter List:

NOTE: Please be in place 20 minutes prior to service starting.

January 7: Beth Romanzow & Stan Burgess

January 14: Norm & Aline Wiedow

January 21: Pohrte Family

January 28: Don & Judy Michaels

*Woman’s Guild: There will not be a meeting in January but plan on having a February meeting depending on the weather. Further details will be available as February draws closer.

*Casino Trip: The next casino trip is tentatively scheduled for the 1st Sunday in February. Further details to follow.

*Can you believe that in 2018, our 4 girl girls (all with names starting with A’s) will be graduating from high school & will be off to college. Ashlee Griffith, Amada Pohrte, Allison Hefner and Alexis Koronkiewicz (the 4 A’s). Each one of the girls has been accepted to one or two colleges with scholarships. The church community is so proud of these girls. They truly have been wonderful girls and have been so helpful to everyone they will be missed while away at school.

*Coffee Hour: We are going to start the new year off having coffee hour the way it has been. However, if we do not get volunteers to help we will just serve coffee on Sunday mornings with no sweets. But, if that happens we will still need volunteers to make the coffee and set up and clean-up. We will have a sign-up sheet for volunteers and then a schedule will be posted. The ladies who regularly volunteer are requesting at least 2 volunteers per Sunday. Marilyn Dabisch will continue to get the coffee cakes, milk, coffee etc. Please consider helping even just once a month. ALL help is greatly appreciated.

*Musichorale Concert: The concert this year was wonderful. It always has been in the past, but this year was really something worth seeing. Everyone had a great time and then went to Julianni’s Restaurant for dinner. The food was good and everyone enjoyed the social visiting. Please if you have not seen one of these performances please try and come next December.

*Annual Congregational Meeting: Mark your calendars now for the annual congregational meeting which will be held on Sunday, January 28, 2018, right after church. This is the time to bring your con-cerns about the church and your suggestions how to make Salem better. The new council members will also be announced at this time.

A Poem to All Children

To my children, I worry if you are tired and how your day has been. I pray that you are happy and surrounded by friends. A part of me still needs to hear these things from you.

Many days you are busy, but a simple “hello, I’m fine” definitely will do.

You are an adult now and you have told me so, but the parent in me can never completely let you go. As you will al-ways be my baby in my mind and sometimes I need to hear, “Hello mom, I’m doing fine”

*The church looked SO festive for the holidays. That is because the following worked very hard to make it look like Christmas: Sue Golick, Deb Bartosik, Kevin McWilliams, John Thorne, Don Dvornik, Don Michaels, Mike Barker, Terry Ganzer, Steve and Amanda Pohrte. Thank you!

*A special thank you once again to Mariana Vasquez-Loor for her donating the coffee cakes on the first Sunday of the month for Coffee hour.

*To Darlene Dvornik and Diana Harvey for helping in the kitchen for coffee hour when help was needed. Also, thank you to Matt Gatton who always stops in to see what he can help with during coffee hour.

*To the families who did the readings for the lighting of the advent calendar: Jacqueline Canty and Deb Snyder, Gilles Family, Dan and Missy Fasano, Rev Stan Hill & Rev Margie Benson-Hill. You all did a wonderful job.

*We had two advent services during Advent and a special thanks goes out to Jacqueline Canty, Sue Golick, Pam McWilliams and Mike Barker for bringing refreshments to each service.

*To the choir and band. Thank you for all of your hard work during this holiday season. Your music has added so much to all of the different services.

*Thank you to the Sunday school children & teachers for an amazing performance on the 17th. Everyone seemed to have a good time during the play.

*Our Christmas tree that is the front of the church is very old and it gets harder each year to put up. After Deborah Bartosik saw the shape it was in she went out and purchased another tree for us. This one we will have for next year and it is much bigger then the current one. Deb, we want to thank you so much for doing this for our church. Your kindness is much appreciated.

*Many thanks to you all who have opened up your hearts and wallets to provide Christmas gifts to the in-need children of Worth Township through our Giving Tree, our Beds Plus guests and our retired UCC clergy through the Christmas Fund. You have helped bring comfort and joy to so many this holiday season and we are deeply appreciative. Wishing you a happy, healthy New Year from the Missions Committee!

*A note of thanks from Gwen Butler: This is a special time to extend my Best Wishes for a Joy-ous Holiday Season. It is also the time that I am giving thanks to the Salem Community for their prayers, expressions of concern and the Get Well wishes I received during the time of my illness. I am very grateful and those acts of concern and support helped in my healing and recuperation. I offer Warm wishes and Peaceful thoughts to you and your loved ones for the coming New Year.

January 13: Bernadette Bendik January 18: Laura Frey & Rob Bendik

January 14: Darlyne Slinn & Lance Rodriguez January 20: Terry Ganzer

January 15: Dana Anton January 21: Bob Hays & Cathy Thorne

January 16: Mary Ekstrom January 27: Roberta Koronkiewicz

February Birthdays

Prayer List: Shut-In List:

Traci Hefner Audrey Weir

The Streitbergers

Carol Miller

Jan Tolchin

Dorothy Kopeck

Tom and Sue Heuss

Claude Wolcott

February 1: Steven Busekros February 12: LaVerne Pollis, Loretta Ballard &

Andrew Koronkiewicz

February 2: Marianne Cox February 13: Michelle Gatton

February 3: Megan Limanni February 15: Tom Anton

February 4: Melissa Fasano February 16: Jamie Evtuch

February 5: Phil Hauze & Kris Limanni February 20: Mariana Vasquez

February 6: JoAnn Steffens

January Birthdays

"Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?" - Corrie ten Boom

Deadline for the February issue of News & Notes is Tuesday, January 16th!

Mark your calendars for another amazing month at Salem! Sundays, 10am

January 7, 14, 21, 28 Church Service

Mondays, 10am-11am January 8, 15, 22, 29

Blanket Making

Tuesdays, 9am January 2, 9, 16, 23, 30

Bazaar Crafters

NOTE: Beverly Theater Guild rehearses at Salem on Sundays.

Also, the Men’s Group meets every Tuesday. For more information on the Men’s Group, please email Don Michaels at dgmich9007@sbcglobal.net.

Alcoholics Anonymous meets at Salem on Tuesdays at 7pm. Overeaters Anonymous meets at Salem on Fridays at 7pm.

Al-Anon meets at Salem on Thursday at 7pm.

Salem United Church of Christ

9717 South Kostner Avenue

Oak Lawn, Illinois 60453-3547

708.423.9717

www.salemoaklawn.org

______________________________________________

Salem Newsletter January 2018 Issue No. 467 __________________________________________

Pastor: Rev. Steve Hoerger

Church Secretary: Jean Beauvais

Newsletter Editor: Jacqueline A. Canty

Newsletter Distributor: Aline Wiedow

Typographical Editor: Virginia Johnson

Janu

ary

2018