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Lutheran Church of the Resurrection
Gathered by Christ - Growing in Faith - Sent to Serve
1700 MAKEFIELD ROAD | YARDLEY, PA 19067
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Council President's Message
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A Multi-Cultural World: 2016 Version
At my work my team is primarily if not exclusively first generation immigrants to the US. I have an extended team of dozens of contractors most of whom are from India; my direct reports are: one from Cuba who lives in Miami, one from Taiwan, one from the US deep south, one from New Jersey. So one could say that there are 5+ very different cultures and ways of speaking, living and interacting (especially different is the staffer from New Jersey!!).
It is actually a bit more complicated than that; the folks from India are from all over the sub-continent with different dialects, attitudes and customs. The team is mostly male, English as a second language and concerned about gaining green card status and carefully watching their expenses. So we have an old white lady (a multi-generation European immigrant) guiding all these different folks on what and how we are going to best achieve our technical (another language!) and organizational goals.
Would one think it works? How could it work?
It works because all of us are trying to make it work: we have to understand each other, get along and appreciate and embrace our differences to achieve really difficult goals that required many hands, thoughtful minds and a lot of energy. We slow down and talk carefully; confirm what we heard, repeat and try to help everyone understand before we move on to the next topic; checking in and asking the quiet ones for input and asking the noisy contributors to wait their turn. It takes a while to finish a conversation; agree on what needs to be done ... and when we conclude we confirm that everyone understands how, why, what and when in their language and the collective language of the team.
Not all of us can relate all the time to others' culture and perspective but we can appreciate most of the time that diversity is both a challenge and a benefit.
I hope and pray most days (and all day) for peace of mind, patience and wisdom..... to think beyond my own language and heritage. I try and remember how I felt during my travels when my skin was so very different from millions in a city.... To when my language was foreign and I felt uncomfortable and concerned that I would not be able to explain my point of view or even a basic request for directions.
So does and how does LCR fit in this world? Some might suggest that we are insulated from this type of diversity here in Yardley, PA. Others might suggest that we are a welcoming church that appreciates other cultures and ways of being human. And still others might suggest that whatever we are today we need to be prepared to change because the future is not predictable and for sure the world is changing.
And so at this time of year we rejoice in the coming Child, born in a manger in Bethlehem, who brought to the world incredible change and many lessons on how to appreciate, support, serve and care for the under-privileged, the dis-enfranchised, children and women, the poor and cast out...... and people of every culture, color and creed.
Rejoice and Embrace All God's World has to Offer You.... Have a Blessed and Happy Christmas Season!
Peace and Grace,
Liz
Elizabeth M. Young
Council President
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Forming a More Perfect Union
- A Message from Bishop Burkat
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It's time to dust off our Constitutions and remind each other about the principles and values of our American Democracy. Our nation has never been a "perfect" union, so how do we then go about forming a more perfect union for such a time as this? The answer: we can speak and act in order to create a more perfect union. "He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God." (Micah 6:8)
Bishop Burkat stated three things you can do now:
- Start crossing bridges while trust can still be built. Put your presence where your heart and faith is.
- Wear a visible safety pin if you are committed to being an ally to those who are endangered. Wearing this pin is a witness to the public and to anyone seeking refuge that you are an ally and a safe person.
- Pray, work and advocate - even protest for peaceful assembly to secure respect and dignity for all to insure domestic tranquility for our beloved country.
If you'd like to read Bishop Burkat's message in its entirety, it is posted on the bulletin board.
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Holiday Worship Services
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T
here will be three services
on Christmas Eve:
- Contemporary at 5:00pm, with a children's sermon; music will be led by Arise!
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Traditional service at 7:30pm with organ music.
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Traditional candlelight service at 10:30pm with choir and guest musicians (the prelude will begin at 10:15pm).
On Christmas Day, there will be one service with communion at 10:00am, featuring carols.
On New Year's Day, there will be one service with communion at 10:00am, featuring music led by Arise!
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December 2016
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Vol 6, Issue 12
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Sunday, December 4th
8:00 AM Service of Holy Communion
9:30 AM Contemporary Worship Service
9:30 AM - 10:30 AM FAITH ALIVE! Children of all ages - Starting in Church, ending in Fellowship Hall Classrooms
11:00 AM Service of Holy Communion
Wednesday, December 7th
7:00 PM - 7:30 PM Advent Vespers
Sunday, December 11th
8:00 AM Service of Holy Communion
9:30 AM Contemporary Worship Service (No FAITH ALIVE!)
11:00 AM Service of Holy Communion (with Children)
Wednesday, December 14th
7:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Advent Vespers
Sunday, December 18th
8:00 AM Service of Holy Communion
9:30 AM Contemporary Worship Service with Children's Leadership & Christmas Pageant
11:00 AM Service of Holy Communion
Sunday, December 25th
10:00 AM Service of Lessons & Carols with Holy Communion (No FAITH ALIVE!)
Please
CLICK HERE
to view LCR's December Event Calendar.
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Advent Daily Devotionals
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 The season of Advent is a time to reflect on how the light of Christ shines into our lives. The 2016 Advent Daily Devotionals contains reflections, prayers & stories of people making a difference alongside the programs and services of Liberty Lutheran. Please
CLICK HERE to access Advent Daily Devotionals on-line.
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Care Cards
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Help to brighten someone's day! Take a few moments each week to sign our Care Cards which can be found on the tables in the narthex. To add someone to the list, please use the sign-up sheet on the table.
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Lutheran World Relief Gifts
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This Christmas season, give the gift that keeps on giving.
The LWR Gift catalog
contains gifts that support the work of Lutheran World Relief to find long-term, sustainable solutions to poverty.
See the poster and catalogs on the hallway bulletin board for details-
or see Jane Helmis or Lois Lohse.
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DWSN December Event
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Join us for our next D
isciples with Special Needs event being held this
Friday, December 9th from 6:30 to 9:00pm in the Sanctuary/Narthex
. Call (215) 493-2018 for further details and RSVP via email at
lcrdwsn@verizon.net
.
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E-Newsletter Submissions
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Please email all articles to the Church office for review at
office@lcr-yardley.org
. Once approved, they will then be forwarded to our editor, Jenni Panaia for publication.
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Shared Meal with the Homeless and Those in Need
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Please join us on Sunday, December 18th when we will host our Shared Meal for the Homeless and Those in Need. Menu will include all types of chicken dishes, side dishes, rolls and dessert. Set up begins at 2:30pm with the meal served at 4:00pm.
The meal will be made more fes
tive as Marilyn Davis will be sharing her gift of music and playing Christmas songs for caroling with ou
r guests. Please help by sharing a dish (sign up sheet is o
n the ramp
leading to Fellowship Hall) or joining us for dinner and sharing hospitality with our guests. All are welcome!
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Missions Giving Tree
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Due to the generosity of our members, we have "round 2" of names on the Giving Tree which can be found
by the ramp leading to Fellowship Hall. The Giving Tree recipients include children from the Family Backpack Center and gentlemen from The Way Home. If you select a tag with a name on it please sign your name on sheet provided as instructions will be up on the tree, but if you have any questions see anyone on missions (Jane Helmis, Eileen Heitman, Lois Lohse, Kim May, Judy King, Kathy Heuer). We do ask that you have ALL WRAPPED GIFTS WITH TAG ATTACHED BACK TO CHURCH
NO LATER THAN WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14th
as to ensure delivery to all. Thank You.
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Christmas Poinsettia Sponsorship
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The Altar Guild invites you to sponsor beautiful poinsettias that will be used as the altar display for
Christmas Eve services. The poinsettias will be in 6" pots and the price is $8.50 per plant (same a
s last year).
Please request your plants
by next Sunday, December 11th
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designate
"Poinsettia" on your offering envelope
and place in the collection plate. Feel free to take your plant home during the week of December 26th (office hours: Monday/Tuesday - 9:00 am-4:00 pm; Wednesday - 9:00 am-4:30 pm, and Thursday/Friday - 9:00 am- 2:00 pm) or after Sunday worship on January 1, 2017. Please contact the LCR office with any questions at
office@lcr-yardley.org
or 215-493-2018.
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Merciful Mondays
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We encourage you to join us for our upcoming Merciful Mondays for the month of December held from 7:00 - 8:30pm in the library!
December 4th - Anxiety & Stress
December 12th -
Relationships
December 19th - "Blue Christmas"
December 26th -
No Merciful Monday
If you are interested in a subject that you are passionate about and want to facilitate a session, please contact Barbara Merritt at
Woodwardba@yahoo.com
or 215-519-7499. She will set up a calendar date for your session. If you need to talk to someone or need a listening ear, Barbara is here for you - please call her or approach her at church. In conjunction with "Merciful Mondays", visit our "support and care" table in the narthex (by the mail slots) where you can read materials about sessions we have focused on. There is a suggestion box for future topics - please fill one out. Don't forget to visit our library, which has lots of reading material on all subjects.
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Family Promise of Lower Buck
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Dear Family Promise of Lower Bucks supporters,
Please pray daily for Family Promise for the month of December. We ask for your prayers for success at the newly located Day Center site. Additionally, prayer is needed for more volunteers to help at the Day Center, for our director, the host congregations, leadership, our current volunteers, our new families to be recipients, and the financial need.
Please use our prayer calendar below and be sure to visit www.fplb.org for volunteer opportunities. Thank you in advance for your help and prayers. 
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Sonshiners Update
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On November 11th, twelve of our Sonshiners enjoyed a fabulous tour of the magnificent Glencairn Museum in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania. Glencairn, once the home of the Pitcairn Family, is a castle-like ninety room mansion that now serves as a museum of religious art and history. We were awed by the glorious stained glass windows along with the many ancient artifacts depicting a variety of religious beliefs and practices. The artifacts included expressions of faith of the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. The collection also contains items of medieval Christian, Islamic, Asian and American Indian traditions. Located on the grounds of the Swedenborgian religious community of Bryn Athyn, the museum aims to build understanding and tolerance among people of all beliefs. As an unexpected bonus, although not on our original agenda, the tour guides allowed us some extra time to view the interior of the famous Cathedral. We were fortunate, also, to have a beautiful fall day to enjoy the spectacular grounds and scenery surrounding the Museum and the Cathedral
Following the Tour, we met for lunch at Ricardo's Restaurant located on Huntingdon Pike just a few miles down the road from Glencairn. The food was delicious and the service was wonderful. Most importantly, though, we enjoyed each other's company!
Many thanks to Susan Fiscarelli for arranging this lovely day for us.
Our November worship service at Pickering Manor focused on special hymns for Thanksgiving. Volunteers this month were Donna DiCesare, Ted Ebersole, Jane Helmis, Kay McCorkle, Julie Scott, and pianist Betty Berner. As always, we are grateful to our faithful leader, Clyde Beury. We were happy to welcome Kay McCorkle who joined us for the first time this month. We always invite others to be part of this ministry which is so beneficial to both the residents and those of us who help with the service. We meet on the third Wednesday of every month at 10:30am for a half hour service and a short visit with the residents. Please give it a try. Pickering is located at 226 North Lincoln Avenue in Newtown. For more information, please contact Betty Berner.
The Sonshiners Annual Christmas Luncheon took place this afternoon at Rosa Bianca Trattoria in Yardley. For those who could not join us, we wish you a happy Holiday season!
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Thrivent Financial News
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 At the direction of LCR's Thrivent Financial members, LCR received $2,009 from Thrivent Choice in 2016 and $1,818 in 2015.
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans is a financial services membership organization, helping nearly 3 million members achieve their financial goals and give back to their communities. As a not-for-profit organization, Thrivent Financial creates programs and activities that benefit Lutheran congregations, schools, charitable organizations and individuals in need.
Thrivent Choice is a member-advised charitable grant program of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans ("Thrivent Financial") and its local branches ("chapters") in which members of Thrivent Financial who meet program eligibility requirements ("Members") help Thrivent Financial effectively allocate program funds among eligible organizations.
Thrivent Financial members directing Choice Dollars to LCR are: John Balko, Elisabeth Berner, Karen Berner, Candace Darwak, Mary Hammer, Eileen Heitman, Robert Heitman, Donna Immordino, Michael Immordino, Deborah Kramer, Leonard Kramer, Klaus Lohse, Cathleen Moxham, and Timothy Moxham.
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The Way Home @ The Holidays
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Did you know that the average homeless person costs taxpayer over $24000 a year in emergency services, but this number drops to under $6000 when that homeless person is no longer living on the streets? Did you know that The Way Home in the past 4 years has housed nearly 3 dozen formerly homeless single men and had only 2 of them return to life on the streets? We are currently housing 11 formerly homeless men at our residences located in Bristol and Morrisville. This represents a savings to you, the taxpayer, of $198,000 in emergency services costs in the form of hospitalization, law enforcement and treatment services. While all of our residents pay rent for their housing, THE WAY HOME relies on the generous support of donors to supplement the total cost of housing. Please consider making a tax deductible contribution to THE WAY HOME through your church offering envelope. Simply mark the space on the envelope as going to THE WAY HOME and this will allow us to continue our mission to end homelessness in Bucks County one person at a time. If you would like more information about us and what we do or would like to volunteer to help us in our mission, please speak with President, Clyde Beury or call (215)736-9597. Your generosity will ensure a warm, safe and happy Christmas and New Year for our residents. Peace!
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A Mother's Mutterings
by Christie Paton
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That Long, Huh?
Perhaps you remember the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip from some time ago. Calvin is a 6-year old with lots to say and Hobbes is his best friend, not to mention a stuffed tiger. We have several books of these comic strips around, and the kids have really gotten into them. It gets bad when they start a conversation with, "Mommy, do you know what Calvin said?" or can relate a real-life incident to something that happened in the book. Although I have to admit, there are some really fantastic quotes that come from C&H.
I r
 ecently was reading some Calvin and Hobbes myself, and while I can't find the book to actually quote it, it went something like this: Calvin and Hobbes are sledding. As they fly faster and faster down the hill, Calvin ruminates: "Wouldn't it be great if we could slow down time? Or stop and replay it over and over?" Hobbes naturally agreed. "I'd replay this moment right now."Calvin continues, "But life just keeps going and I guess we have to go with it."
I distinctly remember saying to Daniel when he was younger, "Can't you please stop growing? I love you just the way you are right now! I don't want you to get any older." He looked at me with a strange expression and said, "I can't help it."
So guess what? Last week, Megan turned 10. Yup, that's right, she'll never be single digits again. {sigh} My little baby girl. Yes, she has been alive that long.
Megan's friend C turned 10 two days before she did; I was friends with C's mom while we were pregnant with the two of them! I remember how startling it was when I realized I'd known my 2 best college friends a decade...now it was happening with my mom friends too. (Sheesh, I'm not sure I want to even think about how long I've known those college friends now. Oh boy.) But I guess Megan's birthday and having good mom friends for a long time are just 2 reminders of life moving along.
Megan is such a fun person to get a gift for, it's a piece of cake to go birthday shopping. (Ha, no pun intended!) So, when I walked into BJs and saw a hot pink, furry area rug, I knew that she would love it. The night before her birthday after she was asleep, I snuck into her room and put the new rug on the floor, so that she would see it first thing when she woke up. The next morning, she came running into my room, "Thanks for the rug, Mommy!!" I said do you want to come in and snuggle for a minute? She replied, "No, I'm going to go lay down on my new rug! It's so furry!" That birthday night, dressed in her new fleece pjs from Daniel, she put her pillow on the floor, and along with her massive collection of stuffed things, (mostly bears), she curled up on her pink, furry rug and slept for the night.
And I know that I can't stop time and that life keeps moving on...
But just for a moment, I am going to think of some things that I would stop time for with Megan... Her laugh (especially when she has pulled one over on you). Her kindness and compassion. The way she loves "Beary", her first and at this point very worn out and delicate stuffed teddy bear, more than any of her other stuffed bears, even though many of them are bigger and furrier - Beary is still number one. Her boundless energy, which no one can keep up with (this is a compliment). Her vitality and the way she brings such a positive energy to all parts of her life. Her creativity. Her childlike wonder. And to hug her in her fleece pjs, all soft and cozy.
It's interesting how Calvin is right on sometimes.
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