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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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I heard on the radio yesterday, as the Chinese or Lunar New Year celebrations started, that last year, 2016, was the year of the Monkey and it was a crazy, mixed up kind of time. And now, in 2017 the year of the Rooster, we can expect a different type of year: still with many challenges, but with more energy and enthusiasm to embrace the coming changes. OK - that could be good...
500 years ago when Martin Luther decided to do something about that period's up and down time the change was slow and not necessarily as radical as one might think. He posted those 95 theses on the door of the castle church in Wittenberg for public debate. Martin Luther then carried on! He proceeded to translate the Bible into German, published it with the newly invented printing press, wrote some of the most celebrated hymns that we still sing today.
Martin Luther recognized that we are called to be in the world, serve God by addressing the inequities of human society; and steward our physical world.
We celebrate Luther's story as one of persistence against large odds, his recognition of institutional injustice and importantly Luther's understanding that we as members of society we must address, as best we can and with persistence, all people's need for food, shelter and education.
Luther spoke of, and acted upon social injustices, a corrupt institution and utilized a new social media to reach people with printed materials in their language. We believe, as Lutherans, that we are here to address poverty and work with others, using current media and technology, as all God's people need our support and caring. Lutherans preach and live the understanding that Luther unveiled: that God's great Grace, forgiveness and gifts to us are ours to share with the world and in the world.
Luther declared the good news that everyone and indeed anyone can celebrate:
"By Grace Alone through Faith Alone because of Christ Alone."
Is this year 2017 very different from 1517?
In Christ,
Liz
Elizabeth M. Young
Council President
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Winter Congregational Meeting
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LCR's Winter Congregational Meeting will be held this
Sunday, February 5th
following our single service at 10:00am.
Congregational Meetings are important, this year in particular, as we will be approving our revised Constitution and LCR's Financial Plan for 2017.
The Council and Call Committee invite all members to join us in a luncheon in the Fellowship Hall immediately following the meeting close.
A sign-up sheet is posted in the hallway for those who would be interested in contributing a side dish or dessert for the luncheon. Sandwiches/wraps will be provided.
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LCR Finance Q & A Meeting
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An informational meeting regarding LCR's proposed 2017 budget, 2016 financial data and the finance-related content in the Annual Report will take place this
Sunday, February 5th at 8:30am (before the 10:00am
service) in the Finance Office.
The format is question and answer. If you have any questions about this meeting, please contact Ted Ebersole at
ted.ebersole@verizon.net
(preferred) or (215) 860-2330.
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2017 Lenten Season Update
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Plan to join us as we begin the Lenten season with LCR's Ash Wednesday service taking place on March 1st at 7:00pm.
We will not have a planned activity on Shrove/Fat Tuesday this year as we will be focusing on our Wednesday Lenten Services.
This year's Lenten theme is "Lord I Need You," from the song by Matt Maher.
If you are interested in sharing a Lenten message/talk at one of our Wednesday night services, please see Pam or Mike Garozzo.
 Wednesday nights during Lent, we are trying something new - "Soup, Song and Sacrament." We will begin at 6:00pm with our traditional soup supper, which will include testimony on our Lenten theme, music, and the sacrament of communion. "Soup, Song and Sacrament" will take place in Fellowship Hall
beginning on March 8th and continuing each Wednesday through April 5th.
All are welcome. Look for the sign-up list to bring either soup, salad or bread. Please contact Pam Garozzo at
via email at
pamelajgarozzo@gmail.com or
(215) 499-1109
to help coordinate.
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Mortgage Payoff Celebration
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Hurray!
LCR is having a multi-venue family party to celebrate paying off our mortgage on Sunday,
April 2nd beginning
at 5:00pm. The celebration will have an exciting mix of all the key party ingredients - pizza, games, music, dancing, helium balloons, cake, and of course an outdoor fire (you can't burn a mortgage note without one)!
We would like to enlist your help in naming this special celebration. Please think of a catchy name for our celebration and submit your suggestion by placing it in the "Name our Party" box outside the sanctuary. The winning name will be used on all the flyers and the cake! Please mark your calendar and be sure to tell all your friends about this once-in-a-lifetime celebration event!
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February 2017
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Vol 7, Issue 2
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Sunday, February 4th
10:00 AM Service of Holy Communion
(No FAITH ALIVE!)
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Winter Congregational Meeting - Sanctuary
Sunday, February 12th
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
Sunday, February 19th
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
Sunday, February 26th
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
Please
CLICK HERE
to view LCR's February Event Calendar.
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New LCR Wifi Access
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Be advised that we now have new access for Wifi at LCR. Please use the following:
Network to join:
LCR_Guest
Password to join:
LCRGuest1
LCTGuest2
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DWSN February Event
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 Come join us on
Friday, February 10th from 7:00 - 8:30pm in Fellowship Hall
, for our Valentines Day Dance. For further details or to RSVP, please email
lcrdwsn@verizon.net
or call (215) 493-2018.
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Merciful Mondays Update
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Please be reminded that Merciful Mondays will
not
be meeting during the month of February, but will resume in March. Should you have any questions or if you have suggestions for future topics, please contact Barbara Merritt
at
(215) 519-7499 or
Woodwardba@yahoo.com
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E-Newsletter Submissions
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Please email all articles to the Church office at
office@lcr-yardley.org
for review
. 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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DID YOU KNOW that on the 3rd Sunday of each month, LCR hosts a Shared Meal for those experiencing homelessness and food insecurity? We routinely share a meal with 50-90 guests each month. February's meal will be held on the 19th, with set up at 2:30pm and meal service at 4:00pm. Our menu in February will be BREAKFAST FOR DINNER, which is always a popular menu with our guests! We will be making pancakes, cooking eggs, bacon and sausage and sharing fruit and juice as well as baked goods. We hope you will join us for the meal, however whether or not you can participate, please consider donating something toward the meal. We will do the cooking that day in LCR's kitchen. A sign up sheet is located on the bulletin board leading to fellowship hall. Your sign up helps us to plan. If you have any questions, please contact Diane Casey
dcasey16@comcast.net
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Advocates for Homeless & Those In Need
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Thinking about becoming a volunteer? Join us as we create a renewed sense of community and human spirit by serving the homeless and those in need. Please
CLICK HERE
to learn more about becoming a volunteer for AHTN. All volunteers must secure a criminal background check and attend a volunteer orientation. The next scheduled orientation will take place on Monday, February 6th at 7:00pm, Restoration Church, 401 Pinewood Drive in Levittown.
AHTN runs their Code Blue mission from December 1st to March 31st, whenever it is 26 degrees or below - including wind chill, and when they are fully staffed with 18 volunteers. Also, from July through January,
local Houses of Worship participate in the Free Shared Meals program. AHTN Bus Drivers and Bus Attendants drive their homeless guests to these houses of worship so that they are getting a hot meal almost every night of the month. Are you interested in helping them fund their transportation missions like Code Blue or Wheels to Meals? If so, p
lease go to:
www.AHTN.org.
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Men Growing Together In Faith
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Men Growing Together in Faith will study C.S. Lewis'
Mere Christianity
. We will begin on
Monday evening, February 13th, and continue each Monday through April 3rd
.
Sessions are from 7:00 to 8:30pm. Please c
ontact Jerry Stanley at
jerrycan362@gmail.com
or (215) 736-2788 for more information.
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Family Promise of Lower Buck
s
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Like helping people? Like having fun? How about both at the same time?!
Family Promise will be
holding a bowling fundraiser at Brunswick Zone XL in Feasterville (100 E. Street Rd) on Monday, February 20th, from 2:00pm - 4:00pm. Bring the kids out on their day off for 2 hours of bowling (shoes included), pizza, soda or juice, and a $100 Arcade Card all for only $30 per person. Please CLICK HERE to purchase your tickets or visit www.fplb.org for further details. Can't make it but would still like to show your support? Please consider making a donation!
Family Promise Host Week at LCR
Our next Family Promise host week is quickly approaching. LCR will host families the
week of February 12th-19th
. There is a sign up sheet on the Family Promise bulletin board or you can contact Kathy Fitchett
at
ktfitchett@verizon.net
to sign up. Please look for an online sign up in the next few weeks.
There will also be a
Family Promise training on Sunday, February 5th at 12 noon at Lutheran Church of God's Love
in Newtown for anyone who would like to become a volunteer. Please let Kathy Fitchett know if you plan on attending.
February Prayer Calendar
Dear Family Promise of Lower Bucks supporters,
We are pleased to report that the Day Center has successfully moved to its new site and currently has 2 families in the program. Your continued prayers for Famil
y Promise are encouraged in the month of February. Please pray for more volunteers at the Day Center, for our director, the host congregations, leadership, each of our current volunteers, our new families to be recipients, and the financial need.
Thank you in advance for your help and prayers.
Please use our prayer calendar below in your daily devotions or
CLICK HERE for our online prayer sign up.
For volunteer opportunities, p
lease
visit
www.fplb.org
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LBATF Overdose Prevention Town Hall Meeting
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The Lower Bucks Addiction Task Force (LBATF) will be hosting a Town Hall Meeting at Cairn University on
Wednesday, February 15th from
7pm to 9pm. The meeting will feature a panel of local and state representatives assembled to discuss the disease of addiction, community resources, and what is being done here in Lower Bucks to help stop this epidemic. Also, there will be an opportunity to safely dispose of any unused/unwanted prescription drugs and over-the-counter medicines you may have in your possession.
CLICK HERE to view an informational flyer with all the details about this Town Hall meeting including members of the panel, details/location of the meeting and contact person should you have any questions.
Please help LBATF spread the word about this event so that we may increase awareness in our community about the awful drug epidemic happening right here in our own backyard.
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Sonshiners Update
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On January 12th, eighteen Sonshiners celebrated the New Year with a delicious Pot Luck Lunch and our traditional "New Year's Yankee Swap." We opened by toasting the New Year in with a "mock" champagne punch. Instead of our usual practice of bringing a newly purchased gift, we had a "White Elephant Swap" bringing items that we had on hand and never used or wanted to re-gift. Some were useful, funny, pretty or even outrageous! It was a lot of fun to open the wrapped gifts to find the treasure that awaited us. Susan Fiscarelli was the recipient of the most unique gift of all - a red, white and blue, sequined and dazzling matching set of a tie and visor cap. She will now be the center of attention at all national holiday celebrations! You will surely see her coming!
Our January worship service at Pickering Manor Nursing Home was led by Clyde Beury who was assisted by our faithful volunteers Donna DiCesare, Jane Helmis, Kay McCorkle and pianist Betty Berner. As always, the residents were grateful for our visit and we, too, were blessed to provide this ministry for them. We invite others to consider joining us for these worship services. We meet on the third Wednesday of every month at 10:30am for a half hour service and then usually have a short visit with the residents. Pickering is located at 226 North Lincoln Avenue in Newtown. Our next visit will be on Wednesday, February 15th. If interested, please contact Betty Berner.
Our next Sonshiners' event will be held on Thursday, February 9th, at 12 noon. Since February is celebrated as "Heart Month," we will present a program on "Managing Our Heart Health." Following our Pot Luck Lunch, Jill Kwansy, Nutritionist for McCaffrey's Food Markets, will give a talk on "Healthy Eating" and also provide some heart healthy recipes. A Tai Chi demonstration, along with information on its benefits to our health, will be presented by Clyde Beury. Also, if at all possible, please consider bringing a "healthy" pot luck dish we can share. We encourage you to join us for this special program. Sign up at the church bulletin board to let us know if you are coming and what you will bring or contact Donna DiCesare via email at
johdices1@verizon.net
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Campaign for the ELCA
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Always Being Made New: The Campaign for the ELCA
is a five-
year fundraising effort, the ELCA's first comprehensive campaign, formally launched on February 1, 2014.
The campaign seeks to raise $198 million in support of new and expanded churchwide ministries above and beyond those supported by your regular weekly offerings. This goal represents a 64 percent increase in designated funding for the ELCA's existing and new ministry initiatives.
- Renew and begin new congregations
- End poverty and hunger, and overcome malaria
- Identify, train and support new leaders and engage young people in the life of this church
- Expand the ELCA's disability ministries
- Grow this church's capacity to serve globally, support ELCA missionaries and women leaders among global companion churches
2017 marks The Campaign for the ELCA's annual theme year for the Global Church priority, including Missionaries and Young Adults in Global Mission, Global Ministries and International Women Leaders, and we hope you will join us!
Through a variety of learning and giving opportunities, we will lift up this important work and reaffirm our commitment to do God's work of restoring and reconciling communities in Jesus Christ's name throughout the world. In addition to year-round fundraising ideas and fun, educational activities for your congregation, you are invited to join us as we lift up three major events in 2017:
- International Women's Day, March 8, 2017
- Pentecost Sunday, June 4, 2017
- Global Church Sunday, October 2017
CLICK HERE to view our Global Church Road Map which will further explain the focus of this year's. To learn more about this campaign as a whole, please visit
http://www.elca.org/
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A Mother's Mutterings
by Christie Paton
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Believe It...
I. Am.
The Mother Of A Teenager.
I know it's hard to believe... I don't look it and I certainly don't act it.
But it's one of those things that if you had thought about when you became a parent, you would have realized would eventually happen, but when it actually does, it's still a bit of a surprise.
How did this happen?
How did my baby get so old so fast?
Well, the numbers don't lie.
And at the beginning of January, it happened.
Daniel turned thirteen.
So overall, I think I've done a fairly good job as a parent and I am proud of the person that Daniel has become.
Of course, there are always those doubts... is there something I could have done differently?
Could he have been a better person?
Have I messed him up for life?
I'm sure I made mistakes, but as we all kno
w, there is no parenting handbook... just initiation by fire.
Of course, there are those other moments.
Take for instance a few days ago, when I was ironing.
(For the record, I hate ironing, which may explain my ward
robe.)
In preparation for the Black and White Dance, I was ironing Daniel's one nice outfit - the button-down white
shirt and black pants, which serves as his standard outfit for orchestral and choral concerts, the annual formal dance at school, and any other special occasion where soft Adidas pants and soccer jerseys are frowned upon.
So I'm ironing and thinking about how grown up my little boy is, going to the dance with a group of his buddies and how he will have such a good time, when the thought hits me... exactly when is Daniel old enough to learn how to do his own ironing?
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