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April 2018
| Volume 8
| Issue 4
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| Month Year |
Vol 1, Issue 1 |
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Pastor's Note
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This month I share with you ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton's Easter Message:
It all started with such promise - the angel announcing to Mary that the child she would bear would be called Son of the Most High; the conviction of Mary that this child would be the embodiment of God's promised justice, that the hungry would be filled with good things and the rich sent away empty; angels announcing his birth; thousands being fed; the sick healed; the dead raised.
And then, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" It was over. The world hadn't changed. Might still made right. How ridiculously naïve to believe that any reversal of the old order could come about. Hope is for the gullible. Looking at this broken man hanging utterly helpless, naked and broken on a cross, the powers and principalities, earthly and spiritual, death and the devil must have said, "You fool."
This, as St. Paul reminds us, is the wisdom of the world. And the world can present plenty of hard evidence that it is right: children killing children in horrific school shootings, 60 million displaced people - all of this supported by our rebellion against God, our idolatrous claim that we are in control and the world is ours. In the face of this and all of the suffering others cause and we cause others, we, too, might cry out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
I believe that the beginning of Psalm 22 expresses the anguish of the psalmist and the anguish of our Lord, but there is more going on here. Citing the first words of a text was, in the tradition of the time, a way of identifying an entire passage. The psalm ends this way: "All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord; and all the families of the nations shall worship before him. ... Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord, and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn, saying that he has done it." This is the wisdom of God. Jesus' crucifixion is the death of our death. His innocent suffering has reconciled all of creation to God. He has done it. We stake our lives on this.
This year, Easter falls on April 1. We shall have come through the Lenten desert to the Easter garden. We shall say, "Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Alleluia!" And we shall confess this and live this in the face of worldly wisdom that is based on death. Life wins. Love wins. And if the world wants to call us April fools, we are glad to claim that title.
A wonderful message indeed.
Pastor Kristina
Pastor Kristina Ahlman
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5th Sunday Appeal
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LCR's first of four 5
th Sunday appeals takes place this month. For April, we've chosen
Lutheran Disaster Response so we at LCR could help in their continued efforts to aid the people affected by Hurricanes Maria, Irma and Harvey, as well as the wildfires out west that devastated their communities last fall. On April 8
th
, Julia Menzo, a local representative of LDR, will be at LCR for all 3 services to give us an overview of Lutheran Disaster Response and their role in aiding those affected by these disasters. Please click on the link below to learn more about the Lutheran Disaster Response program.
https://www.elca.org/Our-Work/Relief-and-Development/Lutheran-Disaster-Response/How-We-Work
 If you feel moved to donate to any or all of the 5th Sundays this year, we ask that you use your blue trimmed envelope for the given month. Don't worry, though, if you have forgotten this envelope. You may write on your regular offering envelope or the ones provided in the pew. If you do this, please remember to designate the amount and write in 5th Sunday Appeal.
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College Care Packages
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 Know a College Student??? Back when I was a college student, each year my church would send a shoe sized box full of goodies and stress relievers. It was always such a nice reminder of home, and it helped to get through the finals crunch. Being a parent of a college student now, I've continued this ministry. If you know a college student that you would like to have a care package sent to, please let me know. For each name given, I'm hoping you can provide a box for mailing and make a donation towards the care packages, providing some sort of goodie for approximately each box to be prepared. Please email me the name and address of the college student to me at
Jennifer_Rehbit@munichreamerica.com. If you have questions, you can also call me at (215) 622-4585. The care packages will be prepared and sent on Monday morning, April 9th starting at
9 am. Don't know a college student, but would still like to donate? Please do!! Help would greatly be appreciated.
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AHTN Volunteers Needed
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 AHTN would like to thank you for your support during Code Blue Season. To continue our Wheels to Meals transportation and staff our schedules for the "TIN" van (Those in Need) appointments, we are looking to recruit volunteers. The next Volunteer Orientation is scheduled for Tuesday, April 10th from 7:00-8:30pm, at Emmaus Road Lutheran Church, 2185 Bristol Oxford Valley Rd, Levittown. Please click on the link below to learn more about volunteering for AHTN.
http://www.ahtn.org/volunteer-2/
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Sunday, April 8th
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, April 15th
8:00 AM Service of Holy Communion
9:30 AM Contemporary Worship Service with Children's Leadership
11:00 AM Service of Holy Communion
Sunday, April 22nd
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, April 29th
5TH SUNDAY APPEAL
8:00 AM Service of Holy Communion
9:30 AM Contemporary Worship Service
11:00 AM Service of Holy Communion
Please
CLICK HERE
to view LCR's April Event Calendar.
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Special Thanks
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 Thank you to all the men who shared their knowledge of martyrs during our Wednesday evening Lenten services. We learned a lot about these people. Also a big thank you to those who provided the delicious soups, salads and bread at our Lenten Soup Suppers!
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Gardeners Needed
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We need you to help keep LCR looking beautiful! Duties include weeding and watering the Welcome Garden about 4 times per spring/summer. No meetings! Please call Kari Ries at (215) 493-3291 or email
kariries@hotmail.com.
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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 forwar
ded to our editor, Jenni Panaia for publication.
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The Welcome Church
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On Sunday, March 25th, members of LCR traveled to Philadelphia to worship with The Welcome Church.
The Welcome Church is an ELCA congregation without walls, worshiping with those experiencing homelessness in the City of Philadelphia.
The morning began at LCR when our youth made over
over 100 sandwiches to be taken that afternoon for the coffee hour, which we hosted after the service. The peanut butter & jelly, ham and turkey sandwiches were blessed by Pastor Kristina V. Ahlman that morning and were then taken to The Welcome Church by a group of awesome adults. Those in attendance that afternoon sang and marched on the parkway with their palms, worshiped, prayed and shared hospitality with the Welcome Church community. It was truly a wonderful Palm Sunday
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Please look for future dates for these services - All are welcome to join us in this ministry!
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Interfaith Food Alliance News
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A Place At The Table
Screening & Round Table
The Interfaith Food Alliance invites you to a special screening of the critically acclaimed documentary, "A Place At The Table" on Sunday, April 22
nd, beginning
at 2:00pm, ending by 5:00pm. Following the screening of the movie, we will host a round table discussion about what we can do to combat hunger in our community, and share a meal. There is no charge for this event, but you are encouraged to bring a cleaning product or personal hygiene item to be donated to the Family Backpack Center, the food pantry which the Alliance operates for children of the Morrisville School District and their families who have been identified as food insecure by the school nurses and guidance counselors. The event will take place at Morrisville United Methodist Church, located at 501 W. Maple Street in Morrisville. The
pantry will also be open for tours for those who are interested. An informational flyer can be viewed by clicking the link below.
If you have any questions, please contact IFA/LCR members Berni Beury, Eileen Heitman, Katherine Becnel, or Diane Casey.
April Donations
During the month of April, The Interfaith Food Alliance is seeking donations of pasta sauce and beef or chicken gravy (canned) for their food pantry. Donations can be left in the bins located outside of LCR's Administrative Office. Monetary donations can be made by clicking the link below. We thank you for your kind and generous hearts!
Special Thanks from IFA Families
The families served by the Interfaith Food Alliance Family Backpack Food Center thank LCR's members and missions team for their generosity. Through LCR's March Missions Project, LCR donated 12 hams and 15 Giant Supermarket gift cards to the IFA. The hams were distributed prior to Easter, along with the gift cards, so the families could choose their favorite holiday items. We are also grateful for the continued support through ongoing collection of items for the food pantry. It is by our hands that God feeds the world and your generous and giving hearts are appreciated! The Interfaith Food Alliance meets on the second Thursday of each month and you are invited to join us!
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Merciful Monday Update
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Merciful
Mondays continue weekly on
Mondays from
7:00-8:30pm in the library at LCR.
Please come and share your stories and listen to others in a safe en
vironment at these weekly support and care sessions.
If you can't stay for the entire session, please join us anyway. If your schedule means you have to arrive after
7:00pm,
it's not a problem. As always, we encourage you to invite a friend.
Be sure to join us next week, on Monday April 9th, as we discuss the topic of "
Family Crisis/Relationships." Future topics include the following:
April 16th - Caregiving
April 23rd - Caregiving
April 30th - Anxiety
May 7th - Anxiety
May 14th - Addiction
May 21st - Addiction
May 28th - Memorial Day - No Merciful Monday
In conjunction with our Merciful
Monday Support Sessions, please visit our Support and Care table by the mailboxes. You can read material about sessions we have focused on. Please feel free to take any information from this table that interests you. If you can't make a Merciful
Monday session, but would like to talk, please call Barbara Merritt at (215) 519-7499 or you may contact her via email at
woodwardba@yahoo.com.
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Bible Study Returns
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Tuesday night bible study is resuming April 10th. Classes will start at 7:00-8:15pm in the rear of the LCR sanctuary. Attendees should read Hymn #400 from the Lutheran Book of Worship (LBW Green Hymnal). If you have any questions, please contact Michael Reynolds at (215) 736-2616.
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Sonshiners' April Update
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We had a wonderful turn-out of 29 people at the Sonshiners' "Nostalgia Event" on March 8th. Rick Spector, owner of Moviehouse Productions, presented a program and film on American nostalgia of the twentieth century featuring people, places, fads, music and more. Rick helped us unlock wondrous memories of things past with his interesting and entertaining narration throughout the film.
Before the program we had our usual Pot Luck Lunch and, as always, enjoyed all the delicious dishes provided by the great cooks of the Resurrection Sonshiners. After lunch we had the privilege of celebrating the 100th birthday of our long-time member, Irene Barnett, with song and a beautiful birthday cake. We were so happy she could be with us! We also serenaded another of our members, Nettie Mengel, who had just celebrated her 98th birthday the previous week.
Once again, due to another snow storm, we had to cancel our worship service at Pickering Manor in March, but we will gather together again on Wednesday, April 18, 10:30 AM, to worship with the residents. Please join us! Pickering Manor is located at 228 North Lincoln Avenue in Newtown.
Please join the Sonshiners on
Thursday, April 12th
for lunch and a tour of the American Treasures Museum in Oaks, PA. This is a guided Tram Tour of this fabulous and eclectic Museum that takes us through a vast Americana collection. So much to see from the tram with no need for walking! Meet at church to
carpool at 10:15am
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The tour is at 11:30am - followed by a buffet Lunch at 1:00pm on the premises.
The cost for the tour and lunch is $35 per person. Sign up at the bulletin board by April 8th, or contact Susan Fiscarelli at
nfiscarelli@yahoo.com
or (215) 493-1168. Please indicate if you will drive or need a ride
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Spring Cleanup
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Spring cleanup
will take place at LCR beginning at 8:00am on Saturday, April 14th. There are tasks for all ages and skill levels, so please come out and help spruce up our property! Continental Breakfast will be available.
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Shared Meal News
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The April Shared Meal with our neighbors experiencing homelessness or food insecurity will take place on Sunday, April 15th. Set up begins at 2:30pm with the
meal being served at 4pm. All are invited and welcome to join us! Our menu will include all types of entrees made with ground beef, salad, bread, and dessert. A s
ign-up sheet is on the bulletin board - please share a dish - and hospitality!
Thank you to all who came out to welcome our guests at the March Shared Meal held on Sunday, March 18th - especially our wonderful youth who pitched in! Over 75 people enjoyed the meal and conversation!
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Creativity Workshop
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 Creativity is a divine spark of life we carry within us, a reflection of God's image in our lives. As we come to know our creative selves more fully, we come to know God more deeply. Set aside a couple of hours every third Thursday of the month to engage, explore, express and expand into what is not yet known to you.
Please plan to join us on Thursday, April 19th, from 7:00-9:00pm, in the library and conference rooms.
The workshop is facilitated by Katherine Cartwright Knodel who can be contacted via email at
spiritdancer61@aol.com
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DWSN April Event
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Please join the Disciples With Special Needs (DWSN) for a night of painting on
Friday, April 20th from 7:00-8:30pm
, in Fellowship Hall. Mike Casey will be demonstrating techniques to help create your very own masterpieces! The cost is $5.00 and you get to keep your painting! Light refreshments will be served. If you will be joining us, please RSVP to lcrdwsn@verizon.net or call (215) 493-2018. This really helps us to plan for supplies and refreshments.
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Mission Team Meeting
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Your LCR Mission team will hold its next quarterly meeting on Wednesday, April 25th at 7:00pm. We will meet in the LCR library and all are welcome to join us! The team is a motivated, fun and efficient group and we hope you will join us. We welcome your thoughts and ideas with regard to God's work taking place through the hands of LCR's members. We hope to see you there!
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LCR Book Club
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The LCR Book Club meets once a month to discuss books selected by the meeting attendees that are of ethical, moral, spiritual and literary interest. Our topics and book selections range widely depending on members suggestions. Each month we discuss questions provided by the host and learn from each other how the book resonated with our lives - both in the everyday world as well as our internal and personal spiritual worlds. All members of Resurrection are invited to participate and bring their friends and neighbors for lively and relevant discussion.
Our next meeting will be on Sunday, April 29th from 7:00 - 9:00pm. The host will be Berni Buery and we will discuss
The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See.
Summary / Review:
Discussion Questions:
If you have any questions about the upcoming meeting or about the Book Club in general, please contact Trish Davis via email at
jollydavis@verizon.net
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A Mother's Mutterings
by Christie Paton
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The Quiet Game
There are many wonderful adjectives I could use to describe Megan.... happy, energetic, creative, passionate, dynamic, animated, insightful, kind, compassionate, friendly, talkative, chatty, lively...
The one word that you would not find among the top hundred describing Megan is "quiet". One time when she was really little, I was driving my sister and Megan somewhere... Megan sat in the back chattering away... my sister turned to me and said, "Who is she talking to?" I replied, "I have no idea." She'll talk to you if you'll listen... she'll talk to you if you don't. She talks to her stuffed animals... she talks to herself. She is not too particular. And if she's not talking, she's humming or singing. She is just a joy to be around... she's happy and it's contagious.
Remember, "quiet" is not the word you'd use to describe Megan. So it was the day before Easter, and we were taking a long family walk in the woods. Megan was going crazy talking up a storm... about halfway through the walk, Jim suggested playing the quiet game. Megan was all in. This is how it went... Megan goes, "Ok, quiet game. Here we go... starting... NOW!" it was not even 3 seconds later that you heard humming, and then, "Wait, time out. Can we hum?" Daniel responded, "No, Megan, it's the 'quiet game', not the 'quiet game with exceptions'." "Ok, quiet game. Starting... NOW!" 5 seconds. "Wait a minute... you can talk if someone's out. Go!" More humming. "Ooops, I forgot. Starting... NOW!" Then she'd start talking. "Wait wait wait, let's start again..." and then she'd start giggling. It got to the point where she couldn't even start the game because she was laughing too much.
So much for the quiet game in the woods. But it was a lovely walk.
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Other Good News!
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Updated Play Room at LCR
Special thanks to LCR's Property Team for the beautiful job remodeling our children's play room. Their hard work on this project and their efforts to keep the church property properly maintained and updated is greatly appreciated by all!
Congratulations First Holy Communion Recipients
Pictured are Ryleigh Bossler and Sarah Rehbit, who along with Lukas Rothmund and Elliot Rowe, received First Holy Communion on Maundy
Thursday. May they feel the warmth and comfort of the Lord's love with them every day - Blessings to all!
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