The Messenger
In Christ, We Worship, Love, Grow, Serve and Send.
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DECEMBER 2020 | Vol. XXXXI No. 12 |
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Miles to Go Before We Sleep!
By Cornelia Pearson, RN, MN
Most of you are familiar with Robert Frost’s 1922 poem, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening. The poem tells a story of a person who is traveling in a buggy drawn by a horse. The earth is quiet and dark and the moon is bright providing light on the trees, the lake and the snow. The buggy rider stops long enough to take in the beauty and then reminds himself that he cannot linger because he has some distance to go before he will reach a place to lay his head for the night.
For us at St Andrew, this poetic story is a metaphor for what we have experienced since early March in the wake of COVID-19 and what we can expect to continue to experience for a number of months to come. Yes, we do not know how long it will be before we will have access to an immunization that will protect us, our families, our friends, our communities and the world from COVID-19. Some might interpret Frost’s poetic words as meaning permanent sleep. We on the other hand do have promises to keep before our current pandemic is resolved and we are able to return to a more normal life. In the meantime, how do we keep our promises to ourselves, our families, our church community, our larger community, and God? ...Read more.
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Semi-Annual Congregation Meeting on ZOOM! |
Please mark your calendars to attend the semi-annual meeting of the congregation on Sunday, December 6, 2020 at 4:00 PM.
Meeting ID: 899 6124 5412
Passcode: Meeting
One tap mobile: 1.301.715.8592
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Susan Denice Johnson-Miller was born on May 23, 1947, in Henderson, Kentucky, but spent most of her growing-up years in Detroit. She was the daughter of the late Horace Andrew Johnson and Cornelia Mae Brack Johnson and sister of the late H.A. (Butch) Johnson. She is survived by Darryl Ray Miller, her husband of 44 years, and their daughter, Annie, born in Florida on November 25, 1986. Annie and her husband, Luke Iverson, are the parents of Noah, age six, and Willow, age four. She also is survived by her sister-in-law, Wilma, niece Deby, nephews Chris (Michelle) and Brad (Paola), their children Alex, Kaia, Jarrett, Kaetlyn, Bradley, and P.J.
Miss Susie, as she was affectionately known by children around the world, spent 45 years in pastoral ministry, serving seven churches as children's pastor in five states: ...Read more
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The Children’s Choir practices via Zoom on a Wednesday evening with Katherine Mansouri, Director, and Ai Yamada, accompanist.
Choristers pictured above : Stella, Lucy, Raleigh, Hannah, Isla, Dani, and Denise. Not pictured is Oliver, who participates every other Wednesday.
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EMILY BEDNAR'S GIRL SCOUT PROJECT FOR THE YOUTH ROOMS AT ST. ANDREW! |
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Hi! My name is Emily Bednar, and for the past 3 months I have been working on my Gold Award for Girl Scouts. The first part of my project has been working on redecorating the high school youth room in the basement! So far the walls have been painted, donations for couches and pillows have been received, the room has been organized and cleaned, and with help, I went through all the games, books, and movies. The project has been going very well and I’m super excited to continue on with my project at the church and can’t wait until we can meet again in the new room!
I created a “wish list” of items for the youth rooms to make them more inviting. If you would like to contribute to this project, you can help us by going to AMAZON/CLICK HERE and making a purchase for the youth.
The youth of St. Andrew are blessed to be a part of a congregation that loves and supports them!
Thank you to everyone who has helped with this project so far! Stay tuned for a final look when I am finished!
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Kyle and Emily Bednar improving the walls with some paint! |
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Sandy Vollmer and Julie Bednar help Emily paint before the walls were transformed! |
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Pictured: Emily shares the new, improved classroom that is so much lighter and cheerful with a new coat of paint! |
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Pictured left: Emily Bednar shares the excitement of the youth with some fun, new equipment!
"Many thanks to Peter and Linda Strickland who generously donated a new bluetooth speaker so youth can play music when we are together! We really appreciate this donation!"
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Thank you, Kris Nethercutt! |
Kris Nethercutt, metal artist and member of St. Andrew, designed, fabricated, and donated this fancy, new mailbox post complete with address holder for our church.
Joe York, our Facility Manager, primed, painted, and installed the mailbox in November.
Many thanks to Kris and Joe for getting this much-needed locked, mailbox installed. It looks great!
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Thanks to everyone for their prayers and thoughts during my recent surgery and illness. A special thanks to the Prayer Shawl Ministry group for the beautiful shawl.
God bless you all,
Lettie Henderson
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CELEBRATING OUR CONFIRMANDS! |
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Congratulations to DeShaun Shanklin, Elisabeth Brackebusch, Katie Crispell, Gracie Helou, Abigail Levy (not pictured), and Sean Meyerhoff, with Sandy Vollmer, Pastor Gordy and Pastor Museus Dabay, affirming their faith in the Rite of Confirmation on Sunday, November 1, at 1:00 p.m. We rejoice with them as they renew their baptismal vows, praising God and sharing the good news.
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St. Andrew Musicians to Offer "Dinner Table" Service during Advent/Christmastide |
For the month of December, the St. Andrew Children's Choir, Youth Choir, Adult Choir, and Handbell Choir will present a "Dinner Table" service of Advent and Christmas music. Available to stream on demand from www.SaintAndrewChurch.tv, this service will feature music for the season performed virtually by your very own St. Andrew musical ensembles! You can play this service anytime: while you're cleaning house, at work, paying bills, in the car (handsfree) or around the dinner table. Whenever you want to hear sacred music for the season (or share with your friends), simply visit www.SaintAndrewChurch.tv, click "Videos" and scroll to find the "Dinner Table Advent/Christmastide" Service recording.
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ADVENT RESOURCES FOR FAMILIES!
and more...
Director for Youth & Children's Ministry
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This is a difficult season. Life has been challenging in many ways over the last year, and with the holidays approaching, we are faced with complicated decisions for our church community, as well as for ourselves and our families. Just as we have been striving to do this year in our ministries at St. Andrew, it is my hope that we can stay connected with one another in healthy ways.
Poetry has always been a source of comfort and inspiration for me, whatever my emotional landscape looks like. My most favorite poet, Mary Oliver, says:
“To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work.” ...Read more.
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ADVENT RESOURCES
from the ELCA
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The ELCA Faith Formation team curates many, many resources for children, youth, and families. LOTS of ideas to share here:
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ADVENT & CHRISTMAS DEVOTIONALS
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Stars and Promises Christmas Concert with Peter Mayer |
In the first-ever ELCA event of its kind, ELCA World Hunger presents an online Christmas benefit concert featuring Peter Mayer, a longtime Lutheran and the lead guitarist for singer Jimmy Buffett. The concert will premiere on the ELCA Facebook page on Dec. 9, 7 p.m. Central time.
The concert is a gift to you this Advent season, a way for us to thank you and provide a place for you to gather online with the church community as we prepare for the birth of our Savior. Donations to ELCA World Hunger are encouraged and will support our church’s work to respond to hunger and poverty in more than 60 countries. Register now to receive a free Peter Mayer Christmas album download, created just for this event!
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LUTHERAN DISASTER RESPONSE
Our Advent Offering Recipient; use your Advent offering envelopes to donate to this cause during Advent.
Lutheran Disaster Response in the Southeastern Synod is one of the most active groups in the United States. Our area of the country is prone to so many natural disasters, and this year has been unprecedented in many ways. Not only have the number of tornadic events and hurricanes this year been larger than in the past, the addition of the FEMA declared disaster of COVID-19 has impacted things in ways we could ...Read more.
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ST. PAUL BREAKFAST MINISTRY |
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Our next breakfast to volunteer to bring casseroles, fruit, and sausage is on Saturday, December 5 from 10-11:00 a.m. Contact Laura McElroy if you can bring these items. Thanks.
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FUEL BAGS
St. Andrew Day of Service: December 19, 2020
By Jeana Butler, Faith Formation Chair
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For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore, I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’ Deuteronomy 15:11 NIV
Christmas is typically a festive time, with breaks from the routine, meals with loved ones, maybe even some gifts. But for many families, the season comes with intense stress: some families with children in Williamson County are not getting enough food. St. Andrew Lutheran Church is collecting Fuel Bags to be distributed to children in our area over the holidays. Fuel Bags will be assembled at home and dropped off at St. Andrew on Saturday, December 19. This is a day of service for our congregation, as we are also delivering Christmas Baskets on December 19 ...Read more.
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WELCA CHRISTMAS PARTY - VIRTUALLY! |
Join us for a virtual WELCA Christmas party on Tuesday, December 15 at 6:30 p.m. Use the Zoom link below to join in on the fun! We will be doing our gift exchange! If you want to participate, bring a wrapped gift, valued at around $15, to the church on Saturday, December 12, 2020, between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. When you drop off your gift, you will also pick up a wrapped gift. DO NOT OPEN IT! NO PEEKING! Save it for the virtual party. (You don't have to participate in the gift exchange to participate in the party.) Then get yourself cozy for some virtual fun! Put on soft Christmas music in the background, snuggle up with your favorite blanket, get a hot chocolate and some Christmas cookies; and let the fun begin!
REMEMBER TO DROP OFF YOUR GIFT on Saturday December 12, 10-12:00 a.m. and join the WELCA PARTY on Tuesday, December 15 on this Zoom link:
Meeting ID: 861 3384 9904
Passcode: WELCA
Dial by your location - 1.301.715.8592
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QUILT KITS
ATTENTION: Quilters, Women, Men, Teens
There are plenty of quilt kits available in the administration entrance. Material, needles, and instructions are included! No quilting required; only tying knots! Please help Lutheran World Relief by finishing these quilts so that people in need can be warm.
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WELCA Ladies:
Don’t Forget Your Offering!
Please remember to send your offering to our new treasurer, Mrs. Peggy Bowker, 525 Madeira St., Franklin, TN 37064!
Our offerings support GraceWorks, Bridges Domestic Violence, ELCA Global Church Sponsor, and the SES Women of the ELCA. Offerings also purchase quilting supplies. Make checks payable to St. Andrew WELCA.
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The chosen ministries for the Angel Tree for 2020 are Mercy Community Health and Inspiritus Caring Closet.
To participate, use this link:
View item(s) you would like to donate, click on them, and choose how many you would like to donate.
You will receive both a confirmation e-mail and a reminder e-mail from SignUpGenius. Please bring your items to church on Saturday, December 19 between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Do not wrap any of the items.
Please stay in your car and someone will take the items from your trunk. Masks will be worn and social distancing will occur. For questions, contact Martha Ellwood, Joni Donegan or Beth Smith. Thank you for supporting our community! The need is greater now than ever.
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Lutheran World Relief items are on their way!
Thanks so much to everyone who helped put quilts together before and after COVID-19 arrived in our world. Gathering School Kits was a success, too! We are blessed to have such a giving congregation and when we work together for ministry it really shows. THANK YOU, SAINT ANDREW!!!
Also, a BIG THANKS to Charlie Bowker and Bernie Olszewski for delivering our boxes to Our Savior Lutheran Church on Franklin Road. It took three vehicles and a trailer to get it there! We were not able to hold our in-gathering in August, so Our Savior invited us to bring our LWR boxes to them.
TOTAL ITEMS:
- 250 School Kits
- 166 Quilts (28 were assembled using our quilt kits.)
- TOTAL shipped - 1,323 lbs. to LWR.
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You Still Here?
Written by Jay Brinkmeyer
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“For we are God’s handiwork created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10
A little over a month ago, a pair of Illinois neurosurgeons and an ENT shoved two small medical devices into my nose, down the nasal passage and with great care, removed a benign tumor from my brain, and in a couple of weeks from now, I’m reluctantly going to step into my seventh decade of life. Like you…I am still here. There must still be something that God wants you and me to accomplish on this side of Heaven. ...Read more.
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December 1 Rand & Beth Smith
December 8 Lax Vardhanapu & Mary Dayam
December 17 Ted & Stephanie Forsberg
December 18 Kirk & Carlotta Rutter
December 19 Wayne & Marilyn Kruse
December 19 Jeff & Helen Moseley
December 21 Ken & Gretchen Reynolds
December 22 Ken & Bonnie Sersland
December 26 Thomas & Katherine Museus Dabay
December 27 Gary & Sherre Wicks
December 28 Rod & Cyndy Dyer
December 28 Eric & Connie Pearson
December 29 Buck & Rachel Haltiwanger
December 30 Dan & Brenda Farrell
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FROM THE FINANCE TEAM - FINANCIALS THRU OCTOBER |
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If you are thinking about a giving a year-end donation to St. Andrew, there are a number of ways to contribute, listed below. For more information, contact our Financial Secretary, Heather Adams, or our Financial Chair, Dwight Bonifacius. Year-end gifts MUST BE POSTMARKED by DECEMBER 31!
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NEXT NEWSLETTER DEADLINE IS MONDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2020.
Jolene Richardson, The Messenger Editor
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ST. ANDREW LUTHERAN CHURCH | www.saintandrewchurch.com
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