By the Way
DECEMBER . 2 0 2 2
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Making the House Ready for the Lord
by Mary Oliver
Dear Lord, I have swept and I have washed but still nothing is as shining as it should be for you. Under the sink, for example, is an uproar of mice—it is the season of their many children.
What shall I do? And under the eaves and through the walls the squirrels have gnawed their ragged entrances—but it is the season when they need shelter, so what shall I do?
And the raccoon limps into the kitchen and opens the cupboard while the dog snores,
the cat hugs the pillow; what shall I do?
Beautiful is the new snow falling in the yard and the fox who is staring boldly up the path,
to the door. And still I believe you will come, Lord: you will, when I speak to the fox,
the sparrow, the lost dog, the shivering sea-goose, know that really I am speaking to you whenever I say, as I do all morning and afternoon: Come in, Come in.
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Pastor's Ponderings
Happy New Year! What? That’s right, Advent is the start of the New Year for the church.
The name was adopted from Latin adventus 'coming; arrival,' translating Greek Parousia. In the New Testament, this is the term used for the Second Coming of Christ. Thus, the season of Advent in the Christian calendar anticipates the 'coming of Christ' from three different perspectives: the physical nativity in Bethlehem, the reception of Christ in the heart of the believer, and the eschatological Second Coming.
As we anticipate and revisit the coming of Christ into our homes, our hearts, and our daily lives, let’s remind ourselves to be about the things that are really important, often unexpected, and often right in front of us.
Every Sunday we will light candles of Hope, Peace, Joy, Love, and then the Christ Candle.
As Mary Oliver teaches us in her poem—Our houses are ready, we just need to say “Come in, Come in.”
Peace,
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WE ACCEPT, EMBRACE AND AFFIRM THE DIGNITY AND WORTH OF EVERY PERSON, AS WE ARE ALL CREATED IN GOD'S IMAGE. |
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What's Happening at Church...
Get involved and join a group, an event, or a LHC initiative.
Explore / Belong / Learn
Worship Service - Sundays, 9:30 am (recorded and uploaded to YouTube during the week)
Bible Study - Wednesdays, December 7 and 14, 10 am - In Person & Via Zoom
Choir Rehearsals - Wednesdays, 7 pm
Contemplative Services - Thursday, December 1 and 22, 8 am & 7 pm
Men of LHC Monthly Dinner - Thursday, December 8, 8:30 am
Handbell Choir Rehearsal - Sunday, December 11 after church
Genealogy Group Meeting - Tuesday, December 13, 7 pm via Zoom
Women's Advent Tea - Saturday, December 10, 10 am
Evangelism Meet & Greet Dinner - Sunday, December 11, 5:30 pm
A Book & A Prayer Book Club - Thursday, December 15, 7 pm via Zoom
Church Council Meeting - Monday, December 19, 7 pm in Parish Hall
Christmas Cantata - Sunday, December 18, 9:30 am
BTW Deadline - Tuesday, December 20
Christmas Eve Services - Saturday, December 24, 5 pm (Christmas Pageant) and 9:30 pm
Christmas Day Service - Sunday, December 25, 9:30 am
CHURCH OFFICE HOURS - Monday through Thursday, 9 am to 3 pm, 630.584.4013
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Moderator's Message
Traditions...
I love traditions. It is an important part of our personal history handed down from generation to generation. Growing up, the Christmas Eve Smorgasbord was a much loved tradition in our home. My Mother spent weeks preparing the many dishes—Swedish Meatballs, Pickled Shrimp, Swedish Sausage and Red Cabbage, Dill Cucumbers, Veal Sylta, Tomato Aspic, Salmon Pudding, Herring Salad, Ham, Potatoes, and Lingonberry sauce. The Meal was followed by Rice Pudding and a variety (7) of Swedish Cookies. The Smorgasbord represented a celebration of family as we hosted Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and Grandparents.
I remember the first year I prepared the Smorgasbord for my family—the calls home to confirm recipes, the hours spent baking, cooking and entertaining. I loved every minute. 35 years later,
the Smorgasbord is still a beloved Christmas tradition shared with family and friends.
The Little Home Church has much loved traditions that we celebrate yearly. The Christmas Season begins with the Hanging of the Greens as we dress the Church for the Holiday Season. The Women’s Advent Tea is an opportunity to enjoy friendship and reflection at a busy time of year. The Christmas Cantata is absolutely breathtaking. The beautiful voices of the Choir and musical guests fill the Sanctuary with the Christmas Spirit. The Christmas Pageant has changed in format these past few years due to Covid but the sacred message of the birth of Christ still resonates. I hope, this season, you will participate in the holiday traditions that make the Little Home Church by the Wayside so very special
Susannah Lesswing, Moderator
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Grace's Notes
Waiting...
“It’s Christmas! It’s Christmas…that wonderful season when children are good for a very good reason.” This was the first sentence of a Christmas pop-up book I have had since I was a child. Because of the easy rhyme and the excitement expressed in those words it has always been a favorite of mine. But it isn’t Christmas yet…it is Advent. We have to wait. We have to prepare. Waiting for Christmas seemed interminable to me as a child. What the heck was Advent? Why acknowledge it? Couldn’t we just make it all Christmas?
Advent, meaning 'to come,' is the season of waiting and preparing for Christmas Day and the twelve days of the Christmas season culminating on Epiphany. 'To everything there is a season.' (Ecclesiastes 3:1)
Waiting is not easy. Waiting takes time. Waiting may cause anxiety as we anticipate either a particularly happy event, a particularly sad/difficult event or perhaps an event mixed with a range of emotions. Generally speaking, periods of waiting are longer than the event for which we are waiting; the event itself is often over so quickly…a party, a dental procedure, a birth, a death…Christmas. So long a wait, so fleeting the awaited. Are we disappointed by both?
What if we were to relish the time we have to prepare, to quiet our hearts and minds, to be open to wisdom we may receive, to realize the sacredness in the seemingly mundane moments of our everyday lives, living the adventure that advents can be as much as what we anticipate with excitement or dread or both. Perhaps our advents and our 'Christmases' would become equally important to us both appreciated and savored more fully.
The Chancel Choir is grateful for Advent as we prepare and wait not only for Christmas but for another particularly exciting day. Sunday, December 18 is the day the choir, narrators, and an orchestra of 18 players will present JOY a Gospel Christmas Celebration! We are working hard to prepare the music to the best of our ability so that together with you we may offer a joyful accounting of Jesus birth story. In so doing we give voice to and thanks for the gift of Advent, for the gift of Jesus, for the myriad gifts God gives us every moment in every season of our lives.
Peace be with you.
Grace Bardsley, Director of Music
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RSVP to attend, bring an hors d'oeuvre or dessert
to share, help for set-up & clean-up!
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Worship & Spiritual Growth
Celebrate the Season...
Calling all womenfolk! December 10 is our Women’s Advent Tea, where we will be 'Together Again' for the first time since 2019. We’ll gather at 10 am in the Sanctuary for a calming, centering worship service led again this year by Paige Wolfanger, Pastor of the Congregational Church of Batavia. This is Paige’s fourth time leading the Women’s Advent Tea service and she is an absolute delight! We are also excited to welcome back to the piano bench, the talented Nancy Sen. The service will be followed by fellowship time in the Parish Hall with warm beverages and sweet and savory bites. Bring a friend!
December 18, Grace (the person and the divine spirit) will lead the Choir in the Christmas Cantata, “Joy!” by Joel Raney. 'Joy!' is a gospel Christmas celebration in which the composer presents the story of Christ’s birth through impassioned, rhythmic, and spiritual music rooted in the African American churches of the American South. Please keep Grace and all the singers in the choir in your prayers as they prepare for this musical event.
At 5 pm Christmas Eve service we will present our beloved Christmas Pageant. This is a Do-It-Yourself Pageant, so tap into your inner shepherd or heavenly host and join us for this ancient LHC tradition, adjusted for modern times. The 9:30 pm Christmas Eve service will feature a quartet and soloists in a service of lessons and carols.
Christmas Day Service is at 9:30 am. It doesn’t happen very often, but this year Christmas, the 'reason for the season,' falls on a Sunday and we’ll be here to offer a morning service of music and a message. January 1, spoiler alert, no morning service!
One last item of business….We could really use another couple of people to help with the recording of our service. Training is free!
Finally, thank you to everyone who has volunteered to enhance our Sunday services in some capacity. Be it ushering, recording, or leading from the pulpit, the Worship and Spiritual Growth ministry appreciates you! Please don’t hesitate to add your name to the sign-up chart in the Parish Hall for the upcoming year.
Merry Christmas!
Jane Shelton, Worship & Spiritual Growth
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Evangelism
Meet and Greet Dinner
The Evangelism Committee has been busy greeting new visitors this month, and we are excited many find LHC welcoming and spiritually comforting. I will be hosting a 'Meet and Greet' dinner at my home on Sunday, December 11 at 5:30 pm for fun and fellowship and to learn more about LHC. If you know of someone, please contact me and I would be pleased to send an invitation.
We have all been blessed to have LHC be a part of our lives. Last Sunday when one of our new members, Rev. Jonathan Hutchinson preached in Larry’s absence, he said more eloquently than I could regarding our beloved church and to remember as we welcome our visitors, “LHC is a place of hope and peace, a place where service to others is built into the church’s mission. Through the unique gifts and abilities each of you possess, you all add to the witness of faithfulness.” He added, “We welcome those who are searching for what we have found—all the while enduring in faith and finding our souls.”
Keeping Jonathan’s words in mind, it takes a village to grow the church.
Carol Berger, Evangelism Chair
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Stewardship Update
Our support of Little Home Church, its mission, and our fellow members, both financially and with the use of our talent and willingness to volunteer our time, is our way of giving back to God.
The initial two weeks of our Stewardship Campaign have been fantastic with results bringing us to within 75% of our goal for the year (a record for this early in the campaign). If you have regularly pledged in the past but your pledge card just got buried, please dig it out and return it to the church office. If you are unable to locate it, contact Lori in the Church office and she will gladly mail you a replacement. If you have never pledged before but put $10 in the offering plate each week, why not calculate that up for the year and submit it as a $520 pledge. Every pledge in any amount will help us reach our goal so that we can accomplish all that we have planned for the upcoming year.
Wishing everyone a Happy Holiday Season and Thanks for all you do in support of the Little Home Church.
Respectfully,
Pete Connolly, Stewardship Ministry Chair
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Facilities
How Many...?
So how many Little Home Church congregation members does it take to change a light bulb ?
Well come to find out it took 5 of us! A big shout out and thank you to Brian Martisauski, Gary and Denise Figurski, and Lori Prang for volunteering to help change the light bulbs ALL the way up in the church steeple. Brian was our fearless leader as he climbed the multiple ladders, not once but twice up to the bell.
While up there we noticed the wood was considerably charred by fire at one time. Does anyone know the history of this fire? If so please let me know so we can solve this LHC mystery.
A big thank you as well to everyone who volunteered to help on our fall clean-up day. Unfortunately though, Mother Nature did not cooperate with us that day and we had to cancel. We have managed though to get the property ready for winter with the help of volunteers and Abbott Tree Care.
I’m wishing you and yours a wonderful and safe Holiday season, thank you for all you do here at LHC.
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The Christmas Fund
Special Offering—December 11
The Christmas Fund (formerly called The Veterans of the Cross) has been caring for active and retired clergy and lay employees of the United Church of Christ for over 100 years, providing small emergency grants, supplementation of small annuities and health premiums, and Christmas 'Thank You' gift checks each December to our lower-income retirees. United Church of Christ congregations and its members have blessed the Christmas Fund with their generosity for many years. This year, your care and compassion will be especially appreciated by those servants of the church who are facing a time of need.
We have chosen Sunday, December 11 as the designated offering date for this effort. Look for the special offering envelope in your bulletin and consider supporting The Christmas Fund.
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Outreach Ministry
Reverse Advent Calendar
This year there are no Christmas dinners for our Neighborhood Food Pantry. What we will do instead is a 'Reverse Advent Calendar.' Instead of receiving something daily for the countdown to Christmas—let's give something instead!
Our 'Kid's Club' will start this as an 'at home' project, but we invite anyone to participate.
Here is what you need to do:
—Wrap a medium size box (with no top) in Christmas wrapping paper.
—Fill it each day with the designated item on the list.
—Bring it to Church on or before December 24 and we will deliver to the Neighborhood Food Pantry.
No Costco or Sam's super-sized items please—just items that can fit in the box.
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Toys for Tots
As in years past, we have partnered with Toys for Tots. This wonderful organization is run by the United States Marine Corp Reserves and has been delivering a message of hope to needy children since 1947. We will be collecting toys for children infants through teenagers. In 2021, 69,503 toys were distributed and 34,071 children supported! The need is great. As you are out and about over the next month and a half, pick up a toy or two and drop them off (unwrapped) at church. Check out those sale flyers! The teenagers enjoy items like fragrance or make up kits, wallets, headphones, and sports equipment. Toys for Tots runs through Dec. 11. You may also make a financial donation which allows Toys for Tots to buy whatever is needed. Just indicate Toys for Tots in the memo portion of your check or online donation.
If you have questions regarding either one of these initiatives, just contact the Church Office.
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Bible Study
Wednesdays, 10 am
The Wednesday morning Bible Study will meet on December 7 and 14 as they finish the study of the 1st and 2nd Letters of Peter.
After that they will take a brief holiday hiatus and resume again about mid-January. This has been a great group participating both in person and via Zoom and they would love to have you join them...no preparation is necessary!
Stay tune for the January start date as well as what will be discussed.
Meeting ID: 883 5425 6478
Passcode: biblestudy
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A Book & A Prayer
LHC Book Club - Via Zoom
Meets 3rd Thursday, 7 pm
NEXT Meeting - December 15
The selection is The Santa Suit by Mary Kay Andrews
When newly-divorced Ivy Perkins buys an old farmhouse sight unseen, she is definitely looking for a change in her life. The Four Roses, as the farmhouse is called, is a labor of love―but Ivy didn't bargain on just how much labor. At the top of a closet, Ivy finds an old Santa suit―beautifully made and decades old. In the pocket of a suit she finds a note written in a childish hand: it's from a little girl who has one Christmas wish, and that is for her father to return home from the war. This discovery sets Ivy off on a mission. Who wrote the note? Did the man ever come home? What mysteries did the Rose family hold? Ivy's quest brings her into the community, at a time when all she wanted to do was be left alone and nurse her wounds. But the magic of Christmas makes miracles happen, and Ivy just might find more than she ever thought possible: a welcoming town, a family reunited, a mystery solved, and a second chance at love.
Meeting ID: 891 0088 0154
password: bookclub
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Smile When You Shop
Provide Donations to Our Church
This is a reminder that the Little Home Church is a registered charity on AmazonSmile! This is a website operated by Amazon which lets you enjoy the same products, prices, and shopping features as on Amazon.com. When you shop on AmazonSmile smile.amazon.com, the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price to Little Home Church.
AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support the church when you shop on Amazon, at no cost to you. You use the same account on Amazon.com and AmazonSmile. Your shopping cart, Wish List, wedding or baby registry, and other account settings are also the same. 100% of the donation amount generated from your eligible purchase on AmazonSmile will be donated. Amazon pays all expenses of the AmazonSmile Foundation; they are not deducted from the donation amounts generated by your purchases on AmazonSmile.
How to Participate
Search smile.amazon.com. (You must go to Amazon this way to generate donations.) Once the site comes up, sign into your Amazon account. Then scroll down to the box that says, “Select charitable organization to support/Pick your own charity to support” (or words to that effect). Type Little Home Church by the Wayside, UCC into the box and click on the select button. The church name will appear.
If you have supported other charities in the past, or if you want to support a variety of charities, there is a box at the top center on the homepage that allows you to change your charity. Start shopping!
If you have the Amazon app on your smartphone you need to 'turn on' Amazon Smile. Go to the Amazon app on your phone (or download it if you haven't already). Tap into 'Settings' and then tap 'Amazon Smile.' Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process. It is very simple. Amazon will ask you periodically to do this step.
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The Prayer Chain
Congregational Life Ministry
As Christians, one of the most powerful privileges of our spiritual life is the invitation to feel God’s grace and presence through ongoing prayer. Believing in the power of individual prayer, a prayer offered up by many becomes even more powerful. With that thought in mind, Congregational Life Ministry is happy to be introducing the inauguration of an email Prayer Chain to support the spiritual life of the members and friends of Little Home Church.
Diane Dippner, Congregational Life Ministry
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Join the Prayer Chain Email List |
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View from the Sanctuary & Courtyard |
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The [other] Joyful news for December is that the drawings for the Wayne Community House are nearly complete!
The hours spent reworking the look and layout of the building were well spent, resulting in a revised design which 'feels right' to the team, and we are sure the congregation will agree. As we honed the design with our architect, Bret Mitchell of Ethos Workshop, our goal was to be as forward thinking as possible regarding multiple uses, technology needs, accessibility, storage and functionality, not to mention aesthetics. Requests for Proposals from local bidders are imminent, and in keeping with the season of Advent, we will soon be waiting: for bids, then a contract, and, finally...construction. It remains to be seen whether the weather will complicate our timeline, but we are hopeful for some 'groundbreaking news' for the first of 2023. A Christmas miracle, perhaps? Stay tuned!
'Joyful, Joyful, We Restore Thee' Committee:
Anne Bouchard, Chairperson; Steve Anhalt; Larry Dieffenbach; Kit DeWitt; Bob Kaska;
Kathleen Sullivan Kaska; Susannah Lesswing; and Susi Winquist
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Dec. 3 - Gladys Stevenson
Dec. 9 - Kristen Thornton
Dec. 10 - Carolyn Hutchison, Karissa James, Dave Sterner
Dec. 11 - Charles Karwowski
Dec. 13 - Valeri Baldwin
Dec. 18 - Liz Okey, Christopher Thornton
Dec. 19 - Janice Christensen, Braedon Miller, Ty Wilson-Muno
Dec. 28 - Wade Mayer
Dec. 29 - Jan DeWitt
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Time to Sign Up...Please! |
Fellowship, Ushers, Pulpit Associates & Flowers
A simple way to give the gift of your time and enhance our worship experience at the same time is by signing up to be an Usher or a Pulpit Associate! We have upcoming openings this winter where we can use your help! It's easy and appreciated. Our Fellowship coffee time after worship is in full swing. Consider hosting one Sunday. You provide the goodies, we provide the coffee and tea. You can also check out the flower sign up sheet to provide Flowers one Sunday to decorate our altar table. The sign up sheets are up in the Parish Hall. If you have any questions, just contact the Church Office.
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To those recently ill
or hospitalized...
Carli Zelaitis - Rev. Ron Purser
Ruth Lishamer - Mary Duffy
Janice Christiansen
Josh Winquist's friend, Jason
Andrea Redmond
Greg Abell's grandparents
Lotje and her mother.
Our Sympathies to...
Pat Bartell and her family on the sudden loss of her son, John. John was killed last month by a drunk driver. Please keep the family in your prayers.
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Congratulations...
To Jamie and Kelsey Casey on the birth of Kalloway McDermott Casey on November 16, 2022.
He was 6 lbs. 3 oz.
Welcome to the world!
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Congratulations...
To Emma Kaska and Matt Brenski
married at Little Home Church by the Wayside
on Saturday, October 15, 2022
Pastor Larry Dieffenbach, Officiant
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'Socially' by the numbers...
'Congrats, Little Home Church by the Wayside/UCC! You passed 100 subscribers.' YouTube Creators Message
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THANK YOU TO OUR CHURCH STAFF, COUNCIL, AND ALL VOLUNTEERS |
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Pastor - Larry Dieffenbach
Pastor Emeritus - Rev. Ronald Purser
Director of Music - Grace Bardsley
Office Manager - Lori Prang
BTW Editors
Lori Prang and Kathleen Sullivan Kaska
Graphic Design
Kathleen Sullivan Kaska
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CHURCH COUNCIL
Moderator - Susannah Lesswing
Moderator-elect - Emily Miller
Christian Education - Katherine Brito
Congregational Life - Diane Dippner
Evangelism - Carol Berger
Facilities - Julie Graham
Outreach - Andrea Redmond & Mary Fleischmann
Stewardship - Peter Connolly
Worship & Spiritual Growth - Jane Shelton & Sharon Bergland
Members at Large - Jen Haseltine & Kit DeWitt
Financial Treasurer - Susi Winquist
Financial Secretary - Ann McLaughlin
Clerk - Kristen Thornton
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Thank you...
for continuing to remember Little Home Church by the Wayside.
Your support is greatly needed and appreciated.
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