Jerusalem Evangelical
Lutheran Church
Columbiana, Ohio
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Jerusalem Evangelical |
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Last updated on January 13, 2012.
January 14, 2012 2-5pm - Pastor Sean and Amy invite you over to the parsonage for light refreshments. We would love to get to know each of you more and to have a casual time to enjoy the company of the congregation.
The Christmas program was held on December 18th in Luther Hall. A Christmas play was performed by the Sunday School children with a few adults who graciously submitted their talents to the program. We would like to thank Ed Holisky for getting cardboard for the new scenery that Amy Myers and her parents, Bob and Judy Witt, helped put together and paint. Also, we would like to thank Joan Rupert and Esther Tucker for being the clowns as well as Chad Kuhlman for being Herod's guard for the performance. Pastor Sean and some of the teachers were 'singers' as well. May I add that we have a bunch of 'hams' among us?!! Afterwards, cookies and juice was provided for all to enjoy made and baked by Pr. Sean, Amy, Judy Witt, and Joan Rupert. A big thank you to all who helped in any way to make the program a success! - The Sunday School Teachers
With the passing of Jack Kuhlman January 3rd, Rachel will be taking time away from the office to celebrate his life and mourn her loss. During this time, Amy Myers has committed to volunteering her time and talents to keep the office doors open 9-1pm Monday through Friday. We will do our best to answer questions that you may have in the meantime but please understand that we are also still learning.
If there is an emergency during the month of January (until otherwise noted) and you need to get in contact with Pastor Sean outside of office hours Mike Gaskill, the 2012 Council president, will be on that call list. It is as follows:
Thanks to the compassion and generosity of US Lutherans, LWR sent...
... a total of more than $12.6 million of aid that went to people in need in 26 countries this year!
God's hands continuously reach out and hold people in need, even when common sense calls for other responses. Jesus reached out to lepers, unclean people and other seemingly unsavory characters. God's hands fashioned the first people and promised to hold them forever in love.
God warns us about how we use our own hands. Do our hands let go of our own desires and reach out to those who suffer? Or are they holding onto things we don't — and maybe shouldn't — have?
Lift hands of gratitude, using your hands to give like the One who gave himself: in a crib, on a cross, hands pierced.
Raise your voices and hands with full-throated thankfulness. Sing loudly and proudly: Hail to the Lord's anointed who has anointed us with the gift of the Spirit.
Let go of what you don't have and embrace what you do — the power, in Christ's love, to end poverty, injustice and human suffering. Do justly, love mercifully, walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8).
Again, we wish to thank everyone who gave of their time and talents and all the material things. Again, you went above and beyond in 2011.
One of the new programs here at Jerusalem is the Visitation Team, which includes Pixie Monske, Dick Souder, Esther Tucker, Dick Fisher, Ihla Rae Vargo, JoAnn Kale, Joan Rupert and Amy Myers. In addition to Pastor Sean going to visit our shut-ins and bringing them communion, this team also goes and visits. In this way, our shut-ins are able to have a connection with our congregational members in addition to the Pastor and the team members are able to use the gifts that they have been given in service to God.
The communion that the team takes to our shut-ins is taken from our table on Sunday mornings. They are not consecrating the meal, but rather are continuing the meal from our worship, in order that our shut-ins may be joined with our congregation. In the constitution here at JLC, members of the church are to help with visitations. In this way, they are rightfully treated as members of our congregation instead of separate entities.
I am excited to see the gifts of our members being put to use and the joy in our shut-ins when they receive these visits. This team has been a beacon of light in the community and a blessing to our congregation.
To Jerusalem Lutheran Church Congregation: This has been a year of anticipation as we began the process of calling a Pastor. The work, the fellowship and the related expanding of friendships during the process, unified us and at the same time we learned more about our church as a whole.
All of that began with a leap of faith and JLC has been rewarded with many successes as we accomplished everything that we started out to do.
I am proud of our church and what we have done in such a short time. I want to thank each of you for the service and support that you personally provided to Jerusalem, and to me, during my term as president. It has been a privilege to be able to serve JLC in a new way this past year.
Blessings to each and every one of you,
Peggy Oberholtzer
Be sure to check out the Preschool page for news about the JLC Preschool.
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