A message from Pastor Summer -- December 2016

“Be the change.”  This phase keeps coming back to me, particularly with what is going on in the world.   “Be the change” was the theme of the past youth gathering and was really taken to heart by our young people.  They found the words empowering.  Of course, “Be the change” has a direct connection with the season of Advent, the season in which we find ourselves.  In Advent, we await the coming celebration of the birth of Jesus, but more significantly, we await the coming of the Kingdom of God.  Our waiting, as the scripture makes clear, is not to be passive.  It is active.  We are to be ready.  We are not to be caught sleeping.  In other words, we are to be about the Kingdom’s business as we await the coming of Christ.  What’s the Kingdom’s business?  We are to be about the business of hope, peace, justice, reconciliation, and love.

Of course, the temptation in this world is to wait for someone else to do the work that needs to be done.  We wonder why the world is the way it is.  We wonder about the division, hatred, and violence.  We wonder who will step up and step into the brokenness.  Who will be that person?  The Gospel invites us to answer that call.  “Be the change.”  Don’t wait for someone.  The truth is that the same Spirit that was poured into Peter, Paul, Martin Luther, Mother Theresa, and every other person who has made a difference in this world has been poured into you and me through the water of our baptism.  By God’s grace, we are children of the Kingdom. 

Over the past weeks, in the midst of all the news that breaks our hearts, I have witnessed the children of the Kingdom go to work.  I have marveled at the individual acts of kindness and grace.  I have seen people reach out to others and stand with them.  I have heard people raise their voice and speak out against words that would seek to divide.  Indeed, I have witnessed people doing the Kingdom’s business.  And the good news is that every one of those acts is a light of hope.  Every one of those acts is a sign of God at work.  Every one of those acts makes a difference.  “Be the change.”  That is the call of Advent.  As we await the coming Kingdom of God, let us be about the Kingdom’s business.  We will not sleep.  We will not be caught unawares.  We will live out the Gospel.  We will be ready.  We will “be the change.” 

Peace,

Pastor Summer

November Council highlights ... by Bob Durham

· A revised draft of the 2017 budget was presented to the Council for review.  For the coming year, more people have pledged, but there is less in dollar amounts.  A motion was made by Todd Rothermel and seconded by Ron Rupp that Mosaic’s long-term use donation by applied to the General Fund. The motion carried.

· Jeff Livingston reported that the Confirmation projects have been discussed early this year to give students more time to plan.

· There will be a Congregational Meeting on Sunday, December 11th at 9:30 a.m. at the church.  The purpose of the meeting is to present the proposed 2017 budget and to elect new members to the Church Council.

· This month’s thanks go to:

* Kay Beagle and Sue Swanson for all of their efforts in hosting Family Promise.

* Peter Melick for cleaning up the cemetery.

* Harold and Martha Wrede for hosting the Restaurant Rovers dessert at their home.

The next meeting of the Church Council will be on December 8th.

From the Worship & Music Committee

The Christmas tree is going up on Saturday, December 17th.  The wreaths will be hung, the windowsills will be decorated and the poinsettias will be put in place at that time.  This doesn’t happen magically.  The Zion elves do the decorating.  And a few strong elves are needed to help get the 15 foot Christmas tree in place.  And an elf who likes to climb ladders is needed to get the ornaments and lights on the top of the tree.  Be an elf and join us at 9:00 am on Saturday, December 17th.

The Christmas tree will come down on Sunday, January 8th (Epiphany) immediately following the 11:00 am service.  This is not the time for the Zion elves to take a break!  You can relax later on Sunday afternoon.  Thanks for your help.

Social Ministry Update

Giving Tree

Located in the rear of the church, tags are still available for gifts and clothing requested for children associated with the Family Promise program. Please return all items by December 11th.

Senior "Baskets"

Now cards decorated by the Sunday School children with $10 gift cards, these cards will be distributed to needy seniors through the Clinton and Flemington food pantries.  Any donations of $10 gift cards can be given in the offering plate by December 11th.   

Reminder from the Stewardship Committee

If you are planning to make a 2016 year end contribution to Zion, it must be in the church office by Tuesday, January 3, 2017.   Thank you!

REFLECTIONS ... by Linda Lovas

I volunteer for Family Promise on a regular basis.  It's such a simple thing to do that it's hard to ignore the requests for assistance that arrive in my email on a regular basis.  This past time, I volunteered to "eat with guests from 5PM-6PM."  See what I mean by easy.  I'm not a great cook but I am a very good eater!  Halloween night is probably a tough night to fill slots.  I'm not a fan of the holiday and my kids are long gone so being available was also easy for me.  To my surprise this particular assignment turned out to be one of the best ever!

First of all (and this does not happen on every occasion) we had seven absolutely lovely guests:   Husband and wife with two children around 9 and 11 years old, one single older woman, and one single mother with a 15-year-old son.

I arrived at about 10 minutes to five and was greeted by Kay Beagle  (Zion's Family Promise angel) who has been our leader from the program's inception.  She gave me an update on all our guests and then headed home.  As I started to set the dinner table Frank Sztuk arrived carrying shopping bags filled with the Halloween dinner his wife Angela  had prepared.  Here's where the fun starts.  Her dinner was not only delicious but lots of fun.  It consisted of the following items:

Bleeding spider meatloaf, mashed potatoes with eyes, deviled eggs decorated with black olives to look like spiders, carrot stick fingers with almond slices that looked like fingernails with green dip, and better still … Devil Dogs for dessert.

It was so heartwarming to see the three children light up when they saw the meal all laid out as a buffet.  Beyond that, they ate everything.  The 15 year old boy had three servings of meatloaf!!!  There was plenty of food for all and we all appreciated the time and effort Angela took to make it so special.

I felt so good about our hosting this particular group.  They were all such lovely people.  The conversation during dinner flowed effortlessly. They expressed numerous times how much they appreciated the assistance they received from Family Promise.  They all had stories of hard times but still had optimism about how things would get better in time. The family with two children just found out that day they were approved for a rental in High Bridge.  They were overjoyed.  After dinner the 3 young people left to trick or treat for about an hour.  They were so excited to actually have a neighborhood to walk through.  They returned with stories of how Oldwick was such an amazing, fun place.  They said all the houses were "a buzz" with lots of treats and scary decorations.

Oh, I don't want to leave out two other important parts of my evening: all of the guests volunteered to clean up after dinner and Robbin Lamo arrived for her shift at 8PM and I stayed an extra hour just to chat with her about life in general and how she and her family were doing.  Easy....

What can I say?  As I drove home that evening I thought about our Family Promise commitment. It's a good thing and it 's easy.  Give it a try.

Youth of Zion Christmas Party

All 7th-12th graders are invited to the YOZ Christmas Party!

Where: CEB

When: Sunday, December 18^th, 6 p.m.—8 p.m.

We’ll enjoy music, hear stories, exchange gifts ($10 or less), play games, and eat pizza (please bring $5)!  Our college students will be joining us!

Please bring something for the food bank and a gift to exchange.

Women of Zion Christmas Cookie Exchange -- December 14

Please join the Women of Zion on Wednesday, December 14th, at the CEB, at 7:00 p.m.  It's time again for our annual cookie exchange and prayer pal recognition/selection.  Come for the  good company, good cookies to eat and the opportunity to do good deeds by packaging and delivering cookies to those who are ill and/or home bound.  All you need to do is sign up in the Narthex and bring yourself and three dozen cookies to the CEB on December 14th at 7:00 p.m.  As always, friends are welcome. 

Lunch Bunch -- December 8

The Lunch Bunch will be meeting on December 8 at noon.  We will be going to Spain 92, 1116 Rt. 202 South, in Raritan.  The phone number is 908-704-9292.  Join the fun.  We’re looking for you!

Advent Vespers -- Thursday evenings

During Advent, there will be a Soup Supper at the CEB at 6:00 p.m. on Thursdays, followed by Vespers at 7:00 p.m.  This worship experience has been deeply meaningful to many people.  Please join us!  There will be no Vespers on December 22.