Scriptures for New Year's Eve,
Sunday, December 31, 2017

Isaiah 61:10 - 62:3
Psalm 148
Galatians 4: 4-7
Luke 2: 22-40

Merry Christmas, everybody ! 
I hope that you are able to take some time to reflect and appreciate the meaning of Christmas. 
At Bethel, we are blessed with the legacy of the Chrismon Tree, to lend further meaning to the time-honored custom of bringing an evergreen into the house.  Lights, stars, nativity scenes, and many other symbols of the Christ-child’s story are all around us at this time of year.  May you find in them the signposts to point you always to the Christ in Christmas.

Some years ago, Randolph appointed Pam to carry away some old religious books that were in his home.  They came to the Bethel office.  Recently, Loyce was leafing through a very worn, old Bible, published some time after 1924, with the name of Ruth Hensley (Mrs. George) Turnmyer (or is it Turnmeyer ?) in the front.  She found this highly creative item taped inside the cover.  We present it this week for your edification and pleasure.

Dan’s notes on the above image:
 
In the age of hand-set type and old-fashioned typewriters, this tree- shaped pattern was quite an artistic achievement !
 
The information about the Bible that it presents is accurate AS LONG AS
one is using a typical King James Version (American English) Bible as was common in the USA between the early 1800s and the 1960s. 
You can try to check these facts with other translations and editions of the Holy Bible, but, especially where numbers are involved, you will get different results !
 
Is God calling you to do something creative or difficult ?— whether you might find it enjoyable or not !
What could we do to advance the faith or spread God’s love if we applied ourselves, as the artist who made this TREE OF TRUTH did ?
 
God’s Word is ever-green !
God’s mercies are new every morning !

SCRIPTURES for SUNDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2017
Psalm 126
Isaiah 6:1-4
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
Luke 1:46-55
John 1:6-8, 19-28

Christmas is coming !  In the coming weeks, we will be asking you to help support The Christmas Fund, also known as Veterans of the Cross and the Emergency Fund.  I want you to pray about it and decide how generously you can give to support our elderly and disabled pastors and church workers.
What follows is a breakdown of how the funds are used.
One of the unique aspects of the Christmas Fund is that the funds provide direct financial assistance to individual UCC clergy and lay church employees– the funds do not support programs or institutions, but people.  With your continued generosity, more individuals will receive the support of the Church in their time of need.
 
† MONTHLY PENSION SUPPLEMENTATION for 448 lower-income retired UCC clergy and lay employees.  Our retired clergy and lay employees rely on this income supplementation for basic needs such as food, utilities, and living and medical expenses.  Funds to meet this need come from three sources: the Christmas Fund Offering, Our Church’s Wider Mission (OCWM), and the Ministerial Assistance Fund.  The amount of pension supplementation totaled $1,507,787 in 2016.
 
† QUARTERLY HEALTH PREMIUM SUPPLEMENTS for 216 lower-income retired UCC clergy and lay employees.  These funds subsidize premiums for the UCC “Medicare Supplement Plan with ℞” so that individuals can afford and receive quality health care.  In 2016, assistance totaled $487,338.
 
† CHRISTMAS “THANK YOU" GIFT CHECKS given to 503 retired UCC clergy and lay employees.  This special gift at Christmas time reminds these Veterans of the Cross that they have not been forgotten and that the Church is grateful for their service.  Gifts totaled $233,800 in 2016.
 
† EMERGENCY GRANTS for 50 active/retired UCC clergy and lay employees.  Sometimes those who serve the Church need our help.  Emergency funds are available to assist in covering costs that arise unexpectedly– for example, large medical expenses, or home damage resulting from natural disasters.  Emergency assistance in 2016 totaled $90,927.

                  †                      †                      †
And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
     and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
     for He has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
     for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
     and holy is His name.
His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
     He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
     and lifted up the lowly;
He has filled the hungry with good things,
     and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
     in remembrance of His mercy,
     according to the promise He made to our ancestors,
     to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”
                          - Luke 1: 46b – 55, “The Magnificat”
 
Words of a resident of Nazareth, in what is now the West Bank region of Palestine.  I hope you find these words timely, as I do. 
I also strongly recommend to your attention, in light of recent developments in international politics, John 4:19-24.

This past Sunday’s focus on Jesus’ statement, “Just as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40), leads me immediately to think of our neighbors who are going through a very hard time these days.  As a pastor, I often get calls asking for help to pay electric bills, rent, etc..  Many of the callers bring heartbreaking stories of disability, evictions, job layoffs, illnesses in the family, broken-down vehicles, and other types of misery.
When folks call, usually one of the first things I want to know is, “Where are you ?”  People have called Bethel from Broadway, Luray, Staunton, and other places outside of eastern Rockingham County or southern Page County.  They seem to be working their way down a list in a phone book, trying to find somebody who will help. 
Next, I try to find out whether the callers are making use of the resources that are already available for them.  For example, in Page County, Page One offers a range of services.  In the 22827 ZIP Code area, Elkton Area United Services provides a lot of help, in a very organized and thoughtful manner.  The Virginia Employment Commission, Virginia Department of Rehabilitative Services, Rockingham County Department of Social Services, People Helping People in Harrisonburg, and other agencies do a great deal to help folks who are in financial trouble.
Often the callers reply that they have indeed tried all the agencies I can think to suggest, but that they still come up short and need a hand. 
In case you don’t know, each year, Bethel budgets money for “Church Outreach.”  For the June, 2017- May, 2018 year, we have budgeted a total of $4,500, of which $1,000 is under the pastor’s discretion.  This means I have to say No to most requests for monetary help, even when callers seem to have reached a dead-end in their efforts.
 
Something else I almost always ask local callers who are in need is, “Do you-all have food at this time ?”  If the answer is No, first I make sure that they know about the E.A.U.S. food pantry.  The social worker at E.A.U.S. is authorized to give boxes of food to families on an emergency basis.  If even that will not be fast enough, I have on a few occasions taken them some canned goods that I keep at church:  soup, ravioli, peanut butter, and so forth. 
Which brings me to the subject of peanut butter.  During 2011, the Bethel Deacons learned that the E.A.U.S. food pantry was getting stretched thin—sometimes E.A.U.S. barely had enough to give a box of food to every qualified applicant.  Complicating the shortage situation even more was the fact that, when generous people contributed various kinds of non-perishable foods at random, the food pantry ended up with an excess of various “odds and ends,” but not enough of some basic food groups.  It was suggested that organizations who regularly give food begin to specialize.  For example, the Ladies Auxiliary of the Junior Order specializes in canned fruit.  One church in Elkton buys canned soups by the case to donate.  The Bethel Deacons settled on peanut butter.  It’s one of those basic things that one can buy anywhere; it’s nutritious; and a family can eat it without cooking… say, if their electricity is turned off….
This month (November), at the EAUS monthly food distribution, two hundred and ninety-five (295) households from the 22827 ZIP Code area, (with proof of low income) received food— including peanut butter. 
Bethel’s November, 2017 donation of peanut butter was 67 jars, 110 lbs..  Praise the Lord !
In previous years, we at Bethel focused on gathering food for the E.A.U.S. food pantry on a few special occasions such as the “Souper Bowl of Caring” in February.  But we know that hunger is happening in our community year-round… so if we’re shopping for our family’s groceries and we can afford to buy an extra jar or two of peanut butter, we’ll just do it— we’ll just  do-nate  it. 
We do not recommend that you risk your family’s well-being in order to donate.  However, as followers of Jesus Christ, we invite you to think of him when you have an opportunity to feed someone who is hungry.
Restore us, O God;
                let Your face shine,
                           that we may be saved.
                                              (Psalm 80:3,7,19)