December 2023
December 2023 Newsletter
Worship Schedule this Month
December 3rd - First Sunday of Advent - “How Much Do We Ask of God? Our Future Depends
on God's Response”, Isaiah 64:1-12;1st Corinthians 1:3-9; Mark 13:24-37. Christmas
Brunch and Carol Sing
December 10th - Second Sunday of Advent - “Angels and Shepherds Search for the Baby Jesus.”
Isaiah 11:1-9; 2nd Peter 3:8-15a; Mark 1:1-8
December 17th - Third Sunday of Advent - “Seeing With the Eyes of a Child”, Isaiah 9:2-7; 1st
Thessalonians 5:16-24; John 1:1-9
December 21st, 7:00 P.M. - Blue Christmas Service at St. Paul’s UCC (located at Brookpark
Farm in Lewisburg)
December 24th – Fourth Sunday of Advent - “Let It Be”, Isaiah 42:1-9; Romans 16:25-27; Luke
1:26-38
December 24th, 7:00P.M. – Christmas Eve Candlelight Service
December 31st - First Sunday after Christmas - “What They Saw in the Baby Jesus, What We See
in the Risen Jesus”, Isaiah 61:10-62:3; Galatians 4:4-7; Luke 2:22-40. Election of Consistory
Looking Further Ahead
January 7th – Soup and Salad Brunch
January 21st – Congregational Meeting – Budget
March 1,2,3 – Church Retreat
November 21, 2023 Consistory Meeting Highlights
The Holiday Season has begun with many Church activities for everyone, please see the Calendar of Events and see where you can spread Holiday cheer. We appreciate all of you and your support as this Holiday Season will be challenging for many.
· Election of Consistory will take place December 31, 2023. We need volunteers to serve in several positions, 1 Elder, 2 Deacons and 1 Trustee. If you are interested, please see a Consistory Member.
· The Church Budget was presented by Robert Pierce and approved by the Consistory. A Congregational Meeting to present the Budget will take place January 21, 2024.
· We are checking into a new company for a service contract for the organ, because Robert M. Sides is no longer offering them.
· New phones were purchased for the church, due to age and them not working correctly. Also, the battery was changed in the emergency light outside the kitchen.
Consistory hopes everyone has a Very Blessed and Merry Christmas!!!
Wednesday Evening Bible Study, 6:30-8:00 PM
December 6- 2 Corinthians 7:2-16
The Path of Godly Grief and Repentance
December 13- 2 Corinthians 8:1-16
Generosity to the Very End
December 20- 2 Corinthians 9:6-15
Gifts and Blessings
Childcare Volunteers
Volunteers are available to care for your child in the nursery every Sunday after the Children’s Time until the end of the service. Parents and caretakers are welcome to send their children to the nursery during that time. All volunteers have appropriate clearances. If you would like to participate in this ministry, please contact Diane Hackenberg.
The volunteers for December are: December 3 - Bonnie Dodge; December 10 – Mike Finerghty; December 17 – Diane Amabile; December 24 a.m. service – Mallory Leitzel. The nursery will be available for parents and their children during the Christmas Eve service, but it will not be staffed. December 31 – Pam Eberhart.
Kiwanis Food Drive
The Mifflinburg Kiwanis Club deeply appreciates the huge donation of Harvest Home food for our Foodbox Program. While we will appreciate additional donations of any kind of food, we are in very short supply of boxed cereals.
The Kiwanis Club along with other volunteers will be assembling the foodboxes and distributing the food to needy families on December 22nd. Your food contributions may be placed in identified boxes in the overflow room at the back of the sanctuary through Sunday, December 17th. Your donations will be greatly appreciated.
6th Annual Veterans Christmas Remembrance
We are pleased to hold our 6th Veterans Christmas Remembrance in support of Wreaths Across America event here at Dreisbach on Saturday, December 16th, 2023 at 10:00 AM. Join us as we honor and remember the veterans who served our nation. If you would like to sponsor a wreath to be placed on a veteran’s grave the cost is $20. Sponsor sheets are available at the back of the church or on the website. If you have questions or would like to help-contact Elaine Rockey (ph/text 570-847-0163) or call the church office (570-966-3696).
Rummage Report
It is a joy to be part of such a generous church. Because of your support of this year’s rummage sales, we were able to spread God’s love in very tangible ways to people around the world and locally. On November 12th we agreed to send a total of $12,000 to the following agencies and missions. Internationally, we supported The City of Joy in Rwanda, the Amblers who work with Youth with a Mission bringing relief and the Gospel to needy places around the globe, and Church World Service which addresses hunger and poverty, displacement, and disaster throughout the world. Locally, we are helping the hungry and cold through Hope’s Haven Food Pantry and Union-Snyder Community Action Agency, women and children in difficult situations through Expectations, Birthright, and the Union County Giving Closet, and young people and families through the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Mifflinburg Kiwanis Club. In addition, we provided direct support to a young family in crisis. Blessings to you all.
For those of you who like to plan ahead, mark your calendars now for the 2024 Rummage Sales! April 28-May 4 and September 15 – 21.
Upcoming Meetings
· The next meeting of the Prayer Shawl group will be Tuesday, December 12th, at 6:30 p.m. All are welcome. If you know of anyone who would appreciate a prayer shawl, talk to Diane Hackenberg or any member of the group.
· Prime-timers for December will be on the 28th at OIP Mifflinburg at 12:30.
Thank You
My sincere thank you for your caring and concern during my recent Knee Replacement Surgery. Your thoughts, prayers, cards, phone calls, food and visits – each act of kindness sent a ray of sunshine that meant so much to me.
Thank You. Carol Snook
2024 Offering Envelopes
Next years’ offering envelopes are available at the back of the sanctuary. If you would like envelopes and you did not receive any please let Pam Pfirman know. We are happy to provide them. If you receive them and prefer not to use them also let Pam know and we will remove them next time around. Remember, e-giving is an option. Details on how to set that up are available on the church website, dreisbachucc.org.
Gift Collection
We will be collecting the gifts for Devitt House and Bethany Children’s Home on December 10th. All of the names for Devitt House have been claimed. There is a wish list of ideas for the Bethany Children’s Home available at the back of the sanctuary.
Pastor’s Christmas Gift
Envelopes have been included with the newsletter and can be found at the back of the sanctuary for contributions to the Pastor’s Christmas gift. Please return to the church at 875 Dreisbach Church Rd., Lewisburg. Thank You!
Directory Updates
Please send your address, phone, email updates to Pam Pfirman so that we may keep in touch with you. This is also a great time to update your family photos! For information on accessing the church directory visit instantchurchdirectory.com or ask Pam to help get you setup. All updates can be sent to Pam at 570-898-9774 (phone or text) or e-mail at pam_adminsec@dreisbachucc.org. Paper notes are always welcome as well.
Shut-ins Address List
An updated list of our Shut-ins is currently available at the church and will be included with the newsletter for those who receive the newsletter via mail. Please contact Pam to update information or if you know of someone to add to our list.