Newsletter

Newsletter

If pastoral care is needed at any time, please contact Rev. Tanner at:

Home: 570-586-8162 or Cell: 570-430-2793

Sue: 570-954-5846

Please always leave a complete message if no answer we may be on the other line or away from the desk and will return your call ASAP.

 

Church directories are always available. If you would like one please see Sue or call the church office.

 

The Board of Deacons continues to collect canned goods and non-perishable food items for the Safety Net in Scranton.

 

Sunday, December 17th The Ordination and Installation of Elders and Deacons for the Class of 2026 will take place during our worship service.

 

Sunday, December 17th The Ordination and Installation of Elders and Deacons for the Class of 2026 will take place during our worship service.

Elder: Nancy Walsh Deacon: Mary Grace Donati

Connie Richards Barbara Keller

Joseph Price Jacque Thorpe

 

Sunday, December 17th Our Christmas party luncheon will be held following worship. The meal will be “POTLUCK” and a sign-up sheet is posted in vestibule and in fellowship hall for some suggested items or just let us know what you would like to provide and how many to help with preparations.

New December regular print Our Daily Bread along with a Christmas DevotionalO Holy Night” are now available.

 

 

Redeeming An Important Word

Most churches still conduct stewardship campaigns. Please don’t just associate the word stewardship only with pledge cards, budget discussions and a challenge to give more generously. Real stewardship deals with managing everything God has given to us — our brain, body, talent, time and spiritual life. It’s our total response to God’s gifts.

Stewardship gives us an opportunity to re-appraise our lives as a whole. Are we glorifying God with our minds, bodies, talents, property, financial resources, etc? Are we using our gifts to spread Christ’s gospel? How are we showing our love to God and the church?
                     What is stewardship? Stewardship is not just raising funds;
                                             It’s raising Christians.
                                Stewardship is not a matter of budgets;
                                              It’s a matter of faith.

Beatitudes Be thankful that you don’t already have everything you desire. If you did, what would there be to look forward to? Be thankful when you don’t know something, for it gives you the opportunity to learn. Be thankful for the difficult times. During those times you grow. Be thankful for your limitations, because they give you opportunities for improvement. Be thankful for each new challenge, because it will build your strength and character. Be thankful when you’re tired and weary, because it means you’ve made a difference. —Author unknown

                                  speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant,                                                                                                           to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch heaven. —Johannes Gaertner

 

 

Honor God With Your Time
TSH OXENREIDER

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” Ephesians 5:15-16 (NIV)

For the past five years, I’ve taught at my kids’ school … so, like many teachers, by the time May rolls around, I’m counting the days until the start of summer. My body and soul yearn for a slower pace that summer affords, where there awaits the luxury of days on repeat that don’t prioritize checking off a to-do list. It’s as though something in me is hard-wired to know that life is about more than just the productivity our modern world worships. And yet, by the end of summer, I will come to depend on structure. When I’ve had enough easygoing mornings, afternoons spent taking the kids to the pool with a fat novel in hand, and plenty of movie nights, something in my bones craves structure, the scaffolding on which to hang my time. Also hard-wired in me is the knowledge that, while life isn’t all about checking off to-do lists, I’m made for more than lazy days. God cares a lot about how we spend our time. Scripture is packed with reminders that we're called to “number our days” (Psalm 90:12, NIV), that there is “a season for every activity under the heavens” (Ecclesiastes 3:1, NIV), and that we “do not even know what will happen tomorrow” (James 4:14, NIV). God cares about every single second of our short time here on earth. Lord, help me to honor You with how I use my time. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. excerpt taken from Crosswalk.com

 

 

 

rest_6741 Can’t pray? First Rest!                                                                                                                                                    Weariness can seriously hamper our attempts to pray, says Bonnie Gray, author of Whispers of Rest. “We are a generation who doesn’t know how to express our souls to God, even though we drive ourselves exhausted, doing for Jesus.” The solution, she says, is to stop and rest. The stressed-out, despairing prophet in 1 Kings 19 is a prime example. “God knew Elijah needed physical rejuvenation first — in order to hear his gentle voice, whispering in a gentle breeze,” Gray notes. Guarding against the depletion of spiritual, physical and emotional resources can improve our ability to hear God’s voice, too. “When you find it’s hard to pray, don’t be afraid,” says Gray. “You’re standing at the very cusp of who God longs to connect with. The real you. Take the time to rest. You’re worth it.”

 

Both the regular and large print editions of Our Daily Bread are now available – if you you would like one, contact the office and we will be sure you receive it.