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December 2, 2015 Fellow Servants in Christ,

Sheep May Safely Graze *

There we were, carefully walking along a very long rickety cat walk, atop the Kist Livestock Auction, near Bismarck, North Dakota. The strong prairie winds made the old board and rusty pipe construction sway so that Linda had to hold on the pipe hand rails on both sides to keep her balance. The walk was so narrow that two people could pass, but only if they turned sideways.

About 20 feet below us were weathered wooden corrals, too numerous to count, covering perhaps several acres. Many of these pens were unused or vacated after the sale. Others contained horses of all sizes, colors and ages. Looking down we could also see cattle, donkeys and mules. All were waiting either to be sold or shipped out. Each had an identifying number on its back. We were informed that this was the largest livestock auction in the state…and that state has a lot of livestock.

Then we saw the sheep, all gathered almost below us to the right. There could have been 30, 40 or more crowded together in one corral. Several were standing and munching on hay which was provided. The rest were contentedly lying down, sleeping or chewing their cud. All had white fleece, but some had black faces and legs, others mostly white, and a few were gray on these body parts. The sheep didn’t care about differences for they were all intermingled.

On this sale day with its commotion, their unusual surroundings, uncertain future, and the wind and rain of the past storm, these sheep appeared to be at peace. They were doing what sheep like to do and finding comfort with each other, while they waited for a new home and a new shepherd.

Here is a parable for the church. Scripture tells us that Christ is our shepherd and we are His sheep. We come together to worship God, serve others, and give support to each other. Surrounding us will always be the commotion of life events, in homes, neighborhoods, the nation and world. Life conditions may challenge our faith. They may disturb our peace of mind. There may be differences, even among followers of Christ. But as we gather with Christ our shepherd, we have each other and we have a promised future with Him.

With best wishes for a blessed Christmas,

In Christ,

Pastor David L. Hess DLH/rak PS This is my farewell newsletter, you and others who have gone on to the Lord, have blessed my family and me in so many ways over the years. While I am unable to fully express all that is in my mind, I trust that you will understand that my thanks, and deep gratitude are extended to all who have supported, volunteered and prayed for our ministry together. May God continue to bless you as he has blessed our ministry together. * Sheep May Safely Graze by J. S. Bach. Ask Linda or Dave, our organists, to play it some time.

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PARISH INFORMATION: CHRISTMAS EVE CANDLELIGHT SERVICE AT HEIDELBERG. The Union Christmas Eve Service will be held on Wednesday, December 24. A musical prelude will begin at 7:40 p.m., followed by the service of worship at 8:00 p.m. Special inspirational music will be provided, traditional scripture lessons will be read, and the service will culminate with the candle lighting. In addition, there will also be a UCC Christmas Eve 11:00 p.m. service. All are welcome!

CHRISTMAS EVE CANDLELIGHT COMMUNION SERVICE AT HOLY TRINITY. The traditional Christmas Eve Candlelight service will start at 9:45 p.m. with a musical prelude, Followed by a worship service commencing at 10:00 p.m. with special music by the choir, continuous-flow communion and a candle lighting service. HEIDELBERG UNION FAITH FORMATION CHRISTMAS PROGRAM. Sunday, Dec. 13, at 11:00 a.m. in the Church Sanctuary. Come one and all to see our youth perform in the Christmas program. CHILDREN’S CHRISTMAS RECITATION PROGRAM At the Lehigh Furnace Sunday School, the children will present their songs and recitations on December 20th at 9:30 AM. Everyone is welcome.

SNOW CANCELLATIONS If inclement weather results in the need to cancel worship services and/or Sunday School at either Heidelberg or Holy Trinity, tune in to radio station WAEB 790 AM or WFMZ TV channel 69, or contact any church council person. NEED HELP WITH YOUR HEATING BILLS? Contact LIHEAP at 610-821-6509 for more information. LENTEN SCHEDULE Ash Wednesday will be observed on February 10th and mid-week Lenten services will be held each Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at Heidelberg. The next newsletter’s publication date is March 1, 2016. Additional information concerning Lent will be supplied in weekly bulletins or on the web site. PARISH WORSHIP SERVICES SCHEDULED In order to foster better relationships between the two parish congregations, the councils of Heidelberg and Holy Trinity are continuing the joint worship services in 2015 as follows: January 24, 2016 at Heidelberg 8:40 am March 13 at Holy Trinity 10:45 am

July 17 at Heidelberg 8:30 am October 16 at Holy Trinity 8:30 am

Each congregation has a different style of worship, to be sure; and any member is welcome to worship at the other church. But for these four Sundays, it is planned for all to worship together in the spirit of Christian fellowship. Winter Camps at Bear Creek: Jan. 15-17 - grades 7-12; Feb 5-7 – grades 4-8. Reservations and information at www.bearcreekcamp.org or call 570-472-3741.

In Sympathy: Clyde Cunfer Gloria Kern

NEWSLETTER FOR THE MONTHS OF

AND FEBRUARY

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BIRTHDAYS: Gary R. Dise FEB. 3

Carol Polkowski 5 Chad Gross JAN 10 Nancy Maurer 6 David Lear 11 Matthew Thompson 8 Darlene Altrichter 12 Jan Krawchuk 8 Ruth Kehm 13 Sophia Lear 10 Sean Polkowski 13 Jessica Lear 10 Clarissa Gross 15 Laura Gross 11 Elizabeth Gardner 15 Beth Sell 11 Mike Arndt 16 Michael Schaffer 17 Nicholas Roth 16 Ashley Bartholomew 18 Mariah Fegely 18 Brenda Fetterolf 19 Kelly Sue Wanamaker 23 Madilyn Riegel 19 Janet Arner 25 Christina Meitzler 21 James Graver 26 Aaron Dise 23 Bryan Kehm 27 Diane Krause 25 Lucas Dise 27 Michelle Dise 26 Elinore Dorshimer 28 Wayne Roth 27 Doris Frey 29 Bruce Altrichter 27 Delores Cunfer 31 WEDDINGS:` BAPTISMS: 10/10 –H Ashton Brinker & Robert Oswald 11/15 – H Rylan Daniel Rainey, son of Holly & 10/31 –H April Greenawald & Kevin Wetzel Michael Rainey 11/7 -H Jenna Weaver & Ian Smith

CONGRATULATIONS

We may have missed your name and significant date due to incomplete church records. If you

wish to have it included in upcoming newsletters, please contact your parish secretary: Ruth Kehm, 4992 Trout Road, Slatington PA 18080. You can also telephone her at 610-767-1526 or e-mail luthruthk@gmail.com.

Deadline for all information & reports for the 2015 congregational reports is

January 26, 2016. The next newsletter information deadline is

February 15, 2016.

May you and your family

have a blessed

and joyous Christmas

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and a happy and

health-filled New Year!

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HEIDELBERG’S NEWS SPECIAL SERVICES: Sunday School Christmas Program December 13 at 11:00 AM Union Christmas Eve Service December 24 at 8:00 PM (Musical Prelude) at 7:40 PM Confirmation & Holy Communion December 27 at 8:30 AM Holy Communion January 03 at 8:30 AM Joint Parish Service January 24 at 8:30 AM Holy Communion February 7 at 8:30 AM Union Ash Wednesday Worship Service February 10 at 7:30 PM Lenten Services (Wednesdays) Beginning February 17 at 7:30 PM MEETINGS: Festival Choir Rehearsals Sundays at 9:45 am* WOW Tuesdays at 6:00 pm** Concert Handbell Rehearsals Thursdays at 7:00 pm*** Confirmation Classes Thursdays at 7:00 pm**** Pre-School Mon, Wed, Fri. at 9:00 am-PS Christmas Caroling Dec. 19 1:00 pm Soup Kitchen Drop Off Jan. 11 6:00 pm Church Council Jan. 12 7:30 pm Lutheran Parish - at Holy Trinity Jan. 21 7:00 pm Prayer Chain Jan. 25 6:00 pm Joint Council/Consistory Jan. 25 7:00 pm Congregational Dinner Meeting Feb. 14 12:30 pm Soup Kitchen Drop Off Feb. 8 6:00 pm Church Council Feb. 9 7:30 pm *No Festival Choir Rehearsal 12/6, 12/27, warm-up 12/20- 7:50 am & 12/24- 7:10 pm) **No meetings until Jan. 5, 2016 ***Through Dec. 10 ****Except Dec. 24 & 31, finished! PS: Except 12/24-1/1/16, 1/18, 1/25, 2/15 CHURCH COUNCIL UPDATES

At our annual congregational meeting the budgets for 2016 were approved as presented. All current council members have retained their leadership positions. GREETERS AND LAY READERS ARE NEEDED. Sign up sheets are located in the narthex. Copies of Celebrates are available for the readers. Everyone is encouraged to volunteer. CONFIRMATION & HOLY COMMUNION the next Holy Communion will be celebrated on December 27th at the 8:30 a.m. worship service. Also on December 27th, pending completion of their studies, the following individuals will become members of Heidelberg Lutheran Church: Sylvia Dise, Morgan Hoffner, Kailyn Alexa Jones, Sophia Diann Lear; and Brittney Kristine Diehl will become a member of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church thru the Sacrament of Confirmation. There will also be a reception in their honor following the worship service. ANNUAL CONGREGATIONAL DINNER The Annual Congregational Dinner Meeting at Heidelberg will be held on February 14, 2016 at 12:30 p.m. Absolute deadline to submit information is January 26th. Check upcoming bulletins for the agenda.

Christmas Tree- We would like to thank Becks’ Christmas Tree Farm for donating the beautiful Christmas tree in the sanctuary. Also, thanks to all of those who helped decorate our church for this

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Advent season. As quickly as the season is coming, it will go by quickly, so note on your January calendar that we will take the decorations down on January 10th, immediately following the 11:00 a.m. service.

THE CHRISTMAS BASKETS will be packed on December 23rd at 6:00 p.m. Boxes will be placed in the narthex and hallway for non-perishable food items for the baskets. There will be an exit offering on December 13th to purchase items for needy families for the Christmas holiday. We need volunteers to help pack the baskets and also do the food shopping. Please contact Joan Hein at 610-767-6557 if you can help in any way or know of someone in need. ALTAR FLOWER & BULLETIN SPONSOR CHARTS The Lutheran & UCC altar flower & bulletin sponsor charts for 2016 have been placed in the narthex. If you would like to sponsor flowers and/or bulletins for a specific Sunday, please sign the chart or charts, or you may contact an altar guild member. You will be contacted before your sponsor date. The cost to sponsor the altar flowers is $25, and the cost to sponsor the bulletins is $10. CHRISTMAS CAROLING We will be going Christmas Caroling to our homebound members on Saturday, December 19th. We will meet at the church at 1:00 p.m. We will return to the church around 5:30-6:00 p.m. A sign-up sheet is in the narthex. If you have any questions, contact Sheri Hausman at 610-440-0648. CONCERT HANDBELLS The Heidelberg Concert Handbell Choir will hold its annual Christmas concert on December 12 at 4:00 pm at Neffs Lutheran, Schnecksville. A free-will offering will be received. GIFT CARDS With the holidays around the corner, you might want to consider our Gift Card Fundraiser as it benefits Heidelberg Union Church. The order forms are always in the narthex and the deadline to order the gift cards is always the second Sunday of the month and the following week you get the cards. So consider buying some gift cards for Christmas presents. Keep in mind that we have this fundraiser throughout the year, too. If you have any questions, call either Sheri Hausman at 610-440-0648 or Barb Weaver at 610-767-5187.

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FAITH FORMATION/SUNDAY SCHOOL NEWS Mission Possible !!

Sometimes it’s hard to remember the true meaning of Christmas, especially with all of the marketing, crowds, and every day tragedy in the news. To help the kids understand the true spirit of Christmas we are going to work on a special project, but THEY NEED YOUR HELP!

Starting next Sunday, Nov. 22nd, we will be collecting non-perishable food items and warm clothing, gently used and washed or new items like gloves and hats. Along with this collection we are asking for donations of small children’s toys that will fit in a shoe box – plus shoe boxes if you have any. These toys can be new or gently used and clean, like matchbox cars or Barbies with clothing if they are just sitting unused. Remember, it needs to fit in a shoe box. The gifts can range from ages 2 to 12. So to help your child, here’s your mission: 1. Help them to get items to donate, don’t just pick them up yourself. 2. To take it up a notch, have them help with simple chores to earn money to buy the items.

(We’re talking about a trip to the Dollar Tree or 10 for 10 items at Weis) 3. Guide them in picking it out, give ideas and let them choose. 4. Go through toys not used and help them understand that there are boy and girls out there

with no toys and what it would mean to donate. 5. This is your chance to pull out those coats out grown or never worn. How many hats and

gloves do you need to hang onto? Help your child go through their things. Did they outgrow last year’s winter items?

Really make it so they are the one’s participating and collecting. Have relatives bring a non-perishable item to Thanksgiving! The collection will take place until December 20th when we will be having a “Birthday Party for Jesus”. Guess what the birthday presents will be? Yep! All the items the kids have brought in. What better present for Jesus than the gift of giving to those in need. All of the items will be given to one of the food banks or the soup kitchen. I hope you will help to make this a “Mission Possible!” for a blessed Christmas for all. Any questions, please feel free to contact one of the Faith Formation teachers for more information.

Melanie Fink, Colleen Andrews, Amy Peters, Kim Weaver Our Faith Formation Christmas Program will be held on Sunday, December 13th at 11:00 a.m. in the Sanctuary. Come enjoy our youth as they present a little Christmas spirit for all. THANK YOU for supporting our annual Christmas Bake Sale & Hot Dog Lunch. ……………………………………………………………………………..…………………………………………………………………………………  DCE    POSITION  ELIMINATED      During  recent  meetings  held  by  the  Christian  Education  Board  ,  the  following  motion  was  agreed.  Our  current  financial  resources  of  Heidelberg  Union  Church  will  not  enable  us  to  continue  funding  the  paid  position  of  Director  of  Christian  Education,  for  the  current  period  Sept  2015  –  Jun  2016  and  beyond,  until  such  time  that  we  reach  an  economically  stable  position.        However,  continuation  of  Faith  Formation  (Sunday  School)    classes  will  be  conducted  by  volunteers,  with  their  participation    coordinated    by  Melanie  Fink.  Thank  you,  Melanie  and  Volunteers  ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….  

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I wish to express my thanks to the UCC congregation and the Soup Kitchen for the floral arrangement, cards and other gifts. They were greatly appreciated. Pastor Hess Thanks to the 275th Anniversary Committee for the joyful and reflective Union Worship Service and luncheon that took place on Sunday, November 8th. Many thanks to all who participated in the day. Pastor Karen and Pastor Hess A BIG Thank You! Wow, what a year it has been! We had so much fun celebrating our 275th Anniversary. God has blessed us in so many ways and we have so many gifts to share at Heidelberg Church. I want to thank everyone who helped make our 275th Anniversary year a success and look forward to continue celebrating here at Heidelberg. Sheri Hausman, 275th Anniversary Chairperson The congregation notes the passing of Clyde Cunfer, a faithful council member for many terms. In his many years as treasurer of the Cemetery Committee, he was always cost conscious and saved the cemetery and, indirectly, both congregations many dollars.

SOUP KITCHEN November 10th We served about 170 Barbeque chicken, French fries, garden salad, pears, rolls and desserts. Thank you to our faithful bakers. They loved the pumpkin pies and desserts. Our loyal volunteers who helped prepare and serve the meal included Doris & Richard Koenig, Arlan & Julia Hill, Shirley Boger, Linda Hausamann and Howard Truitt. Thank you to those who contributed $170 total to help buy turkeys for the Thanksgiving meal. Next soup kitchen is December 8th, we are asking for Christmas cookies to be delivered to Fellowship Hall on December 7th from 6-7 p.m. Peace, Linda

FELLOWSHIP HALL NEWS ATTENTION ALL CHURCH ORGANIZATIONS: Before scheduling any event in the Fellowship Hall, please contact Cindy Miller (610-767-4740) to confirm availability. Thank you for your cooperation.

WE NEED YOUR HELP! Dinners are back! And so is our cook, Jim Graver!

WANTED: Folks to set-up, Waitresses, Dishwashers, Servers, & Folks to clean-up This cannot be possible unless Jim and the Kitchen Committee gets HELP!!

Please call to volunteer to make this possible. Carl Hein @ 610-767-6557 or Sharon Thompson @ 610-217-6783

Our first dinner in 2016 will be January 1st: Pork & Sauerkraut, Applesauce, bread/butter, homemade desserts

Adults $11.00, Children ages (4 to 10) $6.00, 3 & Under – Free. Limited Seating at 1:00pm & 4:00pm. Call for Tickets: 610-767-5351 or 610-767-6557.

Chicken Pot Pie Dinner

Saturday, March 12, 2016; Limited Seating at 4:00pm & 6:00pm

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FROM THE TREASURER

As we say "goodbye and God bless" to Pastor and Linda, let us all remember our church with the changes to come in 2016.

2014

2015

Receipts Through Nov 30th

47,278.77

51,194.50 8.28% Increase Budgeted Amount

79,897.62

85,465.38

Deficit to Budget

-32,618.85

-34,270.88 5.06% Increase

Bob  Mi l l s   Reminder: Contributions to be included for 2015 must be received by December 31st. Checks payable to Heidelberg Lutheran Church may be mailed to Robert Mills, 425 Kuntz St, Apart #304, Slatington PA 18080 HARP will be going to a train display (PUTZ) at the Lutheran Home at Topton on December 13th after church. We will go for lunch before going to see the display. Please call Eleanor (610-841-9803 if you plan to go along.

HARP will meet January 5th 2016 at 11 a.m. Come in out of the cold and enjoy a relaxing afternoon of games. Bring your favorite board game, cards or anything you like to do. As always we will share a covered dish luncheon. Any questions call Katherine 610-336-0555 or Eleanor 610-841-9803.

HARP will meet February 2nd 2016 at 11 a.m. We had a great time last fall playing BINGO, we decided to try it again. Diane Schlauch was our caller and did such a great job we have invited her to call again. Bring two $1 gifts wrapped or unwrapped for our prizes. Along with your covered dish to share for lunch, bring along a friend or two. We’ll all go home winners. Any questions call Katherine 610-336-0555 or Eleanor 610-841-9803

WOF Susan Bickert, and Linda Fritzinger will be the new leaders of WOF. Eleanor is retiring as of the end of 2015. Here is the meeting information for January and February:

WOF will meet Monday, January 25th at 7:00pm. We will be having movie night. Come join us for a FUN NIGHT, weather permitting, of course, as January can bring bad weather.

WOF will meet on Monday February 22nd at 7:00pm. We will have game night. Everyone bring your favorite game to play for a FUN NIGHT. Come and join us! Weather permitting, of course, as February can bring bad weather.

Any questions call me @ 610-767-5782 or granny15s@yahoo.com

275th ANNIVERSARY Yippee, We Made It!! Let’s Celebrate!! We are going to have a beginning-of-the year

gathering to celebrate “us,” as a great community of faith that we are. We will reminisce a little about this past year’s celebration, but focus on what kind of things we want to do next year! Come and share your thoughts as everyone is welcome! We will have a covered dish lunch following the 11:00 a.m. service on Sunday, January 3rd, with a snow date of Sunday, January 24th. Bring your favorite dish to share and look for a sign-up sheet in the narthex.

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HOLY TRINITY’S NEWS SPECIAL SERVICES: Christmas Eve Candlelight Service with Holy Communion December 24 10:00 pm Holy Communion January 3 10:45 am Joint Parish Worship-at HEIDELBERG January 24 8:30 am Holy Communion February 7 10:45 am MEETINGS: Church Council Jan. 26 & Feb. 23 at 7:00 pm LCW Jan. 19 & Feb. 16 at 7:00 pm Parish - at Holy Trinity Jan. 21 at 7:00 pm CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICE Holy Trinity’s Christmas Eve Candlelight Communion Service will be held at10:00 p.m., with a musical prelude at 9:45 p.m. ANNUAL CONGREGATIONAL MEETING- At the recent Annual Congregational Meeting held on Sunday, November 22nd, the 2016 budgets were approved as presented. Newly elected to Church Council: Traci Kaercher & Cindy Snyder for 3-year terms and Jonathan Rex & Carol Kern renewed their terms. We thank Annette Diehl for her service.

ANNUAL CONGREGATIONAL REPORTS The deadline to submit information to your parish secretary is January 26th.

STEWARDSHIP SUNDAY The 2016 contribution envelopes and church calendars were distributed on Stewardship Sunday. Please remember to pick up your materials if you haven’t done so already! If you have friends or family nearby and would be willing to deliver them, it would be greatly appreciated to help save on postage. Thank you!

CHURCH CONTRIBUTIONS To receive credit for 2015, checks payable to “Holy Trinity Lutheran Church” can be mailed to the church at PO Box 129, Slatedale PA 18079, or to the treasurer, Dianne Frantz, at 4519 Mountain Road, Slatington, PA 18080 to arrive no later than December 31, 2015.

SPECIAL THANKS: • To all those who decorated the church for the Advent/Christmas season. • To everyone who donated peas for the Food Bank’s Thanksgiving & Christmas baskets. • To everyone who contributed items for the Northern Lehigh Valley Mission District’s Annual

Ingathering. • To Mark, Bob, Rick, Bill, Ron, Steve, and others for their work at keeping the grounds in good shape

and fixing the things that needed repair. LCW Gift Card Program - We’d like to thank everyone who supported our gift card program in 2015. The program will continue in 2016 with orders due on the 1st Sunday and delivery the 3rd Sunday each month. Watch for updated order forms coming soon or feel free to visit www.shopwithscrip.com for a complete listing of participating retailers. If you have any questions, please see Traci Kaercher. Thank you!

Lutheran Church Women End of Year Report - As the LCW year comes to an end we wanted to share the last of our fundraiser totals. Through your generous Thankoffering giving the amount collected was $235.00. It was given to a local family in need. The Christmas Gertrude Hawk candy sales were in the amount of $1273.55. It was one of our highest sales and profit will be determined by the company upon delivery in early December. By consensus we sponsored six children from the Christmas gift program at $60 each. Our Christmas party will be held on December 15 @6 PM at Defores in Neffs. We will order off the menu for our meal and exchange a $20 gift. Make your New Year’s resolution to become an active member of our group. We meet the third Tuesday of each month in the church social room. Hope to see you there. Submitted by Cindy Snyder, LCW Secretary

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Light for Today is available in the narthex. HEIDELBERG SLATEDALE NON-PROFIT ORG. LUTHERAN PARISH US POSTAGE PAID PO Box 129 LEHIGHTON PA Slatedale PA 18079 PERMIT #7 Return Service Requested HEIDELBERG LUTHERAN CHURCH HOLY TRINITY LUTHERAN CHURCH 5187 Irvin Road 4118 Main Street, Box 129 Slatington PA 18080 Slatedale PA 18080 Rev. David L. Hess

Newsletter for the months of

JANUARY and FEBRUARY

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