Please continue to bring your donations of nonperishable items for We Care. You may bring your donations to worship with you on Sunday morning, or drop them off at the church office Monday – Thursday from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM. When the list changes, it will be posted on the Bulletin Board in the Narthex.
Please be sure and forward your 2021 schedules and 2020 reports to Sherry in the church office by December 31st so your information can be provided in the report booklet. Auxiliaries that have checking accounts, please send that information to me as soon as you receive your statements. Thank you in advance.
Financial Year End information is due by December 31st. If you have any paperwork (reimbursement requests, receipts to back cash advances, and any leftover cash, etc.) for 2020, please turn your information into Walt Shealy so he can close out the year. If you have any questions, please see Walt.
2020 has been a year that none of us could have imagined or planned for. However, new doors and opportunities have opened and presented itself to us during this year of unknowns and wait-and-sees. I want to thank the congregation for their continued financial support, attendance in-person, streaming and in thoughts and prayers, and your support of our Church Council. It has been an honor to serve as Council President this year. You, the congregation, blessed Chris Doyle (Vice President), Pastor and me with an action oriented make-it-happen Council. I cannot say enough about the work of our 2020 Council. I would like to share with you some of our accomplishments and action items. The full 2020
Council report will be included with our annual reports.
Worked on the following goals:
• Strengthen and Grow Sunday School by Revitalizing, Promoting and Recruiting (Christian Education, Teachers, Quality, Faithful, and Attendance)
• Strengthen and Grow our Youth (Pre-K thru College) (includes “OWL” Program)
• Community Service Opportunities
• Spiritual Growth in Stewardship Opportunities (includes On-Line Giving, Investment and Financial Opportunities)
• Revised our Ministry Team Structure and Responsibilities
• Reviewed and updated our church constitution (approved at December 6 congregation meeting)
• Installed new audio visual equipment in Sanctuary and TV in the fellowship hall for streaming services and mesh Wi-Fi network
• Contracted with Incite Technologies for all network and technology needs
• Moved church funds with the exception of our general fund checking account from BB&T to Thrivent
• Moved Sites Endowment from Wells Fargo to Thrivent
• Opened our doors to the Courage Center for weekly meeting
• Accepted, approved and presented our Parking Lot and Portico project (approved at December 6 congregation meeting)
Again, thank you! These accomplishments would not have happened without the full support of the congregation.
We ARE St. Jacobs Lutheran Church, SJLC, Serving Jesus Loving Community!
Happy New Year!
Sherrie
Not too long ago, Congregations would set aside time each January 6th to worship and observe the Epiphany of Our Lord. These days, the tradition of an Epiphany service is not one that is too widely kept. Rather than celebrate the occasion when the Magi from the East (three wise men) came to visit the child Jesus, congregations and other Christian groups conveniently include these “three kings” in the narrative of Jesus’s birth. (We are just as guilty). As a result, the story of the Magi is largely misunderstood. Younger generations are not learning the significance of the Epiphany and older generations are not taking the time to share it. This is a sad reminder of how the world has encroached upon the Church.
It isn’t often that the day of Epiphany actually coincides with a congregation’s regular worship schedule. With people having such busy schedules, adding a service outside the regular worship schedule seldom happens. And so, it is not often when we hear the gospel text of the Magi visiting the child Jesus read and preached in its proper context.
This year, the Epiphany of Our Lord does fall on a day when we have a regularly scheduled worship. Rather than being wedged into a children’s Christmas pageant or other similar Christmas celebration, the narrative of the Magi will be read in context. You are invited to worship in person on the day of the Epiphany. If you have not attended worship on a Wednesday evening, this would be a good opportunity. Plan to join your church family on Wednesday, January 6 at 7:00p.m. for worship celebrating the Epiphany of Our Lord.
20+C+M+B+21
Upon the feast of the Epiphany (January 6th), many Christians (including Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists, and Roman Catholics) chalk their doors with the pattern you see above. The numbers refer to the calendar year (2021), and the crosses stand for Christ. The letters have a two-fold significance. C, M, and B are the initials for the traditional names of the three Magi (Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar). They also are an abbreviation of the Latin blessing Christus Mansionem Benedicat, which means, “Christ bless this house.”
In many places, the chalk used to write the Epiphany pattern is blessed by a Pastor or Priest. It is then used to write the pattern above the doors of Christian households. This Christian custom of chalking the door has a biblical precedent as the Israelites in the Old Testament marked their doors in order to be saved from death at the Passover in Egypt. In keeping this Epiphany tradition, Christians ask God’s blessing and protection for their family and home until the next Epiphany Day, at which time the custom is repeated. Families also perform this act because it represents the hospitality extended by Mary and Joseph to the Magi (and all Gentiles); it thus serves as a house blessing to invite the presence of God in one’s home.
During our Epiphany service of worship on January 6th, I will take time to bless the chalk and offer it for families to observe this Epiphany tradition. During the month of January, I will also be happy to come bless your house in this traditional way. Just let me know and I will schedule a day and time. May God bless us all and bless our homes with is peace and presence.
Don’t forget to sign up for Altar Flowers this year. The chart is hanging in the Narthex. NOTE: During Advent/Christmas Seasons only one vase of flowers is needed. Also, artificial flowers are never to be used in the altar vases and pot plants are to be used to enhance services on Palm Sunday, Easter Sunday, Pentecost Sunday and Christmas Services – not as altar flowers.
With the new year comes the opportunity to renew your commitment to reading the Holy Scriptures every day. The simplest way to accomplish this is to commit to reading the Bible from cover to cover in one year. It only takes fifteen minutes or so each day. Before you know it, you are well on your way to meeting your goal. Even if you get a late start, you can read just a little extra and it won’t take long before you’re are caught up.
Several of our church family members have taken up the challenge and succeeded. Other have begun but have not quite made it. No matter. Just keep reading. God takes delight in those who grow in their faith through reading His Word. Reading plans are in the narthex. Pick one up today.
In our continuing effort to minimize the spread of the COVID-19 virus, St. Jacob’s will continue our current protocols for social distancing and protection.
Please remember these simple steps.
• Entrance to the church on Sunday morning is through the Fellowship Hall doors. This is to prevent groups from gathering in the narthex as others come in to find their seat.
• Use hand sanitizer as you enter the church nave. Sanitizer is provided on the table at the narthex doors.
• Although masks are not required to enter the building, they are required when the congregations sing liturgy or hymns. It is also a best practice to wear your mask while sitting in the pews. For this reason, everyone is to have a mask in their possession.
• Please remember to fill out a record of worship card and place it in the tray on the table at the narthex doors.
• Upon conclusion of the worship service, everyone is to depart the building. The aisle and hallways are to be kept clear. Conversations may be held outside.
These protocols are in place to ensure the health and well-being of our church family and visitors. The Pastor and Church Council will revise them as necessary to ensure the safety of everyone in attendance.
Plans are being made to resume our weekly Bible study on Zoom.com. There are also a few ideas concerning an evening Bible study to be held either online or in person. Of course, the in-person Bible study will include a few social distancing requirements, but it will be a way forward as we continue to resume on site church activities. Please keep an eye on the weekly worship bulletin announcements as well as the mid-month Grace Notes for further information.
It has been my pleasure to share daily devotions with the congregation and our friends on Facebook the past nine months. This has been an unexpected blessing for me in our current condition of the COVID-19 pandemic. So much so that it has become an enjoyable part of my daily routine. As we flip the page to 2021, I plan to continue this time of devotions and prayer throughout the year. I pray that more of our church family members will make these devotions a part of their morning routine. Please, feel free to share these devotions with your friends and family on Facebook as you are able.
