The Lamplighter
PASTOR'S PEACE
Zion
United Church
of Christ
December 2017
Inside This Issue
1 Pastors Peace
2 Palm of Prayer
3 Worship Ways & Butterfly Room
4 This Months Events
5 Community & Conference Clamor
6 Chorus of Friends
7 Reverse Advent Calendar
9 Worship Whirl
United in Spirit, and inspired by God's grace, we
love all, welcome all, and seek justice for all.
We believe in extravagant welcome. This is
why we insist that God's communion table is
open, not closed, and God's gift and
claim in baptism are irrevocable. We
advocate justice for all. Our congrega-
tions extend hospitality as a sign of
God's inclusive love. We teach that
evangelism - offering bread to those in search of
it - is God's mission. Our perspective is global,
not provincial. We work with - not against - peo-
ple of other faiths. Why?
Because God is still speaking!
Zion United Church of ChristEstablished 1880
105 N. Mary, Mayview, Missouri 64071-8224
Phone and FAX: (660) 237 - 4355
"Open My Eyes That I May See..."
The light shines in the darkness, but the dark-
ness has not understood it. John 1:5
Listen, my dear ones: Has not God chosen
those who are poor in the eyes of the world to
be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom God
promised those who love God? James 2:5
All of you, clothe yourselves with humility to-
ward one another, because, "God opposes the
proud but gives grace to the humble." I Peter
5:5b
At the beginning of each service of Worship an
acolyte lights candles below the painting of
Jesus knocking on a door, on either side of a
golden cross, and highlighting the Word of
God (a Bible) beneath the cross.
A song comes to mind, not a Christmas song,
but a song by Michael W. Smith that we have
sung and which resonates to the very soul
when it begins to echo in our daily lives--its
lyrics begin "Open the eyes of my heart, Lord,
open the eyes of my heart--I want to see you, I
want to see you."
At this time of year the shroud of the world's
darkness begins to lift as we focus on a great
light which shines brightly and leads to a small
child in a manger, because there was no room
1

at the inn. This is a brief yet humble dwelling
of one so tiny, this stranger in the straw.
Anger, fear, pride, greed and hatred seep and
swirl as an angel of death seeks to overcome
with the darkness of illusion. Yet angels of
light sing praises to the glory of Love, and
point to the flicker of joy resting in his
mother's protective arms.
Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us, Love incar-
nate spreads quietly, gently as winter solstice
gives way to this whisper of light. New eyes
begin to open to brightness unfurled like an-
gel wings to envelope hearts aching for sight
forever unseen through the world's murky
striving.
A gift, this awakening to humility, not gained
from market or price, but given freely at the
cost of life to the giver...
At the end of each service of Worship an
acolyte brings forth the light of Presence to
share with the world.
And this time of year, an end to past, a new
beginning in present, releases each one to go
forth in Christ's light to touch another, that
they might see through eyes opened anew.
Joy and Peace in Christ-mas,
Pastor Kristin
The Lamplighter
Pastoral Visits and Prayers Please feel free
to contact me at any time if a pastoral care visit or
prayer request is in your heart. The best way to
reach me is at the parsonage, 660-237-4902, and
the next best option is my cell @ 660-641-1038.
Blessings! Pastor Kristin
PALM of PRAYER 10 And the angel said unto
them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy,
which shall be to all people. Luke 2:10 (KJV)
Concerns Please continue to surround in love
and prayer, those experiencing health difficulties &
or recovering from surgery, the loss of family and
friends, & those adjusting to new seasons in their
lives: Tessa Hill Thacher died; Linda Soendker,
knee replacement surgery; Judy Schmutz, breast
cancer; Rev. Hudson, Meyer Rehab; David
Thaller, knee replacement surgery; police officers
and first responders; victims of random acts of vio-
lence; military personnel and their families; fami-
lies around the world that are in the midst of ten-
sions, conflicts, acts of violence and wars.
Joys
The joy of family and friends and a beautiful Com-
munity Thanksgiving Service; birthdays, anniver-
saries, expectations and explorations. The birth of
our Savior.
Christmas Eve Service will be Saturday,
December 24, at 6pm.
The Christmas Fund Offering will be col-
lected during the service.
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ZION UCC WORSHIP WAYS
TREASURERS TWITTER
STEPPINGSTONE
At our Steppingstone Auxiliary
meeting on November 13 it was voted
to donate $120 for Costco Member-
ship renewal. We received an update on the
3 floodings that destroyed 4 apartments in
Raytown in August. The Storm Water Mitiga-
tion only allowed $2,250 for repairs. And the
City said that Steppingstone will have to do
the repairs. Outside work will cost about
$28,000, and inside work and renovation will
cost about $23,000. Steppingstone Auxiliary
at last meeting donated $6,500, and they have
received some individual donations. DONA-
TIONS ARE STILL BEING ACCEPTED AND
DESPERATELY NEEDED!
Thirty-five young adults currently reside
in Steppingstone facilities. There are 4 chil-
dren/babies, and 1 young woman is preg-
nant. There is a couple with two children liv-
ing in one of the apartments in Raytown.
ATTENTION!!!
Lorraine Fisk is donating a 94x98" quilt
for raffle at our March 12 meeting. Pastor
Kristin has a picture of the quilt and raffle tick-
ets are $1 each. Please make any checks
payable to Zion UCC, with Steppingstone in
the MEMO line, and one check will eventually
be written to Steppingstone. Please see Pas-
tor Kristin with questions.
BUTTERFLY ROOM
ADVENT--WHAT DOES IT
MEAN?:
The four weeks before Christmas mark
the season of Advent, from a Latin word for
"coming" or "arrival." We are preparing to
celebrate the arrival of Godsself, who became
human in the form of our Lord Jesus, the
Christ. The church has observed a season of
preparation before Christmas since the time of
Bishop Perpetuus of Tours in 490 C.E. The
themes of Advent include hope, darkness/light,
repentance, watchfulness, preparation, expecta-
tion of Christ's birth at Christmas, and the an-
ticipation of his coming again. The color of the
season is blue or in some instances purple.
Blue suggests hope. Purple is an older tradition
that represents royalty and the coming of a
king.
Ariel Alyssa Williams
CHRISTMAS FUND FOR THE VET-
ERANS OF THE CROSS
For 116 years, the Christmas Fund for
the Veterans of the Cross and the Emergency
fund has been a tangible expression of Gods
love and light in the world. One of the four
Special Mission Offerings of the United
Church of Christ, the Christmas Fund makes it
possible for us to reach out to those who have
faighfully shepherded our churches and who
now find themselves facing unexpected finan-
cial needs.
In 2016, UCC congregations gener-
ously contributed $1,562,260 to the Christmas
Fund. This enabled the Pension Boards to pro-
vide Pension Supplementation, Health Pre-
mium Supplementation, Emergency Grants,
and Christmas Thank You gift checks to indi-
vidual and families in need.
The theme of the 2017 Christmas Fund
offering is Shepherding the Light. We will
dedicate out gifts on Sunday, December 24.
Please give generously.
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Sunday School9:30 A.M.
Worship10:30 A.M.
December 3, 2017 (Sunday)
Pageant Practice 9:00am
Youth Group
December 5, 2017 (Tuesday)
Welcoming Committee 6:30pm
December 6, 2017 (Wednesday)
Choir 7pm
December 7, 2017 (Thursday)
Pastor Relations Committee 10am
December 10, 2017 (Sunday)
Pageant Practice 9am
Hit & Run Gifting after Church
BCE 6pm
December 11, 2017 (Monday)
Council 7pm
December 13, 2017 (Wednesday)
Choir 7pm
December 14, 2017 (Thursday)
Christmas Luncheon @ Denis Noon
December 17, 2017 (Sunday)
Pageant Practice 9am
December 20, 2017 (Wednesday)
Choir 7pm
December 23, 2017 (Saturday)
Dress Rehearsal 10am
December 24, 2017 (Sunday)
Kid Pageant 10:30am
Birthday for Jesus
Christmas Eve Candlelight Service 6 PM
December 25, 2017 (Monday)
Birth of our Savior
December 27, 2017 (Wednesday)
NO CHOIR
December 31, 2017 (Sunday)
Sunday Hymn Sing
No Sunday School
The Lamplighter
Copyright 2011 The Zondervan Corporation
YOUTH YAK
Birthday Party for Jesus will be De-
cember 24 before the pageant.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS!
Black History Celebration (formerly Ad-
vent Chorale) will be held here at Zion UCC
Mayview, on Sunday, February 11, at
3pm. Dr. Vernon Percy Howard will once
again be our speaker, and our theme is
Peace and Reconciliation--with a wonderful
barbeque feast plus, to follow!
CHRISTMAS PAGEANT PRACTICE
Every Sunday until Christmas at
9:00am.
Dress rehearsal Saturday, December
23, from 10-11am.
Christmas Pageant Dec. 24 at
10:30am
December 3--Youth party after church,
11:30am-1pm. Each youth bring 20 pack-
ages of hot chocolate to put together Hit &
Run Gifting packages. Bring $5-$10 gift for
exchange. Pizza, games, drinks will be pro-
vided.
*Be watching the tree in hall-
way for an ornament to take
and donate. We will be collect-
ing packages of socks and
dental kits for families that re-
ceive Backsnack food. All items needed on
or before December 10. Items do NOT need
to be wrapped.
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COUNCIL EXPRESSION SESSION
The Zion UCC Council is looking Thank Yous
into purchasing an assisted listening
system so that ALL may hear the Good
THANK YOU!
News!!! Hopefully this will be available
Losing my father has been difficult
by Christmas Pageant time on Decem-
for me. Even grief processed with him in
ber 24!
his last days didn't prepare me for the
physiological experiences (we all have)
REMINDER
after one very close dies. Thank you so
All committees, please be sure to
much for your kind words, cards, and the
prepare your Annual Reports as soon as
beautiful plant that adds life to the parlor
you can by the first of 2018, so that our
at the parsonage! My family and I have
Annual Report can be
felt surrounded by our loving congrega-
completed before our
tion!
Annual Meeting!

What did the big angel say With Christs Love,

to the little angel? Halo
there!
COMMUNITY, COUNTY &
CONFERENCE CLAMOR
Save the Date - 2019 General Synod
The 32nd General Synod of the
United Church of Christ will be
hosted by Wisconsin Confer-
ence in Milwaukee June 21-25,
2019! This is the first time the
General Synod will be held in the Wiscon-
sin Conference.
COMMUNITY THANKSGIVIGN SERVICE
We collected $490 for Habitat For
Humanity during the service on November
19! Thanks to all! What a very special day.
Pastor Kristin
THANK YOU!
Festival of Sharing
We have received your 2017 dona-
tion to Festival of Sharing. Your gift
shares hope with people and communities
near and far that will be forever grate-
ful. Thank you for supporting us in doing
God's work.
"I pray that God, the source of all
hope, will infuse your lives with an abun-
dance of joy and peace in the midst of
your faith so that your hope will overflow
through the power of the Holy Spirit." Ro-
mans 15:13
Always believe that something magical
is about to happen.

A Poem Attributed to Martin Luther

Eternal God,
You call us to ventures
Of which we cannot see the ending,
By paths as yet untrodden,
Through perils unknown.
Give us faith to go out with courage,
Not knowing where we go,
But only that your hand is leading us
And your love supporting us,
In Christ Jesus our Lord.
Amen.
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The Lamplighter

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What is a reverse advent calendar?
Reverse advent calendars work by you filling them
every day with with items of food or clothing that can
then be taken to a food bank or charity in order to
help those less fortunate that are struggling at Christ-
mas time.
After gathering helpful items all month, you can take
everything you've saved to your local help scheme
on Christmas Eve and know that you've given a
Christmas present to someone that really needed it.
Not only is this a fun thing for the whole family to do
together, from creating the advent calendar structure
itself to picking the goodies to go in it, it more impor-
tantly teaches your kids the importance of helping
others and seeing the bigger picture at Christmas.
What to collect for your reverse advent cal-
endar
Different charities will ask for different kinds of
contributions but generally speaking you should
be collecting either clothes and toiletries, toys and
entertainment or food. Here are some sugges-
tions to fill your reverse advent calendar with:
Dolls, teddy bears, figurines
Pencils, crayons, paper, colouring books
CD's, DVD's, books
Hats, gloves, scarves
Make up, toiletries
Baby clothes
T shirts, jumpers
Arts and crafts, jigsaws
Bath towels, hand towels, blankets
Tinned goods such as fruit, tuna, baked beans,
copped tomatoes and rice pudding
Cans or (plastic) bottles of fizzy or still drinks
Chocolate and sweets
Biscuits and crackers
Crisps and savoury snacks
How to make your own reverse ad-
vent calendar
Making your own reverse advent calendar
is really easy and fun! Our Kids Kitchen blogger
Sarah Barnes explains in our video exactly
what she did with her little ones to make
theirs, simply using a basket and their own
food cupboard.
Follow these five simple steps to start this
sweet tradition with your children.
Step 1:
Start either 24 or 12 days before Christmas
and decide whether you're going to collect
food, clothes or presents.
Step 2:
Pick something to collect your advent cal-
endar gifts in. This can be something really
easy like a basket or cardboard box, or al-
ternatively you could make individual pock-
ets for each day using strips of cardboard
and even add some paint and glitter to jazz
it up.
Step 3:
Every day choose something from your
own supplies or from a store with your fam-
ily to donate to your reverse advent calen-
dar.
Step 4:
A few days before Christmas when you can
make some time, take your offerings down
to your local food bank or charity and do-
nate them.
Step 5:
Spend some time with your little ones
imagining who you might have helped by
starting this special tradition and ask every-
one to pick a reason why they are lucky
this Christmas.
Where to take your reverse advent
calender
There are loads of charities that accept
gifts at Christmas time:
Crisis.org for food and clothes
FareShare for food
Salvation Army for toys and gifts
Great Ormond Street Hospital for games
and entertainment gifts
The Trussell Trust for food 7
Samaritans for toys and toiletries
Barnardo's for toys, toiletries
 The Lamplighter

Celebration Occasions Office Hours

December Birthdays
Pastor Admin. Assistant
Date Birthday
Tuesday
3 Bill Bainbridge 8:00 AMNoon

8 Trinity Alvested Wednesday

6:008:00 PM
11 Carolyn Bayless
16 Carla Struchtemeyer Thursday Friday
8:00 AMNoon 4pm-6pm
17 Lucas Bayless

20 Tim Wright
Mark Fiegenbaum
21 Serving Souls
Tresina Alvested
29 Rachael Begemann D e c ACOLYTES GREETERS
Roger and Mary Ellen Thom-
3 Macey Begemann
son
10 Alyssa Hoefer Ron and Diane Wagner
Juanita Wright & Judy Prag-
17 Calle Hoeppner
man
24 Brooklyn Murry Scott and Tresina Alvested

31 Austin Faigh Bill and Denise Bainbridge

Administrative Affairs
Reverend Home(660) 237- 4902
Kristin Aardema Faigh Church (660) 237-4355
pastorkristinatzion@yahoo.com
Cell (660) 641-1038

Council President Robert Hoefer

Cole Courtway (660) 237- 4355

Admin. Assistant zionuccsecretary@hotmail.com
Reminder!
Teresa Begemann (816) 633 - 4133
The deadline for submissions for the Organist tjbegemann@yahoo.com
January newsletter is
Fri, Dec 22, 2017. Dawn Stuart
Send your submissions to: Custodian (660) 237 - 4355
zionuccsecretary@hotmail.com
Or Call (660) 237-4923

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 Zion United Church of Christ
105 North Mary St.
Mayview, Missouri 64071-8224

Generous - Loving - Dedicated Christians

Sunday School 9:30 am

Worship at 10:30 am

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

December 2017

Zion UCC Mission Statement

The avowed purpose of our church shall be:
To worship God, to proclaim and teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to celebrate the Sacra-
ments; to experience Christian fellowship, to build unity, and to practice charity within this congre-
gation and the wider church; and to share this witness of Jesus Christ throughout the world.

Worship Whirl
Traditional Worship 10:30 AM Sundays
Come As You Are Service 10:30 AM Monthly - 3rd Sunday
Sunday School 9:30 AM Sundays
Communion 10:30AM Monthly 1st Sunday & Special
Holidays
Church Council 7:15 PM Monthly
Board of Christian Education 7:15 PM Monthly
SAIL (Serving All in Love) 7:00 PM Monthly - 4th Tuesday