Pastor Lisa Borrell's Message for December 2024

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NEW JERUSALEM EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH SENDS

OUR BEST WISHES TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY

FOR A HAPPY, SAFE, AND A HAPPY, HEALTHY NEW YEAR!

In case of a pastoral emergency, please contact Pastor Lisa Borrell

at 610-838-0731 or or email MizLKB@aol.com.

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Pastor Lisa will be holding office hours at the church on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m. Please give me a call ahead of time if possible so that we can arrange for a time to meet and speak. To note … Hershey kisses are always available on my desk if you, like I, have a need for chocolate! I can also be reached via text messages to my cell phone, Facebook Messenger, or email (MizLKB@aol.com). Please understand if sometimes I cannot answer a call promptly. Kindly leave me a voice message and I will contact you as soon as I am able. ~ Pastor Lisa

I’m sure you noticed, like I did, that the Christmas decorations were already in the stores by the tail end of October. Even at the Giant, the packs of red & green Hershey kisses were right next to the Harry Potter Halloween ones. Yikes! We lament the “pushing of the season” every year while recognizing at the same time that it is a merchandising ploy to sell more product. I grow weary of such things.

Naturally at this time of year, our thoughts turn towards the holidays and gift giving with all that that entails. Who wants what? What is our spending budget? Will it fit? Will the recipients like or use what we give them? I, personally, would like to make a positive impact as well as more good memories than to have another material “thing.”

Have you considered shopping in the ELCA Good Gifts catalog? You may honor others by choosing a gift -- like fresh water, school supplies, mosquito netting, chicks, piglets, rabbits, goats, cows, honey bees, vaccinations, farming supplies, seedlings, birthing supplies, and backpacks with food (to name a few) for people in the U.S. and nearly 80 other countries – and know that it will always be the right fit and won’t ever have to be exchanged!

You will be providing opportunities for people to be more self-sustaining and healthier. For instance, chickens provide eggs which may then be sold to aid in a family’s income. Rabbits reproduce quickly and may be shared with other neighbors so that they, too, may have sufficient food to eat. Goats and cows daily give life sustaining milk which families may consume or sell. Fresh, clean water benefits a whole community by preventing illness from contamination. School supplies give students the chance to learn and become educated members of society.

You may check out ELCA Good Gifts online and made a designated donation that way or you may send a check to:

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

“ELCA Good Gifts”

P. O. Box 1809

Merrifield, VA 22116-8009

As the Christ child blessed us, may we bless others with that same love!

Pastor Lisa Borrell