Southwood Lutheran Church

GUEST BLOG: Serving the Poorest of the Poor

This entry comes to us from Kay Anderson, a pediatrician and Southwood member who worked on a short-term mission trip in Honduras this Fall....

In late October of 2007, 10 friends and Southwood members set off to serve the poorest of the poor in three government orphanages in Honduras. On previous trips, many of us had served poor families in remote villages, but this time we ventured into the inner cities of San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa, the capital. There was electricity and water, beds and food, and some health care was available to these children. Our team struggled with this different experience, because the kids were fairly well cared for physically, at least by 3rd world standards, but their tragic life stories further defined their poverty, which is a total lack of options.

More Christmas Program Photos

More photos from the Children's Christmas Program are now available here.  Enjoy!

What Was the Count?

One thing I heard again and again on Christmas Eve (aside from "Merry Christmas!") was .... "What was the count?"  Lots of people were very interested in knowing how many people came to worship in our new sanctuary on Christmas Eve.  For those of you who love to see the numbers, Lori has put together the attendance data for this year vs. last year.  Thanks be to God for providing us with the space to welcome more people to hear the life-changing message of Jesus Christ! 

Christmas Eve

                        2006                 2007

4:00                  359                    449

6:00                  546                   901

8:00                  500                   636

10:00                223                   305

 

Total                 1628                 2291

 

Christmas Day   152                    193

Rise Up & Follow

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11NIV

We probably have heard the Christmas gospel told many times. We know what comes next in the story. We hear that there “were shepherds abiding in the field” and know that “the angel of the Lord came upon them” follows. We may picture shepherds as close to the soil people, homespun and plain-spoken men, poor but honest. However, to the people of Jerusalem and Bethlehem the shepherds were the “scum of the earth.” The first news of the birth of the Son of God came to men far out on the fringes of society. They had dirty hands and smelly clothes and may or may not have been from pious homes.

These shepherds ran to Bethlehem and worshipped the Christ. And then they returned to their fields. They were still shepherds, but now they were glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. The shepherds all became preachers. They went back to the jobs they had to do. Their religion did not take them away from ordinary life. It just transformed the ordinary into something extraordinary. Ask Jesus to be present in your ordinary life and He will make it extraordinary!

There's a star in the East on Christmas morn;
(Rise up, shepherd, and follow.)
It will lead to the place where the Christ is born.
(Rise up, shepherd, and follow.)

Refrain
Follow, follow;
Rise up, shepherd, and follow.
Follow the Star of Bethlehem;
Rise up, shepherd, and follow.

Leave your sheep, leave your sheep
and leave your lambs;
(Rise up, shepherd, and follow.)
Leave your ewes and rams,
leave your ewes and rams.
(Rise up, shepherd, and follow.)

Peace on Earth

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." (Luke 2:14 NIV)

The words, “peace on earth,” are never more welcome than to hearts that are weary of war. During the long dark years of the Civil War, there were millions of weary hearts in American that were anxiously looking for the dawn of peace. In 1863, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow gave expression to the despair and the hope of these millions in his poem, Christmas Bells.

The great American poet had a very intimate experience with the horror of war. He had felt the gloom of its darkest hours. His young son, a lieutenant in the Army of the Potomac, had been seriously wounded in battle. Several entries in his journal make reference to the war and his hope that it might have a speedy end.

I Heard the Bells first appeared under the name, Christmas Bells, in a small collection of poems entitled, Flower de Luce, first published in 1867. In its original form the poem contained two verses referring to the Civil War, which explain the poet’s expression that “hate is strong and mocks the song of peace on earth, good will to men”.

The melody, which makes it possible for us to include Longfellow among our Christmas hymn writers, was composed by J. Baptiste Calkin, popular London organist, in 1872.

(from The Christmas Carolers’ Book in Song and Story by Torstein O. Kvamme)

I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bowed my head
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, good will to men.”

Be a Missionary in Your Own Backyard

Have you ever wanted to be a missionary, but can’t commit to spending a few thousand dollars on a trip or can’t leave job, family and home to go overseas? I have the perfect solution for you! Nebraska Lutheran Outdoor Miniseries (NLOM) is looking for faith-filled people who want to serve in various capacities for the Summer of 2008. They need people who are willing to serve as: counselors, health care staff, naturalists, horse wranglers, creative arts staff, lifeguards, adventure program staff, site coordinators, program assistants, pottery assistants and communications assistants. Essentially, if you are good at anything and have a heart to serve God and young people, you are qualified! Requirements for the various summer positions vary, so contact NLOM at 1.888.656.6254 or check out the Summer Employment Opportunities on their website for more specifics.

Not only do they need summer staff at Carol Joy Holling in Ashland, Nebraska, but also in Junction City, KS, Lodgepole, Nebraska and various day programs throughout Nebraska.

I spent one summer working at a Christian Camp in Colorado during my college years, and it was an amazing experience. It completely changed my life and solidified my calling as a youth worker/pastor. I encourage all of you who are interested to pray about it, contact NLOM and see where God leads you! Let me know if you have more questions.

Merry Christmas!

Chip

LINK OF THE WEEK: Prince Caspian

This one's for all you Narnia fans out there.  Check out the new trailer for Prince Caspian, the next installment in the Narnia series.  As a parent whose children have literally read the covers off the entire Narnia series, I can tell you that the movies take some liberties with plot lines and sometimes cross over to other books in the Narnia series for material. But it's great theater...with a Christian message.  The only problem is that we have to wait till summer for the movie!

Here's a link to a high video quality trailer that I've had trouble playing on two computers (maybe I need a hotter computer)...but the visual is great! If it gets choppy on you, let it play at least halfway through, then grab the little blue ball at the bottom of the screen and drag it back to the beginning.

If that's all just too annoying, watch a lower quality version here.

Kim

The REAL Star of Christmas?

On Sunday, Southwood's 400+ Sunday School students told the story of Christmas to more than 1,400 people in two separate afternoon services.  Pastor Michael, (pictured here in his twinkling star costume), seemed a little confused about who is the "real star" of Christmas, thinking it was himself.  But the kids and Pastor Michael's puppet, Luther, helped set him straight, reminding him that Jesus is the REAL star of Christmas as they told the story in music and drama!  Click here for more photos (of the kids....not Pastor Michael).

A Christmas Lullaby

“The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life”. (Psalm 121:5-7 NRSV)

Throughout the ages, parents have sung babies to sleep with lullabies and cradle songs. It feels only natural to murmur a soft lullaby as we walk and sway with our babies. Singing to my children has been an important part of our nighttime routine. I can remember singing to them when they were infants, praying for God to watch over them through their lives. This Sunday in worship, we will sing a lullaby that Mary could have sung to baby Jesus. “A La Ru” is a Hispanic song. The words of the refrain, “A la ru, a la mé,” are nonsense syllables that are like cooing or babbling. Think about what must have been in Mary’s heart as she would have sung her baby to sleep. How much did Mary know about the hurts and trials the Jesus would endure? Did she know he would die a painful death to save us from our sins? As a parent, I can only imagine what her thoughts were.

A La Ru

1. Oh, sleep now, holy baby,
with your head against my breast:
Meanwhile the pants of my sorrow
are soothed and put to rest.

Refrain:
A la ru, a la mé,
al la ru, a la mé,
al la ru, a la mé,
al la ru, a la mé,

2. You need not fear King Herod,
He will bring no harm to you;
so rest in the arms of your mother
who sings you a la ru.
Refrain

Tr.(c) 1954 University of New Mexico Press

Gifts of Love: I'm (finally) ready for Christmas

You hear the question daily, starting about December 10th....Are you ready for Christmas? I've had to answer honestly....No....not really. And my honest answer hasn't had anything to do with whether I have my shopping done or my cookies baked or my presents wrapped. My heart just hasn't been ready for Christmas. But tonight that all changed.

Tonight I got to help two little girls pick out presents for the people they love. These two girls attend City Impact's Tuesday Night Bible Club. For attendance and memorizing Bible verses and doing service projects, they earn Kid Hope Bucks....and tonight they got to use their hard-earned Kid Hope Bucks to buy presents for the people they love at the Gifts of Love Kids' Store.

I helped Radious, a 5th grader, find gifts for her mom (who likes Scrabble and needs a new robe) and her aunt (who likes to bake), for her teacher (who likes to scrapbook), for her Bible Club teacher (who just deserves something pretty), and for her two best friends (who she hopes will love the games she got them). Radious chose carefully and deliberately, changing her mind only once as she tried to find the very best presents...the ones her loved ones would REALLY love.

Then I got to help 5 year old, Cebesha. Cebesha's big sister, Crystal is 17 and helps out at Bible Club...she helped Cebesha until we shooed her away so Cebesah could shop for her. Cebesha's first stop was a set of burgundy towels for her mom....and then a Mary Kay bath set to go with those pretty new towels. For Dad, she picked out a tool set and a folding chair he can use when he goes fishing (he really likes to fish). For her Aunt, she chose a bath basket and a pedicure set. And for her aunt's new baby (that Cebesha thinks will be born tomorrow) she got a pacifier and some baby washcloths, after much deliberation between the washcloths and some lion slipper socks. For big sister Crystal, Cebesha found some "spray stuff" -- because she likes spray stuff -- and a purse that Crystal helped point out (hints are sometimes helpful!).

Both Radious & Cebesha definitely understood the idea that it is more blessed to give than to receive...they thought hard about gifts their loved ones would really love....and they felt proud that they had earned the Kid Hope Bucks that paid for their presents. Cebesha used a calculator to add up her purchases to make sure she didn't go over the Hope Bucks in her account....she was $3 under her total. Radious added them up in her head....and had lots of Kid Hope Bucks left over to keep in her Kid Hope Bucks savings account.

I drank in the joy on these kids' faces, their excitement at choosing and wrapping the perfect gifts for their loved ones, their pride in having earned the Kid Hope Bucks they used to purchase those gifts. I know the backstory on this too. Those 125 kids (and more than 700 adults last week who shopped for their children at the Gifts of Love Christmas Store) got presents for their families because of people who share their heartfelt belief that it's better to give than to receive. This Christmas, Southwood collected over 500 gifts and more than $350 in gift certificates and donations for Gifts of Love. Thank you for making Gifts of Love possible for the children and families who are ready for Christmas because you provided a hand up!

....and thank you to Radious and Cebesha, whose gifts of love helped me get ready for Christmas tonight.

Kim