Volume 10, Issue 50 December 12, 2018

Who We Are… Liberty Road Faith Fellowship is a Multi-denominational gathering of Christians who enjoy traditional worship services.

Where to Find Us…

We worship at 2734 Liberty Road. You can find us on the web at http://libertyroadfaithfellowship.org

We Gather for Fellowship Coffee/Donut Fellowship Time: 9:00 - 10:30 a.m. in room 6 Thank you for helping us keep our church clean and tidy by keeping all the food and beverages in the Hospitality room (room #6) on Sunday mornings.

We Gather for Bible Study The Living Faith Sunday school meets at 9:30 a.m. in room 9. Scot Reeves, teacher.

The In Between Class meets at 10:00 a.m. in room 1. Hope Spoonamore, teacher.

The Adult Bible Study meets at

A Word from the Pastor By Rev. Lisa V. Wood

I came across an old Ideals

Christmas publication. You

remember those, don’t you? The

Christmas editions were full of

poems, stories, and exquisite

pictures of seasonal images:

vibrant red holly berries, frosted

with snow; stained glass

windows of a little country

church; and always, a black

leather Bible (opened to Luke 2) flanked by 2 red pillar candles nestled among

some pine boughs… The memories those pictures resurrected were those of my

childhood Christmases – nostalgic, and yes, I’ll use the word, magical.

The child in me still delights in the scents of evergreen and cinnamon.

My heart swells with emotions stirred when hearing children sing “O Holy

Night” or Josh Groban sing “Believe.” I still experience the joy of finding the

perfect gifts for special someones and baking gifts for friends, neighbors, the

sanitation workers and mailpersons… The child in me secretly (or not-so-

secretly) hopes for a white Christmas – and I can’t wait to sip hot chocolate and

play board games with the kids by firelight.

To this child of God, Christmas is more than a day, more than a season.

I believe that Christmas is a state of mind, and I truly do seek to “honor it in my

heart and try to keep it all throughout the year.” (Charles Dickens) There’s a

little nativity at my house that will always be on display as a reminder of God’s

gift of God’s self. It rests beneath another symbol of God’s self-giving: a

cross. We celebrate not only the coming of the Christ, but what he came to do

– for all God’s children.

10:00 a.m. in room 4. Bennie McWain, teacher.

We Gather for Worship Sunday Worship: 11:00 a.m.

Children’s Church: 11:15 a.m. In room 5.

Our Nursery is located in room 2.

We’re Looking Forward…

December 13 (Thursday) – Girl Scouts meet in Kearns Hall at 6:30 p.m.

December 16 (Sunday) – Administrative Board Meeting at 9:30 a.m. in the Kearns Hall. PLEASE NOTE CHANGE IN TIME.

December 20 (Thursday) – Girl Scouts meet at 6:30 p.m. in Kearns Hall.

December 24 (Monday) – Christmas Eve - Church Office Closed.

December 24 (Monday) – Christmas Eve Service at 6:00 p.m.

December 25 (Tuesday) –

Merry Christmas to each of you. I hope to see you in worship Sunday.

Christmas - when shivers in the spine have nothing to do with climate.

Christmas - when songs are sung not with the lips but with the heart.

Christmas - when light comes not from utilities but from the heavens. From Ideals, Christmas 1998

Come On and Ring Those Bells! By Dr. Carolyn Purcell

If members of Liberty Road

Faith Fellowship can ring the

bell for The Salvation Army,

please be sure to sign up in

the foyer. This is a great

activity to do with children

and grandchildren.

Volunteers usually ring for

one hour, but you can do more if you like. We will be ringing at the

Richmond Road Kroger grocery entrance on Saturday, December 22.

If you’ve never done this, I think you will have a good time, especially if

you bring children who love it. You can bring a stool if you can’t stand

for an hour, and I chose the Kroger on Richmond Road because we can

be inside. Each hour donated is a $10 gift to The Salvation Army. The

Army uses kettle money to provide Christmas for needy families and

emergency shelter for the homeless all year long. The Army has provided

Christmas for needy families in Lexington continuously since 1903.

Please check your calendar and sign up at church the next two Sundays

or by calling Carolyn Purcell at (859) 335-5226 or emailing her at

cpurcellret1998@gmail.com.

Christmas Day. Church Office Closed. No activities scheduled.

December 26 – 28 (Wednesday – Friday) – Church office closed due to vacation schedules.

December 31 (Monday) – New Year’s Eve – Church office closed at NOON. Year-end contributions will be counted, deposited and posted for 2018.

January 1, 2019 (Tuesday) – Happy New Year! – Church office closed.

January 2 (Wednesday) – The Current resumes.

January 3 (Thursday) – Girl Scouts meet at 6:30 p.m. in Kearns Hall.

January 6 (Sunday) – Epiphany Sunday – Communion passed in the pews in the 11 a.m. service.

January 7 (Monday) – Women’s Fellowship meets at 1:00 p.m. in room #3 for card ministry.

January 10 (Thursday) – Bridge Group resumes at 12:30 p.m. in Kearns Hall.

Service Auction By Rev. Lisa V. Wood

There’s a growing number of

services being volunteered for

auction on Soup-er Bowl

Sunday, February 3 at our Soup-

er Bowl Luncheon!

Whether you’re a painter, a

baker, landscaper, or basket

maker, you have a service to

offer! It will be fun to watch

additional creative offerings go up for bid. Check out the bulletin board

beside the choir room and see where your gift or service can fit it!

This promises to be an entertaining and exciting event that you won’t

want to miss! Not only will we enjoy a delicious variety of homemade

soups and sandwiches, warm fellowship around the table, and a little

hilarity over some “spirited” bidding, but this fundraiser will help

provide some means for refurbishing our sanctuary.

There are several ways you can make a significant contribution to this

effort: 1/ Donate your service! 2/ Say, “Yes!” when a member of the

social team contacts you to bring a pot of soup or some sandwiches; and

3/ Come and be a part of the fun and laughter! See Pastor Lisa if you

have a service you’d like to contribute to this cause. We’ll make a tag

for the bulletin board featuring your gift of self and include it on our line!

January 10 (Thursday) – Girl Scouts meet at 6:30 p.m. in Kearns Hall.

Prayer Requests To add a prayer request, please fill out a Prayer Request card, call the church office at 277-0420, or submit a prayer request or update online by going to http:// Libertyroadfaithfellowship.org. Most requests are left in the bulletin and newsletter for 2 weeks or so and will be taken out as space is needed for other requests. If you want your request to remain in for a longer period of time...PLEASE provide updates.

Pray for Samuel Graham, grandson of Kimberly Youdell, who is now at home with daily seizure medication after experiencing a grand mal seizure. Kimm appreciates your prayers on his behalf.

Pray for Jacob, a teenager in West Virginia, who is dealing with mental health issues. (M. Borders)

Pray for Five-year-old Wyatt Roser, who had surgery on 11/26 at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital for issues dealing with the rhythm of

Making Worship a Priority By Dr. Joanne Fortson As I watched clips on the news tonight of the funeral for George

Bush, I am saddened that we lost a good Christian leader, and I pray that

more people with his faith would rise to public service. I met him in

1984 when he was Vice President, during the presidential campaign for

re-election of Ronald Reagan.

We were living in Springfield, Missouri, at the time. I was the Sunday

School director at Glenstone Baptist Church, which was near the

southwest edge of town. Bush was to be speaking at a rally in another

city (I believe it was Tulsa, Ok). The press had said nothing about his

being anywhere in Springfield. He was very intent on worshiping on

Sunday, privately -- without the press or the public really knowing,

bothering him, or turning his church experience into anything political.

He came to our church because he was not a Baptist and he did not think

if any of the press had happened to have followed him to Springfield,

they would look for him there. Our location was chosen simply because

it was easy to get in and out of town.

I arrived an hour early for church, as I always did, to get things ready

for Sunday morning. Usually only the pastor, the organist, and the music

minister were there that early. The place was swarming with secret

service agents inspecting the place. They then situated themselves very

inconspicuously in the building and parking lot where they could see

people coming and going. It was very fascinating. When George Bush

arrived, Sunday School was well under way and he was whisked into the

pastor's office. Then, as the first song was being sung for service, he

quietly came into the service and sat about midway. He came in with just

one other man. Oh, there were plenty of secret service scattered

his heart.

Pray for the family of Jerry Gibbs, who died on 11/30. His wife, Jean, lives at 1800 Joan Drive, Lexington, KY 40505.

Pray for Mark Sisk, brother of Jon Sisk, who had surgery on 11/29 to remove a brain tumor. The surgery went well, but Mark has experienced a lot of pain.

Pray for Jamie Svec as he prepares spiritually, physically and financially to leave for Jordan on January 2 – January 30 to serve on a mission trip. Jamie’s parents are Jim and Linda Svec.

Pray for Jean Simpson, who is in St. Joseph East ICU. She has been diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis, a very serious illness that affects her muscles. Pray also for Jean’s husband, Silver, who is dealing with serious health issues at home. Silver and Jean live at 1617 Cantrill Drive, Lexington, KY 40505.

Pray for the family of Mike Rector, Jerrell Teague’s cousin, who died on November 24th.

throughout the congregation. Most people never noticed him. He sat a

few rows in front of me. He was there to worship. Very humble, very

respectful.

During the final song, he quietly slipped back out to the pastor's office

where he stayed until the building was empty. Those few of us who had

been there early and knew what was happening were asked not to leave

until after he did (I guess so we did not go running to a phone -- no cell

phones then -- and call the press or anybody.) We just hung out in the

hall with a couple Secret Service men. Then we were escorted to the door

and met Mr. Bush personally. I shook his hand as he told us how much

he appreciated our allowing him to worship with us. Not one word was

ever said about politics. I saw a man who loved God taking a lot of time

and effort to worship. I, personally, was impressed by this God-loving

man who had a "job" that made it difficult to go to church. Yet, he made

a lot of effort to put that in his schedule.

Mittens, Toboggans and Socks, Oh My! By Susan Slusher

Women's Fellowship will be sponsoring a Mitten, Toboggan and Sock

Tree this year in the vestibule. Last year we asked for mittens and

gloves. This year we will be adding socks to the mix. These will be for

elementary children at both Liberty Road and Yates Elementary

schools. We got wonderful numbers last year which were well received

by both Family Resource Centers at each school. We will be collecting

all through the month of December and will deliver the collected items

the first of January 2019. One of the best places to look is at any of the

Dollar Tree stores here in the city. We suggest you buy early since they

sell out pretty soon. God bless you for giving.

Pray for Pat Bain, who has improved, but is still being treated. She is back at the North Point Healthcare facility. Cards can be sent to 395 Redding Road, Apt. 59, Lexington, KY 40517.

Pray for Chad Manley, who is recovering from a very serious liver surgery. He will have four more rounds of chemo followed by another surgery to remove tumors from the right side of his liver. (Mary Anne Pollock)

Pray for Louise Sargent, who is recovering from a broken femur and hip. Her address is 753 Glendover, Lexington 40502.

Pray for Susan Booker, who has seen improvement with Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome in her ankle. She appreciates your prayers on her behalf. Her address is 125 Old Cassidy Avenue, Lexington 40502.

Pray for Martha Lester, who has been in the hospital at Baptist Health, but she requests NO visitors.

Pray for John May, who is facing

Christmas Schedule for The Current By Norma Smither

Because of Christmas vacation schedules, the last issue of The Current

for 2018 will come out on December 19. Our next issue will not come

out until January 2, 2019. But because of the office being closed on

Monday, December 31st at Noon and Tuesday, January 1, 2019, any

articles for that issue will need to be sent to Norma by 8 a.m. on

Monday, December 31, 2018. In fact, if you can send them before

Monday, that would be very helpful because Norma will come in

EARLY that morning. Our newsletter keeps us informed and connected.

Thank you so much for all your help!

Christmas Schedule for The Office

Due to holiday and vacation schedules, the Church will be closed the

entire week of Christmas, December 24 – 28. On December 31, the

office will be open until 12 NOON, so if you have any last minute

contributions that you want to count for 2018, you will need to bring

them to the office by noon that day. Contributions turned in that day will

be counted, deposited and posted for 2018.

Musings on a Day in December By Roger Bain

The Spirit of God upon you dwells

The clouds roll by, the ocean waves swell.

They touch the shore and wash it clean

God’s way of showing us how much we mean.

Thusly our sins may be washed away

Have you asked God today?

some serious health issues. His address is 104 Paige Drive, Nicholasville, KY 40356.

Pray for Elmer Day, Kevin Maudsley’s cousin, who has resumed chemo for pancreatic cancer.

Pray for Steve Cohen, brother-in-law of Kevin Maudsley, who needs prayers for recovery.

Pray for our soldiers…Faith Afield Pray for our service men and women who are active and also for our veterans who deal with difficult health issues every day as a result of their service to their country. Here are the names of the service people we currently know about.

SSGT. Jamen Berry, son of Andy Berry, is in the Air Force in San Antonio, Texas. He will retire next summer.

Senior Airman Benjamin Engelbrecht has completed his military service, has married, and is now living in Kentucky.

Musings on a Day in December By Roger Bain

Once again the story is told

Something new, something old.

Were you there, are you here?

Upon a night, beautiful and clear

The flocks were quiet, the shepherds were near.

One star, especially bright, came into view

What was it, something new?

A voice was heard, so strong, so clear

Find the babe, I hold so dear.

He is lying in a bed of straw among sheep like yours

Bedded in a stable, safe and sure.

All who come may freely enter,

for he is there and bids you worship

The God of Heaven and Earth!

Thus it has been, and always will be

This God of yours, and for me

You must believe this story of old

It was sung by the Angels I am told

The mighty voice from God, His holy word

His son was born, have you heard?

Elnur Iskandarov – nephew of Ginny Berry by marriage, is in the 10th Group, Special Forces Unit in Ft. Carson, Colorado.

Capt. Ginny Iskandarov – niece of Ginny Berry, graduated. Ginny is now attending the military college at Ft. Leavenworth for one year and is on the list for promotion to Major.

Luke Pepperl, grandson of Jim Pepperl, is in Navy SEALs training at San Diego, California.

Lt. Cameron Smith – brother of Sean Smith, is in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Jake Vessels – grandson of Helen Crews, is in the National Guard. Jake has been deployed to Africa.

Please send Ginny Berry any updates on the status of these persons…change in rank, address, new assignment…Her email address is momb1@twc.com.

Martha Ministry Team members for December are

Ginny Berry, Ann Crowe, Tandy

Hanging of the Green Pictures

LEFT: If anyone could portray an angel beautifully, it would be our little Ella. Just look at that sweet face! BELOW: Bill Boughton is carrying in a poinsettia. Mr. Boughton is Ella’s Great Grandfather.

The Hanging of the Green service was very meaningful from the detail and meaning of the Chrismons placed on the tree, the reading of the scripture, the songs that we sang, the placing of the nativity, poinsettias and wreaths , the readings that were shared, to the lighting of the candles and the worship of our Savior. Glory be to God!

Haggard, Nancy Robinson, and Jeanette Grindstaff.

If you cannot serve, please contact one of the co-chairs of the Martha Ministry: Susan Slusher, at (606) 309-7711 or Valda May at (859) 619-9305 and they will be glad to reschedule you for another month.

Current Administrative Board for 2018 – 2019 Roger Blair, Chair; Richard Baber, Paul Engelbrecht, Rachel Jones, Hope Spoonamore, John Leindecker, Ann Lucas, John May, Liz Peters, Jackie Bondurant, Bd. Secretary; Mitch Borders, Treasurer; Kevin Maudsley, Paul Taylor.

Deadline for The Current Prayer requests, committee news or announcements, and personal interest stories should be submitted by NOON on Monday for inclusion in the next issue of The Current. Please send them by email to norma@ libertyroadfaithfellowship.org

Deadline for the Bulletin Announcements for the Sunday

More Hanging of the Green Pictures...

ABOVE: Mary (Marsha Oakley) and children brought in pieces of the Nativity. LEFT: Joe Faulkner and John May sang a duet. John’s sister, Hope Spoonamore joined them in a trio to sing, “Beautiful Star of Bethlehem.”

bulletin should be sent to Norma by NOON on Wednesdays at norma@libertyroadfaithfellowship.org

Ann Crowe will continue to post events/dates on our website calendar, so if you have an event that needs to be posted please notify her at annhcrowe@gmail.com by NOON on Wednesdays.

The Women of Faith still have some pecans to sell. This will be on a first come, first

serve basis. The mammoth halves

are available at $13 per package, as

well as the dark chocolate pecans at

$11 per package. Please call

Carolyn Blair at (859) 269-4832 if

you would like to purchase some.

Advent Reflection Booklets are available.

If you did not get a copy of our

2018 Advent Reflections at the

Hanging of the Green service, we

have some lying on the table

outside the church office. We hope

this booklet will be a gift and a

blessing to each of you throughout

the Advent season.

LEFT: Carol and Paul Taylor carry poinsettias. RIGHT: Linda Dennis and Susan Booker also help to place poinsettias.

CENTER: Dr. Mary Anne Pollock was one of our Advent readers.

LEFT: Is it just me or does Hope Spoonamore have a mischievous look on her face? This picture was taken at the reception following the service.

BELOW RIGHT: Mr. Jim Todd was one of our Advent readers.