Mr. Daniel Wunder

Council President

Mr. Daniel Smale

Organist/ Choir Director

Mrs. Tracy Buskirk

Treasurer

Mrs. Rose Arace

Pastoral Secretary

Mrs. Staci Gower

Christian Education

January 2017 Pastor Suzanne Brooks-Cope

Secretary Office Hours are:

Mon., Wed., Fri. 9am to 1pm

Phone: 610-381-2442

Email: stmatts@ptd.net

Website: stmattsucckunkletown.com

Sunday Services and Activities

9am Worship

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10:30 Sunday School

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Second Sunday

Noon Special

Alternative Worship

NONPROFIT

U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

PERMIT NO 74

LEHIGHTON, PA 18235

DATED MATERIAL PLEASE DO NOT HOLD

St. Matthew’s UCC

102 Church Road

Kunkletown, Pa 18058

January 2017

Dear Members and Friends of St. Matthews,

According to historians, the celebration of the New Year is the oldest holi-

day. Ancient Babylonians first observed it in the spring about 4,000 years ago. In 153 B.C., the Roman Senate

declared January 1 as New Year’s Day.

The tradition of making resolutions dates back to the Babylonians, who often promised to return borrowed

farm equipment. Using a baby to symbolize rebirth and the new year dates back to the ancient Greeks and

Egyptians.

Modern-day New Year’s customs often focus on prosperity. In Spain, people eat 12 grapes at midnight, hop-

ing to have 12 happy months to come. The Dutch eat donuts because another year has come full circle.

One of the best ways to start off the New Year is by spending time in prayer and discernment. Look back on

God’s many blessings during the completed year and ask for his guidance in the one to come. What are your

hopes and dreams for this New Year?

Our building project was completed last year. It is now time for St. Matthews to start envisioning how we

can use our newly improved space to spread the good news of gospel. We have opened a nursery that al-

lows our littlest ones a safe place to learn and play while their parents worship. We have started a pre-

school Sunday School class that meets in the nursery while our other classes are meeting.. I would like to

form an exercise and weight loss group for those who want to take care of the physical temples that God has

given each one of us. Our newly remodeled kitchen and fellowship hall offers a wonderful space for our

members to meet, gather and fellowship together. The CIA Class will be studying the book of Revelation un-

der the steadfast leadership of Diann Bittenbender during our Sunday School hour. This class is open to all

our members. Randy Cramer continues to invite country musicians to entertain us and inspire us with

country gospel music.

There are lots of events that are occurring, but there is more that we can do. Now is the time to dream and

think of what else God might be calling us to here on top of our hill in Kunkletown. Do you have any ideas

how we can reach out to our community? Is there something you would like to see happen in this New

Year? As the winter begins and the cold and weather keep us inside, it is time to dream, ponder and discern

what new thing God is calling us to in our lives and church.

Have a Happy, Healthy and Faithful New Year,

Pastor Suzanne

St. Matthew’s UCC Prayer List (As of publishing date December 18, 2016)

We Join In Christ’s Prayer For Our Church Members at Various Personal Care Residences or Our Homebound and

Friends Who Need Extra Prayers.

Wilbert Hawk

Brookmont Health Care Center

PO Box 50

Effort, Pa 18330

Dorthea Kresge

Mahoning Valley

397 Hemlock Drive

Lehighton, Pa 18235

Mae Pearsol, Asher Smith

And Maynard Sterner

Getz Personal Care Home

1026 Scenic Drive

Kunkletown, Pa 18058

Naomi Smith, Gladys Lindenmoyer

And Latimer Eckhart

Village Of Palmerton

71 Princeton Avenue

Palmerton, Pa 18071

Joyce Smale

Pleasant Valley Manor

4227 Manor Drive

Stroudsburg, Pa 18360

Pauline Smith

173 Fiddletown Road

Kunkletown, Pa 18058

Violet Kromer& Mary Correll

Slatebelt Nursing & Rehab

Slatebelt Drive

Bangor, Pa 18013

Mary Kleintop

Weatherwood Nursing & Rehab

1000 Evergreen Avenue

Weatherly, Pa 18255

Other Prayer Concerns

Families of Jean Lengel, June Smith, Lana

Schroeder, and

Beth Sheilds: Billy Kleintop,

Bill Caldwell, Evelyn Smith, Ken Serfass,

Judy Smith, Brayden Wunder,

Gerald Haydt, Margaret Hahn,

Lillian Kleintop, Shawn Everett,

Brenda Dorshimer, Frances Borger,

The Rev. Sterling & Lorraine Schnell, Doug

& Brenda Hawk, Elmer Frantz, Katie Arace

1 Diane Huber

2 Riston Barr

5 Donna Waltz

6 Kim Buskirk

6 Rodney Smith

7 Lynn Byerly

7 Catherine Dotter

7 Debbie Kemmerer

7 David Kreiser

8 Betty Kleintop

9 Henry Krechel

9 Ashley Smith

9 Michelle Bonser

11 Lesly Byrne

11 Franklin Smith

11 James Beidleman

13 Melvin Frable

14 Jeffery Gower

16 Carl Kocher

16 Bonney Kresge

18 Wayne Lee

19 Ryker Barr

20 Carol King

20 Linda Koehler

21 Jennifer Ray

21 Larry Smale

22 Evelyn Smith

23 Terry VanBuskirk

24 Kurt Eckhart

24 James Smith

25 Kathy Beidleman

26 Charolette Kleintop

26 Wanda Wunder

28 Rachel Frable

28 Laura Bealer

28 Aubrey Freeby

29 Katelin Arace

2016 Income Vs Expenses As Of November 2016

Welcome to our council the

following people:

Jeanie Anewalt,

Penny Hawk,

Pat Martin, Tony Palermo

Dean Zacharias

Council Meeting Date Changed

January’s council meeting will be

held on Tuesday, January 10, 2017

this month.

All new council members and any

council member looking for a

refresher course is invited to a

training session at 5:30pm and

council meeting starts at 7pm.

Please call the office if you have

any questions.

Happy New Year!

Your new offering envelopes are availa-

ble for you to pick up. They are located

in the new gathering room downstairs

outside the social hall. Please call the

office if you need them delivered to

you.

January Usher Schedule

January 1- Joyce, Jack, Wilbur, Lee B & Lee S

January 8– (9am) Dan & Lynn

January 8 (Noon) Joyce & Lee B

January 15– Lee S & Leon

NOVEMBER FINANCIAL INCOME COMPARISON

Income for November 2016 with 4 Sundays Income for November 2015 with 5 Sundays

11/6/16-9am—125 Attending- $3,501.00-All Saints Day 11/1/15-9am-112 Attending-$3,914.83-All Saints Day

11/13/16-9am-52 Attending-$2,533.00 11/8/15-9am-78 Attending-$1,317.00-Baptism

11/13/16-12pm-120 Attending-$1,410.00/ $134.78 Outreach 11/8/15-12pm-103 Attending- $1,009.00/$56.17-Outreach

11/20/16-9am-55 Attending-$2,302.10 11/15/15-9am-120 Attending-$1,821.93– 2 Baptisms

11/27/16-9am-80 Attending-$2,220.00 11/22/15-9am-78 Attending-$1,768.00

11/29/15-9am-68 Attending-$3,009.50

Totals– General Fund- $11,966.10-Outreach-$134.78 Totals– General Fund- $12,840.26-Outreach-$56.17

Are you feeling out of shape? Did

you over eat during the holiday

season? Do you have some weight

you would like to lose? Does walk-

ing up stairs or up an incline leave

you out of breath and winded? How

would you like to work on these

issues? We now have a wonderful gathering room that would

make a great place to exercise together. Pastor Suzanne wants

to start an exercise/weight lost group that would meet at

St. Matthews. It is hard to exercise faithfully and change your

diet by yourself. It is much easier to do it with the support of

others. If you are interested, join her on January 11 at 6 pm for

a get together to begin forming a

Fitness Group here at St. Matts. At

the meeting we will discuss times to

meet (day, evening or both), how

often, expectations, hopes and we

will come up with a name for the

group. Join us and bring your ideas.

Incase of inclement weather, please call the church

office for any cancelations of meetings, or services being

cancelled. We will leave a message on the machine if we

are going to cancel. If there is no answering machine

picking up, that means there is no electric and we will

not be having service.

Please join “The Path” to the “Family Table”

Every Second Sunday of

Every Month at Noon

St. Matthew’s has its own band showing us

the word of God through

Country Gospel Songs and Music.

Come share Communion at our table.

Staci’s Stuff

By Staci Gower, coordinator of Christian formation

What I love about January is the fresh start of a new year. After spending December dashing from shopping

malls to festive gatherings, we can use January to rest and reenergize. It can be a month to start a new

project or find a new perspective.

Sunday School and nursery care will not be available on January 1. Both resume on January 8.

I’m always looking for input on Sunday School lessons, activities to do with the children and youth, service

projects and places to visit. If you have an idea, please share. Some months, I have too many ideas and not

enough time. Other months, my creativity seems to be on vacation. We need various perspectives and

people willing to volunteer their time and talents to keep our children and youth engaged and eager for

more Christian education. Thankfully, we have stellar teachers and nursery assistants. And more are always

welcome to join the roster.

Our nursery has been very popular since it opened in September. Perhaps you’ve heard the children singing

or have seen the Thomas train toy roll down the hallway! Most Sundays we have anywhere from two to six

children during worship hour. In December, we added 15 minutes of Christian education so there is some

learning time mixed in with playtime. This lesson is different than the one I do later during the preschool

Sunday School class. This is so the kids who do nursery and stay for class get the maximum amount of new

material possible. If your children have yet to visit the nursery, please stop by for a visit.

The nursery is always staffed with two volunteers. If you’d like to volunteer an hour a month, please see

me. I’d like to expand our volunteer list.

Come bounce with the youth group on January 15, when we go to Sky Zone in Bethlehem. We will depart

the church after Sunday School.

Other upcoming youth events include snow tubing, volunteering at the West End Food Pantry and a lock-in

at the church. I’ll provide more information next month.

For more information or to participate, contact me at 610-283-4696 (call or text) or

stacigeorge0317@gmail.com