Calendar Sustainer of Our lifeaplchurch.org/newsletters/vol23-2018.pdf · 2018. 10. 3. · Sustainer of Our life “I lie down and sleep; I wake again, for the Lord sustains me…”(Psalm

Sustainer of Our life

“I lie down and sleep; I wake again, for the

Lord sustains me…” (Psalm 3:5)

Lying down, sleeping and waking are some of the most common routines of

our life. They are such ordinary things that

no one even considers them magical or

special. When we want to go to sleep, we go

to sleep. Once it is time to wake up, we wake

up. It is the typical cycle of our biological

life. Then, how did waking and sleeping

become the special theme for a psalm in the

Bible praising and giving thanks to God?

David, known as the author, wrote

Psalm 3 when he was on the run from his

son, Absalom who had rebelled against him.

David had to flee with such urgency that he

had no time to put on shoes: he fled barefoot.

He was not able to sleep, since Absalom’s

army chased him all day and all night. While

on the run, David came to realize that even

the ordinariness of sleeping and waking

should not be taken for granted as just a

natural cycle of life, but should also be

considered as God’s abiding sustainment and

protection.

This reminds me of an experience

reported by a survivor of a World War II

Nazi concentration camp. He witnessed that

overnight the person next to him had died

due to hard labor, starvation, and disease;

there was now a cold corpse next to him. In

the camps there were many people who

could not survive through the night. The

survivor went on to acknowledge that even

our ordinary sleeping and waking do not

happen according to our ability or will or our

natural metabolic cycle, but with the help of

God’s grace and care.

After verse 5, King David continues:

“I am not afraid of tens of thousands of

people who have set themselves against me

all around since deliverance belongs to the

Lord; may his blessing be on your people.”

In his suffering and distress, David found

and relied on the powerful and delivering

hand of God who sustained and kept him

delivered out of harm’s way in his life even

without his knowledge.

We are now looking forward to

seeing the New Year of 2018. As we look

back on the year 2017, many of us may have

endured countless difficulties and afflictions

in life. I expect the next year will not be too

different. Sometimes, like David, we may

feel like ten thousands of afflictions have

been set out against us all around. We may

face all kinds of dangers and suffering

throughout the New Year, but we do not fret,

because our God is with us sharing his

loving care and protection. We believe that

deliverance belongs to our God who keeps

sustaining and protecting our lives. We can

find this faith even in our ordinary routines

such as sleeping and waking everyday. Amen.

In this Issue

Page 1

Calendar/Sustainer of Our Life

Page 2

Message from the President/Music

Ministry/Benevolence

Page 3-4

Prayer Section/A Salute to Our

Members/Bible Study Notes/Advent

Page 5

Oktoberfest/500th Anniversary

Page 6-8

Special & December Events

Page 9-10

Birthday Celebration/Special Birthday

Page 11

Council Report

Page 12-14

News from the Pews

Page 15

Trivia Corner

Page 16-19

Serving in Worship

10774 Rhode Island Avenue, Beltsville, Maryland 20705 (301) 937-7646

www.APLChurch.org

Calendar

Every Wednesday

6:30 pm Bible Study

7:50 pm Choir Practice

January

6th Saturday Season of Epiphany begins

7th Sunday

Baptism of our Lord

Un-green the church

28th Sunday

Annual Congregational

Meeting

February

11th Sunday

Transfiguration of Our Lord

Festive Day before Lent

14th Wednesday

Ash Wed. Service

7:00 pm (Lent Begins)

21st Wednesday

Soup Supper &

Mid-Week Lenten

Service Begins

March

10th Saturday

First Day of the Korean

School Spring Semester

11th Sunday

Daylight Saving Time Begins

25th Sunday

Passion/Palm Sunday

Holy Week Begins

29th & 30th

Maundy Thursday & Good

Friday Services

7:00 pm

April

1st Sunday

Easter

Potluck Brunch

Volume 23 Winter Issue 2018

Message from the President

I hope everyone had a blessed Christmas. During the Christmas holiday our church members

participated in several outreach programs. We helped with the collection of canned food and toys for

the holiday food and gift program sponsored by the Women’s Community Club of Beltsville. We also

donated to Gifts of Hope and the Maryland Food Bank. Thanks to everyone for your generosity in

giving to these programs. They were all a huge success.

We had a very nice spread at our Christmas pot luck brunch and cookie exchange, and we had lots of

fun at our Chinese gift exchange, on December 17, 2017. Again, thanks to everyone for making these

traditional events very successful.

As we are about to welcome in the New Year and reflect on all that is happening in our lives and

around the world, we must be aware God’s presence in our life and be thankful for all the blessings

God has bestowed upon us during the past year. We must also look forward to a good year and not

forget to make some new resolutions and set some goals for the New Year. Maybe we will repeat

some of those that we set for last year that we tried so hard to keep, but could not. Best wishes to all

of you with your New Year’s resolutions, and I hope you have a happy, healthy, and blessed New

Year.

The church council has already started preparing for the New Year and is busy planning for our

annual congregational meeting to be held on January 28, 2018.

Finally, I want to thank all of you for making our church such a beautiful place in which to worship.

May God continue to bless all of you. Have a great year!

Annie Gajadhar, President

Music Ministry

Abiding Presence is privileged to have our wonderful and faithful choir members: Rich

Moore, Steve McKisson, and Donna Mertens (when she is in town.☺). Each week, they

greatly enrich our worship service by offering their gift of song. This past Christmas

Eve, Bette Deller, Annie Gajadhar, and Nathan Na made our service extra special by

joyfully accompanying the choir with the bells. They all truly live by the directive

proclaimed in Psalm 95:2, “Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him

with music and song.” Abiding Presence is truly blessed!

Laura Kalshoven, Choir Director/Pianist

Benevolence/Outreach

From Thanksgiving through the Advent Season, our members again expressed their gratitude through

generosity to The Maryland Food Bank, the synod’s Gifts of Hope program, and the Women’s Club of

Beltsville holiday food and toy drive. It is too early for totals, but we will report them in the spring

issue.

All budgeted benevolence for 2017 has been paid.

Anna Graeber,

Outreach Committee

In Our Prayers: Members: Anna Graeber, Laura Kalshoven, Martha McKisson, Ming Yee Chen,

and Betty Wellborn Our Friends: Bernadine, Bob, Dale, Paul, David, Jerry, Jimmy, Ji-young, Julia,

Kathy, Kevin, Kristine, Les, Linda, Lisa, Martin, Michael, Mick, Raz, Carl, Steven, Mike, Sam,

Richard, Samantha, Jamie, John, Tom, Harold, Ricardo, Chris, Richard, Li, Walter, Wayne, Wol-Mak

Park, and Zally.

Happy Birthday to: Jan Kalshoven (1/1), Jongkil Na (1/20), Marlon Gajadhar(2/10), Sherlon

Gajadhar(2/10), Ming Yee Chen (2/24), Josephine Kalshoven (2/25), Stephanie Boyd(3/1), Chris

Ham (3/18), Joshua Ham (3/19), Pat Thornberg (3/20), Martha McKisson (3/22), Betty Wellborn

(4/8), and Ramesh Das (4/20)

A Salute to Our Members – Jeanne Byrnes

In this issue we want you to get to know one of our members we don't see often enough! Jeanne

(Behnke) Byrnes splits her "church time" between us and another Lutheran church, but we won't hold

that against her as she actually belongs to Abiding Presence and was raised and married in our church.

She and husband, Jim, were married by Pastor Taylor, and their two boys were baptized by him.

Jeanne's parents and grandparents (who started Behnke's Nursery) were members of Abiding

Presence, but when she was growing up her Dad was in the Air Force so they lived in many places.

When her dad retired from the Air Force, her parents settled in Beltsville - helping out with the

nursery business. Jeanne and her brother put in time at the nursery, but that was not to be her calling.

She graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in Computer Science and swiftly

landed a job with NASA at The Goddard Space Flight Center. There she met her husband, and before

long their two sons, Ian and Christian arrived. Ian is in Norway, having gotten his doctorate in

radiation physics. Christian works for a computer company specializing in making games.

Jeanne's responsibilities include oversight of 12 data centers associated with NASA which are located

all over the US. Consequently, she travels! This leaves little time for other pursuits, but she is a

conscientious daughter who keeps in close contact with her mother, Ellie, living in southern Maryland.

Her dad, Roland, died several years ago. Ellie does wonderful needlepoint work, and was very helpful

in the production of our kneeling cushions that we still use today.

In her meagre spare time, she enjoys music, and movies, but she fondly remembers being a

participant in CROP walks with other Abiding Presence teens, as well as other Social Ministry

pursuits of the years long ago.

We are grateful for having had the whole Behnke family associated with Abiding Presence for many,

many years.

Bible Study Notes

It is known that Paul wrote five letters, three of which survive, to the church in

Corinth. This correspondence attests to Paul’s enduring relationship with the

Corinthian church, a longer relationship than with any other of the congregations

he helped plant. The three surviving letters are 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians

chapters 1-9, and 2 Corinthians chapters 10-13. Thus, 2 Corinthians is not a single

letter but a combination of 2 letters around the same general time period in the

mid-50s of the first century, but each addresses different situations.

We moved on from 1 Corinthians to 2 Corinthians after Pastor returned from South Korea in

November. 1 Corinthians reflects Paul’s sense of what the freedom in the Gospel means (not a license

for quarrel, division, sexual immorality, etc.), the role and nature of love, the distinction between the

Greek notion of wisdom and God’s wisdom, and his views on topics such as marriage. In 2

Corinthians Paul addressed the Corinthians criticism of his ministry to them. Therefore, we can peek

into Paul’s individual and personal perspectives in dealing with pressure under sharp attack in 2

Corinthians.

Prior to the writing of 2 Corinthians, the congregation had express complaints against Paul: he had

postponed coming to them and had apparently written things to them that caused them pain. Calling

on God as his witness, Paul defends himself saying that that he makes decisions with sincerity and frankness by God’s grace, not by earthly wisdom. He tries to convince them that certain actions he

made were to spare them with his love and care, not with indifference. It is interesting and

simultaneously perhaps a little embarrassing to see that the most prominent theologian in the New

Testament, who is also responsible for the spread of Christianity all over the world, had to deal with

ordinary grudges that are still common in churches even today.

Paul was not for ‘everyone’ after all. He was just a human being. In other words, he had limits and

weaknesses along with brilliant talents and a deep sense of calling. He was not daunted at all,

however, regarding the distress and anguish the criticisms may have caused. With patience he waded

through them with a wide range of arguments supported by a sophisticated mastery of Greco-Roman

rhetoric, and especially, through faith and power in Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection present

in his own ministry.

Season of Advent

Advent is a church season that is four weeks long in which we are to prepare our hearts for Jesus’

birth. In the seventh century before Christ, Isaiah wrote many of his prophecies to comfort the Israeli

nation in a time of great uncertainty, especially in relation to regional conflicts, the fall of Jerusalem,

the exile to Babylonia, and the eventual return from the exile. In our time, many churches have short

litanies for each week in Advent that express the beautiful verses found in Isaiah’s writings. Each

week emphases one of four ideas: hope, love, peace, joy.

The first week is about hope. The advent wreath is symbolic of these four ideas. Indigo, blue or

purple candles represent each idea. As the weeks go on, a new candle is lit and added to what already

has been lit. The second week, two candles are lit. One is the hope candle from the first week and

then a second one is for peace and comfort. The third week is about joy, and the fourth is love. Many

wreaths have a white, fifth candle in the middle to represent Christ the light. Day has come, and the

fifth candle is lit on Christmas Eve and Christmas.

For each week, there is a scripture related to the ideas. In Advent of 2017, the Old Testament readings

are;

Week Idea

1 Hope Isaiah 64:1-9

2 Peace Isaiah 40:1-11

3 Joy Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11

4 Love Luke 1:46-55 (Mary’s Magnificat)

5 Light Isaiah 9:2-7 (Candle is lit on Christmas)

Quietly meditate on these verses and the changes Christ brought to the world. Imagine what a surprise

the three kings must have felt when they saw the baby Jesus! Listen to The Messiah by Handel as

well for several of Isaiah prophecies are set to music.

Richard Moore

Oktoberfest & Celebration of the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation

On October 29, 2017 our church held a combination

Oktoberfest and Reformation celebration at Abiding

Presence. The décor was Bavarian and the program was

about the Reformation. We had a delicious potluck, which

included some German food and root beer bottled to look

like real beer bottles! Lunch was followed by a program featuring

activities about Martin Luther and the Lutheran Reformation. We also

celebrated Murzeena Gajadhar’s October birthday.

The program began with a quiz about Martin Luther. Next came two short entertaining videos about

Luther, a rap about famous Lutherans, and a musical rendition of Luther’s song, “A Mighty Fortress

is Our God,” which later became the hymn of the Reformation. Following that was a cartoon video of

chickens and roosters dancing the chicken dance, which is traditionally danced at all Oktoberfests.

Last, we played a game of “Pin-the-Theses-on-the-Church-Door.” Lydia Kalshoven painted a

wonderful church door for us, and everyone seemed to enjoy being blindfolded, spun around, and

dizzily trying to stick their miniature copy of the 95 theses on the Luther rose. Ann LaVigna’s aunt

crocheted 10 small monks holding crosses, which we used for prizes. They were perfect! Attendees

were sent home with handouts to read and complete, including a short biography of Luther, a maze to

help Luther find his hammer and a Luther rose to color with an explanation of what the colors mean.

It was a day of forgetfulness. Annie forgot to bring the skirt to her Dirndl costume so had to keep her

slacks on and camouflage it with a long apron. Bette forgot the boxes of pencils she had for the

Luther quiz and had to scramble around the office to find enough pencils and pens for the attendees.

Jan forgot to bring his laptop computer and the cables to connect it to the projector that Chris Ham

left for us to use. Like a trouper, though, Jan found a way to rig things up and make it all work out,

and I think everyone had a good time.

Lydia’s Church Door Our Men in Tyrolean Hats Three Ladies in German Dirndls

Another Table of Members Honoring Murzeena’s Birthday Holding Our Crocheted Monks

Special Events

Dinner at T.J.’s in Beltsville – October 25, 2017

A few people from church took Anna Graeber and her sister, Martha, to dinner to enjoy some time together and wish Anna well before her surgery that was scheduled for October 30th. The social

committee made the arrangements and took Anna a potted flower and card from the congregation.

Martha was given some Maryland souvenirs, with which she was very pleased. All had a good meal

and a good time!

Holiday Bus Trip – November 30, 2017

Pat Thornberg and Bette Deller celebrated the magic of the

Christmas season early this year! They went on a bus trip to

Lancaster, PA on November 30th with a local senior citizen group

called the Beltsville Young at Heart Club to see a special Christmas

variety show at the American Music Theater entitled Home for the

Holidays. This was a musical extravaganza featuring the American Music Theater’s singers, dancers,

and orchestra performing some favorite holiday songs and hymns. The singing and dancing were

wonderful. The stage sets were colorful and festive. The costuming was beautiful, and the portrayal of

the holiday traditions we all look forward to each year put to music was very creative and

entertaining.

The trip included the bus ride up and back, lunch before the show

at the Hershey Farm Restaurant in Strasburg, Pennsylvania, and

time to browse in the souvenir shop right next door to the

restaurant after lunch before boarding the bus again to head over

to the show in Lancaster. Pat and Bette both had a wonderful time,

and the show really helped put them in the mood for the holidays!

It was a great show! They wished more of you from church could

have come along on this one.

December Events

The Greening of the Church – December 10th was the date chosen to decorate the

church for Christmas. The social committee, Annie Gajadhar and Bette Deller, hung

six wreaths on the sanctuary windows, and tacked greens around the doorways of each

office and room and the sanctuary ahead of that date to make it easier. The tree and

cross in the lobby were decorated beautifully with beads, ornaments, and lights by

other members on Sunday morning. It was a great time of fun and fellowship.

Cookie Exchange – Five members participated in our Christmas cookie exchange on December 17th this year: Jan Kalshoven, Laura Kalshoven, Annie Gajadhar, Gene Lehr,

and Bette Deller. Each participant baked and packaged six or more cookies to exchange

with the other participants and baked an additional dozen or so to share with church

members at the holiday brunch held on that day. Each participant went home with a nice assortment

of cookies baked by others to share with their family and holiday guests, and the congregation

enjoyed some of those baked by each at our holiday brunch.

This Year’s Cookie Bakers Bette Deller, Gene Lehr, Annie Gajadhar, Jan Kalshoven, and Laura Kalshoven

Our 2017 Christmas Brunch – A holiday brunch was held on December 17th. The

food was delicious, as usual, and included many tasty dishes including some Korean

favorites. For dessert we had a delicious cake baked by Gene Lehr and a wide array

of delicious Christmas cookies baked by those who participated in the cookie

exchange. All enjoyed a wonderful meal and some tasty desserts on this Sunday

before Christmas!

Chinese Gift Exchange – This game has become an annual tradition at Abiding

Presence and one that is greatly enjoyed. Those who participated brought a wrapped gift

that would be suitable for either a man or woman priced at or under $20. The

participants then drew numbers to determine the order in which they would choose a

gift for themselves. When their turn came, they could either choose a gift from the gift table or take

one away from someone else. This year there was a lot of gift stealing going on, which made the

game a real laughing event.

It was a riot due to all of the “gift stealing” from one another that went on.

Keisun Na was the first one to steal a gift, taking a beautiful reversible blanket

away from Annie Gajadhar. Later, Julia Kalshoven stole the sleep collar that Pat

Thornberg had received. Nick Hajek then stole the sleep collar from Julia so Julia

stole the blanket from Keisun, who had stolen it earlier from Annie. Keisun now

got another turn so she stole the candles from Jason Kalshoven. Jason then stole

the sleep collar from Nick so Nick took his new turn to steal the flash light and insulated water bottle

from Laura Kalshoven that she had chosen from the gift table. Laura was now without a gift so she

chose the last one on the table, and it was a beautiful wooden platter with 4 coasters. Somewhere in

all the confusion, Jan Kalshoven stole the tin of cookies from his daughter, Lydia, who was thrilled at

the chance to choose another gift and loved the small ceramic soup bowls & pot she drew. At the end

each participant who brought a gift went home with a gift from someone else, and we were all rolling

with laughter during all the swapping of gifts during this year’s gift exchange game.

Annie Gajadhar begins the Game Nick Hajek, Julia, Laura, Jan, Jason, Lydia Keisun laughs after gift stealing Kalshoven

Advent Worship Service on December 24th – This year Christmas Eve Day fell on

a Sunday so Abiding Presence had two worship services on that day. One was held at

9:30 in the morning and one was a candlelight service held at 7:30 that night. The

morning service was festive with the singing of traditional Christmas hymns, a

beautiful choir anthem, and a wonderful sermon delivered by Pastor Na. The church

looked festive after the greening that was done on December 10th, and the members

were filled with the Christmas spirit. It was a delightful service, and we all looked forward to the

candlelight service planned for that evening with a church full of poinsettias and lots of candlelight.

This is such a beautiful and exciting time of year! Christmas Eve Candlelight Worship Service – On Sunday evening, December 24th, we had a beautiful candlelight service of worship at 7:00 pm. Red jar candles were lit

in each of the six sanctuary windows, and members filed in carrying small white

candles and singing the Christmas carol entitled Silent Night. The altar floor and the

tabletops throughout the sanctuary and foyer were adorned with gorgeous red

poinsettias covered in gold foil pot covers from Behnkes, and the Christmas tree in the corner of the

foyer looked beautiful with its white lights and gold and white ornaments. The cross in the foyer was

also decorated with gold beads. The church looked beautiful for the celebration of Christ’s birth! The

choir sang special Christmas music, and Annie Gajadhar, Nathan Na, and Bette Deller played hand

bells along with the choir anthem adding a special nuance to the music.

Birthday Celebrations

As is our custom, we put a candle in whatever dessert we had and sang Happy Birthday to members

who showed up at church on a Sunday near their birthdays in September, October, November,

December. Here are the members with whom we celebrated during the fall of 2017.

Annie Gajadhar – September 3rd Gene Lehr – September 11th Julia Kalshoven – October 2nd

Murzeena Gajadhar – October 18th Jean Opeka – November 17th Jason Kalshoven – December 13th

Special Birthday Celebration

Jan Kalshoven turned 70 on January 1, 2018 so we decided to surprise

him with a special observance during our coffee hour on Sunday,

December 31st. Even though Jan is not an official member of our church,

he feels like one of us. He comes to worship with us often and offers so

much to our discussions during coffee hour! He has also frequently

shared his technological and engineering knowledge with us and helped

us resolve some issues in those areas. We also love his snow cone

machine, which he generously leaves in our church to enjoy using

whenever we like.

We consider Jan one of our own, and we really appreciate all that he has contributed to our church

life so we took a little money from the social committee funds and bought him a couple of small gifts.

One of them was a special photo frame with his birth year and this year engraved on it (1948 and

2018) and a group photo of some of the church members taken this December inserted into it. Along

with this, we added a bottle of wine with a special birthday label on it to help him celebrate at home

and to remind him of this special birthday. We of course sang “Happy Birthday” to him and took a

photo of that and then enjoyed some special refreshments provided by the social committee for the

coffee hour on that day. Happy Birthday, Jan!!

Council Report

September - Pastor Na thanked Billy Clark for handling our billing issues

with PNC and WSSC and for taking care of our HVAC maintenance, exit

and ceiling lights and malfunctioning hot water heater. The pastor also

thanked the publication committee for their work, the fellowship committee

for the pizza party and ice cream social, and the Kalshovens for providing a

snow cone machine. He also thanked Jean Opeka for giving us a new

printer/copier. Laura Kalshoven was given permission to use the church for weekly Girl Scout

meetings again this year. Pastor announced that he would be visiting his parents in South Korea for 3

weeks in October. We made plans for the Oktoberfest and the celebration of the 500th anniversary of

the Lutheran Reformation to be held on October 29th. October – Bette Deller reported on the fellowship committee’s plans for the Oktoberfest on October

29th. The décor and menu will be in keeping with an Oktoberfest theme, and the program will focus

on Martin Luther and the Lutheran Reformation. The program is to include a quiz on Luther, a game

of pin-the-theses on the church door, and some short entertaining videos about Luther and the

Reformation. Ann LaVigna will provide prizes for the games.

Billy Clark reported on the situation with WSSC and the need to repair or replace our hot water

heater. We discussed reducing the size of our ad in the Beltsville news to cut the cost in half. Anna

Graeber will contact the Beltsville news about it, and Bette Deller will design a new ad. Gene Lehr

volunteered to place an ad in the Greenbelt newspaper for November and December and suggested

that others could pay for an ad in that paper from time to time. We planned to get a group together to

take Anna Graeber and her sister Martha from Germany to dinner before Anna’s upcoming surgery.

We voted to accept Laura Kalshoven as Anna’s replacement as Treasurer during Anna’s recovery.

November – Pastor Na thanked everyone for their support during his three-week absence while he

visited his parents in South Korea. Billy Clark announced that the hot water heater has been fixed.

Pastor Na thanked the council for their work on changing the Beltsville News ad to a smaller version.

Pastor Na visited Anna Graeber on November 11th following her October 30th surgery and reported

that she is doing well. He has also been visiting Ming Yee Chen at Riderwood every Saturday to keep

her spirits up and to provide socialization.

We discussed the repair of our organ, which no longer works. Due to its age, parts for it are no longer

made and even if a part could be found, it would cost about $1000 to fix. We will continue to look for

a solution. We also discussed our outreach programs for the holiday season. Again, this year we will

participate in the Gifts of Hope charity and the Maryland Food Bank. A publications committee

meeting was announced for this month to plan the January issue of the newsletter. The budget

committee will work on the budget for 2018. We also made plans for the Christmas events for

December and the dates for each were announced. Pastor announced that there will be two services on

Christmas Eve since it falls on a Sunday this year. One will be the regular 9:30 am worship service

and the other an evening candlelight service at 7:00 p.m.

December – There was no council meeting held in December. The next council meeting will be on

January 7th to make plans for the Annual Congregational meeting on January 28, 2018.

Bette Deller, Council Secretary

News from the Pews

- Anna Graeber is now recovering slowly (as is to be expected) after her 12-hour surgery for pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP) at Johns Hopkins. PMP is a hard-to-detect and rare cancer striking about 1 on 100,000 people. A tumor in the appendix grows and eventually bursts through the wall of the appendix into the abdominal cavity, where the released mucinous material spreads cancer cells. Surgery attempts to remove as many cancerous cells as possible. If all goes well, the one-time bathing of the abdominal cavity in heated chemotherapy (during surgery) is the only chemo. Regaining appetite, weight gain, and strength are her present challenges. Anna give thanks for the congregation’s prayers and assistance. - Ming Yee Chen is able to get around in a wheel chair after breaking her hip last year. With the assistance of trusted aides, she enjoys watching television, and hearing from her girls and grandchildren, as she did on Christmas Day. - Betty Wellborn is unable to join us at church because of bouts of vertigo, but otherwise she feels generally well. The usual aches and pains of age appear, but she is fortunate to have loving family nearby, and spends her time curled up with good books and listening to the radio. - On Saturday, December 16, Stephanie Boyd Gajadhar graduated from the University of Maryland

University College. She received her bachelor's degree majoring in Business Administration and minoring in Human Resources Management. With a lot of hard work and dedication, she received her degree in three and a half years while also working full time. Additionally, she was a part of the Alpha Sigma Lambda honors society throughout her college career. Next up.... her master's degree in business after a well-earned vacation and time off.

- Pastor Na paid a visit to his parents in South Korea back in October. His father has been ill and slowly recovering. He spent very meaningful time with them for mountain hiking, shopping at Korean traditional markets, worshipping together at his father’s church, and having plenty of conversations about his whole family history from 1930s before Korea was divided into North and South. It was really hard for him to leave them alone there because none of immediate family members had survived in town since his brother untimely passed away in 2009. He is planning to visit them more often. - Chris Ham runs an after school supplemental education program, Kumon Math and Reading center, to help kids to do better. On the other hand, he has been working as a full time Program Manager at a US defense contractor, Raytheon Company, pursuing many new military programs in South Korea. In 2017, he made many trips to South Korea and other places around the world to support Raytheon’s current programs and new business pursuits. (He missed lots of Sunday services at APLC, though)

The fun facts about his trips to South Korea in 2017 are as follows... 1. He made total of TEN (10) business trips to South Korea (Every 1.2 months on average) 2. Total flight time "in the air" was 270 hours (14 hours outbound + 13 hours inbound = 27 hours round trip X 10 trips = 270 hours) 3. This is equivalent to 1.57 months in the air if you fly 8 hours per day for 5 days a week 4. He stayed total of 73 nights at various Hyatt hotels in Korea (according to Chris' World of Hyatt account) and 20 more days in non-Hyatt hotels. 5. Rental Car? (too many, lost count, had an accident in Korea, too) 6. Met Pastor Na and Mrs. Na in Seoul, Korea, and took them around for a day. 7. Plus about 7 additional trips to other places including US domestic, South America, and etc. As a result, Chris has 2 herniated disks on his back and lost lots of family time. - Bette Deller’s 16-year-old grandson, Mitchell, began looking at colleges with his family this fall. Their first trip was to Virginia Tech on October 7th, which was about a 4-hour drive from their home in Ashburn, VA. Here is a photo of Mitchell and a friend and former neighbor at a Virginia Tech football game and beside a statue of the mascot for that college. Also shown below is a photo of Mitchell and Brooke, Bette’s grandchildren, wearing shirts from Virid, their dad’s e-commerce company in Reston, VA. This photo was taken at a backyard pool party that Bette’s son held for his employees in September. Bette likes the photo in the matching shirts.

Bette’s granddaughter, Brooke, turned 13 on October 29th. Bette and the other grandparents celebrated with her on October 28th at Brooke’s home in Asburn, VA. Her son, Steve, prepared a delicious chicken parmesan dinner for them.

On Nov 15, Donna Mertens left the USA with Randy to go to New Zealand, Tasmania, Australia, West Java and Bali. She visited Fiona Cram in NZ, saw lots of seals and sea lions in Tasmania, and was a visiting professor in Australia and West Java. They worked on research to address the disenfranchised Indigenous people and youth through initiatives that focus on social, economic, and environmental justice. Bali was pure pleasure with son Jeff, Randy, and friend Pat coming over despite the Mt. Agung threatening eruption. SCUBA was awesome. She came home Dec 31.

Donna & Randy in Hobbiton in New Zealand With a koala in Australia With Pat & Jeff celebrating where the Hobbit movies and Lord of the Rings Christmas in Bali movies were filmed.

Sea lions on Bruny Island south of Tasmania Manta ray underwater in Bali

Trivia Corner

January – Historical figures Paul Revere, Betsy Ross, Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock and Franklin D. Roosevelt were born in January. On January 1st, 1776, the first American flag, the "Grand Union" was presented. Betsy Ross later added the stars in place of the Union Jack.

February - On February 2, 1967, the American Basketball Association (ABA) was

established. It only had four teams (New York Nets, Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, and San Antonio Spurs) and later merged with its competition, the National Basketball Association (NBA). The cold month of February is a great time to stay warm indoors and watch basketball games on TV.

March – On March 6, 1950 Silly Putty was introduced as a toy by Peter Hodgson. It was invented in 1943 by James Wright in an effort to make synthetic rubber. Silly Putty is noted for its unusual characteristics. It bounces, but breaks when given a sharp blow. It can also float in a liquid and will form a puddle if given enough time. In

addition to its success as a toy, other uses for the putty have been found. In the home, it can be used to remove substances such as dirt, lint, pet hair, or ink from various surfaces. Because of its adhesive characteristics, it was used by Apollo astronauts to secure their tools in zero-gravity.

April – April is grilled cheese month. A grilled cheese sandwich is probably the first meal that most of us learn how to cook at home by ourselves. It's the perfect midnight snack or soup-dipper. It's great for kids, but is never turned down by an adult. It's salty, gooey, crisp, buttery, and comforting in all the right ways. April

would be a great month in which to make a yummy grilled cheese sandwich.

Bette Deller

SERVING IN WORSHIP JANUARY 7TH 14TH

Ushers Billy Clark & Jean Opeka

Jean Opeka Keisun Na

Acolyte Josephine Kalshoven Annie Gajadhar

A-Minister Ann LaVigna Anna Graeber

Lector Jean Opeka Richard Moore

Communion-A Annie Gajadhar Bette Deller

Chancel Care Anna Graeber Annie Gajadhar

Counters Annie Gajadhar & Pat Thornberg

Billy Clark & Chris Ham

21ST 28TH

Ushers Anna Graeber & Annie Gajadhar

Bette Deller Billy Clark

Acolyte Keisun Na Nathan Na

A-Minister Annie Gajadhar Bette Deller

Lector Steve McKisson Ann LaVigna

Communion-A Chris Ham Donna Mertens

Chancel Care Bette Deller Ann LaVigna

Counters Anna Graeber & Jean Opeka

Annie Gajadhar & Bette Deller

FEBRUARY 4TH 11TH

Ushers Anna Graeber & Jean Opeka

Annie Gajadhar Keisun Na

Acolyte Josephine Kalshoven Marlon Gajadhar

A-Minister Steve McKisson Anna Graeber

Lector Richard Moore Steve McKisson

Communion-A Jean Opeka Anna Graeber

Chancel Care Keisun Na Ann LaVigna

Counters Billy Clark & Chris Ham

Jean Opeka & Pat Thornberg

18TH 25TH

Ushers Anna Graeber & Jean Opeka

Billy Clark Ann LaVigna

Acolyte Keisun Na Lydia Kalshoven

A-Minister Annie Gajadhar Bette Deller

Lector Bette Deller Jean Opeka

Communion-A Anna Graeber Annie Gajadhar

Chancel Care Annie Gajadhar Bette Deller

Counters Anna Graeber & Annie Gajadhar

Bette Deller & Pat Thornberg

MARCH 4TH 11TH

Ushers Anna Graeber & Annie Gajadhar

Bette Deller & Keisun Na

Acolyte Nathan Na Annie Gajadhar

A-Minister Steve McKisson Billy Clark

Lector Billy Clark Jean Opeka

Communion-A Bette Deller Chris Ham

Chancel Care Keisun Na Jean Opeka

Counters Billy Clark & Chris Ham

Anna Graeber & Pat Thornberg

18TH 25TH

Ushers Billy Clark & Nathan Na

Jean Opeka Anna Graeber

Acolyte Lydia Kalshoven Keisun Na

A-Minister Jean Opeka Richard Moore

Lector Richard Moore Passion Sunday Reading

Communion-A Donna Mertens Jean Opeka

Chancel Care Keisun Na Ann LaVigna

Counters Annie Gajadhar & Bette Deller


APRIL 1ST 8TH

Ushers Annie Gajadhar & Bette Deller

Billy Clark Nathan Na

Acolyte Nathan Na Lydia Kalshoven

A-Minister Steve McKisson Anna Graeber

Lector Bette Deller Richard Moore

Communion-A Anna Graeber Annie Gajadhar

Chancel Care Annie Gajadhar Bette Deller

Counters Annie Gajadhar & Bette Deller


15TH 22ND

Ushers Jean Opeka Anna Graeber

Bette Deller Keisun Na

Acolyte Marlon Gajadhar Annie Gajadhar

A-Minister Richard Moore Bette Deller

Lector Ann LaVigna Anna Graeber

Communion-A Chris Ham Donna Mertens

Chancel Care Keisun Na Jean Opeka

Counters Ann LaVigna & Anna Graeber

Annie Gajadhar Pat Thornberg

29TH Ushers Anna Graeber

& Jean Opeka

Acolyte Keisun Na

A-Minister Billy Clark

Lector Steve McKisson

Communion-A Jean Opeka

Chancel Care Keisun Na

Counters Anna Graeber & Pat Thornberg

Calendar Sustainer of Our lifeaplchurch.org/newsletters/vol23-2018.pdf · 2018. 10. 3. · Sustainer of Our life “I lie down and sleep; I wake again, for the Lord sustains me…”(Psalm

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