On The Calendar

Sunday, Dec. 6, after worship
Take some time after worship to assemble our gifts for soldiers overseas and the materials for the Seafarers.

Tuesday, Dec. 8, at 8 p.m.
Holiday Choral Concert
Holy Trinity is pleased to present a combined choral concert on Tuesday, December 8 at 8:00 PM. Featured in the program will be the Bloomfield High School Madrigal Singers under the direction of Ms. Michelle Digaetano and the Bloomfield Chorale under the direction of Ms. Ruth Hsu. The Chorale is part of the Bloomfield Federation of Music. After the hour-long concert, refreshments will be served in the Fellowship Hall. All are welcome -- please invite your friends and neighbors!

Saturday, Dec. 12, at 10 a.m.
Children’s Christmas Pageant Rehearsal
Children of all ages are invited, but our Sunday School children are especially encouraged to “walk through” our Christmas Pageant that will be part of our Child-Focused Christmas Eve (4 p.m.) worship. Stay for pizza and other snacks in the fellowship hall after the work is done.

A Time for Peace: Thursday Night Advent Dinners
Advent is one of two times in the church year, when God’s people are encouraged to take extra time to gather as God’s people in prayer, meditation, fellowship around God’s Word. Join us on
December 3, 10 and 17 starting at 6:15 p.m. for soup supper and an evening Advent prayer, devotion and Bible reading. Bring a friend.

Sunday, Dec. 20, after worship
Hanging of the Greens and Luncheon

Sunday December 20th after worship
Everyone, young and old, is invited to help us prepare the church for our Christmas Services. We will once again gather around the table, this time for some sandwiches and salad. Please plan to join us for a fun time!
Please call or email the church to have a sign up sheet sent to you. Thank you.

Christmas Services at Holy Trinity

CHRISTMAS EVE (Thur., Dec. 24)
4:00 p.m.: A special service for children of every age with a simple pageant and spoken eucharist.
7:30 p.m.: Candlelight service with festive music.

CHRISTMAS DAY (Fri., Dec. 25)
10:00am: Intimate Christmas Day Worship.


To assist at these services, please sign up at worship or call the church office.

Christmas is a great time to invite a friend into the joy of worship and discipleship. The angels announced it, the shepherds told everyone they saw, the magi traveled for years to experience the good news of God’s love in Jesus Christ. The world was changed forever. Now it’s our turn. Share the good news, overcome the barriers and connect one to many in the love of Christ.

Annual Reports

Please have your Annual Report information submitted to the church office no later than Sunday, January 3. If possible please e-mail the information to Tina at office.htlcnutley@verizon.net or put on disk. Thank you.

Pastor's Message

O Come, let us adore him, Christ, the Lord.

I love worshiping at our Christmas Eve Candlelight Service. On that evening we begin by standing and singing the great hymn, O Come All Ye Faithful. That hymn, that procession of choir, cross, book, people and clergy is an invitation to worship our God – the one thing in our lives worthy of our time, our praise, our service, our love, our trust, our devotion. The event of God’s incarnation – that our God, for our sake and for our salvation becomes a human being, suffers, dies, rises and ascends – is truly cause for joy, thanksgiving, praise and worship.

God’s messengers, the angels, tell the shepherds in the field what God is doing in the little town of Bethlehem, and those shepherds go and worship. The heavens explode in a sustained burning light that tells the eastern sages that God’s salvation is coming near. The wise men come and worship. As God’s people, we too hear the good news story of God’s love and salvation. How can we respond in any other way: O Come, let us adore him, the Christ, our Lord.

God has created us to live in communion with God and in community with one another. God, in Jesus Christ, has restored our communion with God and reconciled us to our neighbor. God, the Holy Spirit, has gathered us into a community of saints where sins are forgiven, resurrection is anticipated and life in the world to come is our hope and inspiration to live lives of love and service. We witness to this good news most strongly when we gather as a community in worship – on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and on every Sunday throughout the year. When the sun rises, early on the first day of the week, how can we as God people respond? O Come, let us adore him, the Christ, our Lord.

When the procession cues us up and the organ begins to play O Come All Ye Faithful, I hope you will be part of our worshiping community of saints that evening. More than that, I pray that each of us at Holy Trinity will be so captured by the greatest of the good news of God’s love in Jesus that we are inspired to make the worship of God as a community of saints the first priority in our life. Who or what else is as worthy of our praise and devotion? Who or what else has loved, blessed and saved us so wonderfully? Who or what else can we do but take time to come and adore the Christ, our Lord. See you in worship.

In Our Community

Christmas Card Tradition
This year we would like to continue our tradition of having a congregational Christmas card. We ask that members bring in or mail one card to the congregation rather than mailing individual cards to other members. The cards will be displayed in the narthex so that the congregation can read them. The amount that would have been used towards cards and postage should be put in the offering plate or mailed to the church office in an envelope marked "Christmas Card." The money will be donated to ELCA Good Gifts. www.elca.org/giving

Thank you!
From the family of John Edward Ryan… We would like to thank all of you for your kind expressions of sympathy on the loss of my Dad. Your cards, visits and words of comfort were greatly appreciated.
My mom could not get over how many people came to visit and said they were from my church. She said, "I thought you said it was a small congregation!" I told her that we may be small in number, but we treat each other like family. Thanks again… Christine & Frank Siclari

From the family of Irene Wahl…This note is to express our appreciation to the members of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church when we were able to celebrate the life of our mother, Irene Wahl, on November 8th. It meant so much to the family to meet people who knew her, worked around her in various church assignments, and prayed with her You have a very special Pastor, and we wanted to acknowledge his fine sermon and help with the arrangements. At a family lunch, all of us commented on how much our mother would have enjoyed the day’s events. The service has helped us to have closure to the good long life that Irene lived. We do not think that the day could have been more perfect; your sermon, meeting members of the church, and the beautiful weather. What a fitting way to remember my mother!....
Allen and Ray Wahl

Church Night at the Devils

Join your friends from Holy Trinity at another NJ Devils hockey game, and save $21! On Friday, January 8, 2010 the NJ Devils face the Tampa Bay Lightning at 7:00 PM. The special group rate for mezzanine/balcony level seats is $35 (normally $56 at full price.) The Devils play at the Prudential Center in Newark and tickets are on a first-come, first-served basis and may not be returned nor exchanged. Tickets at this price are available through Group Sales and are not for sale at the box office. Order deadline (to me) is December 24, 2009. Only pre-paid orders will be accepted. Please let me know the number of tickets needed and include cash or a check payable to “J. Scott Jones.” Invite family and friends—the more the merrier! Questions? Scott Jones (973) 338-0267 or jsjones0601@verizon.net

Stewardship Strengthens...

Stewardship strengthens our relationship with Jesus

Thank you to all our partners in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and a special thanks to all who dedicated a percentage of the gifts God has given them
to the work of this ministry in 2010.

Consider giving a tithe this Advent
Over the past few years, many of us at Holy Trinity have prayerfully increased our level of giving by one or maybe two percent on our way of living into God’s expectation that we dedicate at least a tenth (giving a tithe) of our income to the work of God’s people. If you are giving less than 10 percent of your income and want to test the waters of the tithe-life, consider giving a tenth during the season of Advent (from Nov. 29 – Dec. 20. Since this is approximately one month, figure out the amount of money you will take in during this month – through salary, investments or other sources – and multiply by 0.1. Then write the check and see what happens. Share your story and the experience with all of us by sending a letter or an e-mail to pastor.htlcnutley@verizon.net or by sharing it on our Facebook page.

What to get the person who has everything.
ELCA World Hunger has produced a Good Gifts Catalog. You may have even received one in the November copy of The Lutheran. If not there is one in the church office you are welcome to use. This exciting holiday catalog offers a variety of ways that you can give a gift that will truly make a difference in the world by changing and saving someone’s life. Who needs another tie or sweater, when for the same price you can help bring clean water to a village or help start a small family business?

Live Simply and Share the Wealth
Do you or does someone you love have a car, appliances, furniture or other stuff they are looking to get rid of or donate? There are people in the community who may be praying for just that thing you are looking to give. Call the church office and let us know what you have.

Remember the Hungry
During these difficult times, organizations that provide food often run short of needed supplies. We will continue to collect food as part of our offering during worship. Bring your non-perishable food items to worship with you, and leave them in the designated area in the narthex.

We were notified of the following by the Red Cross:

FOODS NEEDED: Soups, Stews, Beans, Broths, Peanut Butter
THEY HAVE A SURPLUS OF: Pasta, Pasta Sauce, Rice, Tuna

Staying Connected....

As postal rates continue to rise -- we are trying to distribute more and more of our information electronically. If you haven't already shared your e-mail address with the church office, please consider doing so by sending an e-mail with ADD ME TO THE MAILING LIST in the subject line to office.htlcnutley@verizon.net.

Holy Trinity is now on Facebook. You can become a fan of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church and stay up-to-date with what's going on in the congregation and among our members. As a fan you can also post your news, your questions, thoughts and experiences of God's love in action to share with others. It’s just another way to share the good news, overcome barriers and connect one to many in Christ. You can access our page directly from our website, at www.htlcnutley.com

Check out the new Community section of our Website as well. You can read blogs, news from ELCA, preview this week’s worship service and so much more. Log on today.

December Birthdays, Anniversaries and Disciples

Birthdays
1: Nancy Maguire
3: Michael Catelli
5: Madison Bernhard
11: Bradford Wilson
14: Bernd Mayr
15: Alex Rubens
19: Louis D’Agnolo
22: Irene Geiselmann
23: Richard Bacik
26: Julie Franchino
29: Evelyn Denkinger
31: Elizabeth Futyma

Anniversaries
27: Chao-Ren & Agee Lin

Disciples
Each day of the week (except Sunday) has the name of a person in this community. Please, remember that person in your prayers that day. On Sunday, we will pray for all of the people listed in the coming week.

3:Holly Wiede
4:Brad Wilson
5:Susan Wilson
7:Angelika Achtiani
8:Ira Achtiani
9:Chris Amlung
10:Anne Erwin
11:Andrea Ahrens
12:Richard Bacik
14:Erika Bacik
15:Richard Bacik, Jr.
16:Ava Bacik
17:Joelle Bernhard
18:Matthew Bernhard
19:Madison Bernhard
21:Helen Blair
22:Ken Blair
23:David Cabral
24:Jennifer Cabral
25:Brandon Cabral
26:Emily Cabral
28:Ryan Cabral
29:Leona Candura
30:John Catelli
31:Nancy Catelli

The ELCA at Work

Lutheran Congregations Bring Christmas Cheer to Hurricane Survivors

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Hurricane Ike survivors lined up early Dec. 13 to receive holiday gifts distributed at First Lutheran Church, Galveston, Texas -- a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Among the items given away: Christmas trees, decorations, bicycles, children's board games, dolls, blankets, winter coats, canned food and gift cards. Church member Sandra Stewart, 63, said one man told her, "If you had not done this, there would not be Christmas for my kids."

Immanuel Lutheran Church of Killeen, Texas, provided the bulk of gifts, aided by $1,300 in support from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. Thrivent is a Minneapolis-based not-for-profit financial services organization serving members of the ELCA and other Lutheran church bodies. "Our congregation has been collecting gifts all year long," said Jackie Clark, 53, of the Killeen congregation, 240 miles northwest of Galveston.

The eye of the storm smacked Galveston, a community of 57,000 residents. Winds whipped up to 110 mph; tidal waters surged across the island. Seventy-five percent of the island's buildings suffered structural damage -- a staggering $8.1 billion in insured losses. Most property was either uninsured or underinsured.

"For people who lost everything, this event made their Christmas," said the Rev. Doug Guthier, pastor of the Galveston congregation. "The people from the Killeen church brought an amazing amount of quality stuff -- more than we ever imagined."

First Lutheran opened its doors to Lutherans in need at 10 a.m., then to the entire city at 10:30. Several of the 131 people in line arrived two hours before the event.

Before Ike, Galveston generated $700 million a year in tourism. Today, many businesses remain closed, families are without homes and some neighborhoods are still piled with debris. "We see how God will see us through tough times," the Galveston pastor said. "Christmas is about hope -- a message people desperately need to hear in the aftermath of the storm."

Poinsettia Plant Orders

The deadline to order plants is Friday, December 4, 2009.

The plants are $8.00 each and come in a 6 1/2" foil-wrapped pot. You may take your plant(s) home with you after the 7:30pm Christmas Eve Service.

Please call or email the office if you would like an order form sent to you. Thank you.

Poinsettia Plant Orders

The deadline to order plants is Friday, December 4, 2009.

Plants are $8.00 each and are in a 6 1/2" foil-wrapped pot. You may take your plant home with you after the 7:30pm Christmas Eve Service. Please call or email the office if you would like an order form sent to you. Thank you.