This is the greeting you may be hearing throughout the town. These cheerful words are transformed into action during the holiday season. There are many opportunities to help others throughout the year but you will see churches, football teams, schools, police and firemen community assistance, and many others hosting events to help others during this season to bring gifts to people who have needs and cheer to those who are far from family.
It's not too late to jump in! You may have seen Toys for Tots donations centers; the U. S. Marines are the force behind this philanthropic drive to collect and distribute toys books and other gifts to less fortunate children in the local community with 97 percent of the donations going to children and three percent for overhead. You can donate money on line or you can donate new toys at any of these locations here in Indy. They still need toys for infants and toddlers and children nine years and older. There are other charity donation opportunities to make the holidays bright for children. Have you noticed the bell ringers outside stores? These people from Salvation Army are collecting money to help people in need focusing on social issues. The Salvation Army is a Christian organization that provides assistance internationally. There are many other opportunities to help others this season. It is a season for giving.
International Bible Study: Tuesdays, 9:30-10:30, room 100.
I love Christmas music! Once Halloween is over at the end of October, I find myself seeking out the channels on my Pandora radio that play nothing but Christmas songs. I'm sure some people think I'm crazy for listening before Thanksgiving, but these songs remind me of the joy that is ours through the birth of Jesus. They remind me of the greatest gift ever given.
This week our Bible Study focused on the Christmas story, and we enjoyed singing together some beautiful Christmas carols about the birth of our Savior. God incarnate! It's incredible to think that God came to us in the form of a human baby, born in a stable and laid in a manger. Such humble beginnings for the King of the universe! The angel announced His birth to the shepherds and told them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord." Good news for ALL the people, no matter what nationality, no matter how young or how old, no matter how wealthy or how poor. He is our Immanuel, which means "God with us."~Jan Heimann
December 19: Join us as we read and discuss the Sermon on the Mount (one of Jesus' most comprehensive lessons) in Matthew 5. We will also be reading Psalm 100.
We celebrated with our annual Christmas party. We had delicious food and drinks and a table full of desserts. We sang the 12 Days of Christmas. This is a classic! We found out that some countries sing these same songs, but the order gifts is different (five doves instead of F-I-V-E G-O-L-D-E-N R-I-N-G-S). We had delicious dishes. I know I gained more than a few pounds from this meal. We enjoyed a white elephant gift exchange. The most popular gifts were a holiday platter and a toaster oven! We had great treasures for everyone. It is always fun to see what winds up being a white elephant for someone and a great treasure for someone else. It was hard to decide what to steal at the end of the day.
December 19: Join us for our final meeting of the year.
Conversation: Wednesdays, 4:30-6:00, room 209.
We read the classic American poem "Night Before Christmas" by Clement C. Moore in 1822. Listen to this version set to music that has become a standard at all holiday variety shows. There have been a number of spoofs written over time that play on this poem. We also reviewed a list of typical words heard this season.
December 21: We will wrap up our last class of the year in fine style!
English Classes: Thursdays, 9:30-12:00, upstairs classrooms.
There was so much great work going on in the classes this week. Everyone continues to work hard and to improve. I am amazed what you can accomplish in just a few weeks!
December 22: Join us even if your class isn't meeting. You can sit in on our other classes and see what everyone else is up to.
jump in: participate
in need: people needing help
social issues: problems that emerge in a society
force behind: the people who work to make something happen
overhead: costs to operate an organization including facilities, salaries, equipment, etc
make the holidays bright: make the days happy and hopeful
Christmas carols: songs about the holiday some carols are hymns and some are secular
incarnate: embodied in flesh; given a bodily, especially a human, formhumble: not proud or arrogant; modest
winds up: the end or final event
at the end of the day: not really in the evening, but finally
set to music: turned into a song
see what everyone else is up to: what other people are doing
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