Hello, Friends.
The holiday season embodies American culture. Good will and festival feelings are contagious. We all get super busy and wedging in parties, events, travel. Everyone wants to touch base with each other and express friendship and love. Stress sometimes abounds! Diffuse short tempers with cookies and good cheer.
Religious Christmas
If you have not attended a Christian service during Christmas, be sure to take in a service. All are welcome! Many people attend church services where they are on vacation or visiting during the holidays. Many people only attend church on holiday dates.
Christmas is uplifting: Expect joyous songs and music; Bible readings of peace, hope, and fulfillment; prayers of welcome; beautiful decorations.
Cornerstone Lutheran Church (our host organization) offers a variety of times at the different sites. Check the schedule!
Colors of Christmas: Blue Christmas
The holidays can also be a difficult time for people. As we celebrate, we miss people who have passed away or have moved away. We remember happier times or revisit times that were not . Memories of times past can be bittersweet.
Cornerstone Lutheran Church Blue Christmas Service of Hope: December 18, 6:00 PM Cornerstone Lutheran Church, 4850 East Main Street, Carmel
Blue Christmas by Elvis tells about
It’s Official
The Oxford dictionary posted the slang that has officially become a word: rizzler. Read more about the process and the word in this article from the Business Insider. Be ready to use it and understand it!
Local Fun
Things to do in Hamilton County for the holidays
Bump Into: Go to the Fest and Bump into Friends
Christkindlmkt in Carmel at Carter Green Wednesday through Sunday. People are talking the Christkindlmkt in Carmel! Read more about these German-style holiday fairs and about the Carmel event in the National Geographic.
And in keeping with our musical theme: here story of this Carol as well as the original German-which you may hear in different areas of the country or at a Christkindlmkt)
Stay Well
Holiday travel means exposure to the regional colds and flu. The CDC offers a map to help you plan and prepare for the flu and other viruses circulating in the states. Get a flu shot. Wash your hands and use sanitizer. Stay super hydrated. Take care of yourself!
Meetings and Classes
Join us for meetings and classes. Sign up on-line for links. We always welcome new friends. Our meeting times are Eastern Standard Time (UTC-5)
American Sign Language: Tuesday, 5:00-6:00 PM, Zoom
We signed and sang Joy to the World. It is fun to sing along and to learn atypical vocabulary in the context of a song.
December 12: We will sing Silent Night.
Jingle Bells
Here are two deaf signers signing Jingle Bells.
International Bible Study: Tuesday, 8:45 PM-9:45 PM, Zoom
The Epistles are short and reading them gives us a complete picture, but within them there are gems of wisdom and encouragement. This week the prayers for others were particularly striking in Ephesians. Ephesians 1:15-22 and Ephesians 3:14-20 teaches us how to pray for others and the results.
Ephesians 1:10 and Galatians 4:4 both teach of the events that are ordered by God to happen at the right time; specifically the sending of his Son, Jesus to save the world. This is an important message to all churches
Galatians 3:27 is the comforting love that wraps around us, and verse 28 extends that "blanket" to all people regardless of their sex, race, status.
December 12: We continue our readings and discussion. We are getting down to the wire. What started a daunting task, has been a pleasure. It is surprising how fast and fun this read has been.
American English and Culture: Thursday, 9:00 AM-12:00 PM, Zoom
We had great conversations and suggestions for our classes and meetings moving forward. Our strategy over the first trimester has been to apply memory and adult learning theory and practice meet American English needs specific to our students in within contexts and context that are relevant (learning grammar, pronunciation, accent is easy when it is applied). Let us know what you need to know as we build our curriculum content and strategy for 2024 (indyintlfriends@gmail.com).
Two of our Friends had a wonderful debate. They had a spirited and civil discussion regarding their opinions about a group and it's meetings. This great example of civil discourse.
Singing songs opened the door to grammar discussions. Check Meetings/Class Notes and Handouts for practice and explanations. Apologies for the quality of the Expressions of Quantity: Multiple pdf screen shots!
December 14, 10:00-12:00: Christmas Open House at Carolyn's. Drop by for conversation and coffee (or other food and drinks)
Kid's Conversation and More: Friday, 4:30-5:00 PM, Zoom
We had a great discussion about the Meiji Era. Our Friend wrote a great report about the industrialization of silk production in his prefecture. He wrote a wonderful report. You can read it in our Meetings/Class Notes and Handouts page.
December 15: Let's look at the Edo period. The time range for this period is1603-1838. Once again, what was happening in your corner of the world and in the world at large? Do events coincide?
Words and Phrases (and punctuation)
semi colon and commas: use commas to separate list of words, use semi colons to separate groups of words ideas
atypical: uncommon
bittersweet: both happy and sad at the same time
circulating: traveling around or being passed from one person to another, rumors as well as sickness commonly circulate
civil: polite
civil discourse: polite conversation or discussion
diffuse short tempers: make people happy
embodies: when a thought, feeling or idea takes tangible form
good will: feelings and expressions of support and cheer
happier times: joyful past events
in the world at large: out in the world
in your corner of the world: your local area
industrialization: creating an industry
open house: stop by a location at your convenience during a specified time frame
passed away: died
read: (as a noun) the activity of someone who reads
speaking of [topical noun]
spirited: lively, exciting
take in: attend or include in an itinerary
teaches: As verbs the difference between teach and teaches is that teach is to show (someone) the way (I, you, we, they); to guide, conduct while teaches is third-person singular of teach (he, she, it).
uplifting: raising spirits
wedging in: squeezing an event into a busy schedule
No comments:
Post a Comment