The December 2012 Shiloh

Glorifying God by … Reaching, Building, Serving

THE CHRIST OF CHRISTMAS Sometimes it seems as though we spend our lives waiting. Daydreaming about an upcoming vacation, worrying over a medical test, preparing for the birth of a grandchild-our days are filled with anticipation and anxiety over what the future holds. As Christians, we too spend our lives waiting. But we are waiting for something much bigger than a trip, bigger even than retirement or a wedding: We are waiting for the return of Jesus in glory. Advent heightens this sense of waiting, because it marks not only our anticipation of Jesus' final coming, but also our remembrance of his arrival into our world more than 2,000 years ago. I hope as you enjoy all of your Christmas festivities that you will join us in worship as we remember all that God has done for us through the child of Bethlehem and anticipate what our Heavenly Father wants to continue to do in our lives through the living spirit of the Christ child. As we move through this Advent season, let us affirm our faith in Jesus our Lord through this Christmas Covenant: -I believe in Jesus Christ and in the beauty of the gospel begun in Bethlehem. -I believe in the one whose spirit glorified a little town; and whose spirit still brings music to persons all over the world, in towns both large and small. -I believe in the one for whom the crowded inn could find no room, and I confess that my heart still sometimes wants to exclude Christ from my life today. -I believe in the one who the rulers of the earth ignored and the proud could never understand; whose life was among common people, whose welcome came from persons of hungry hearts. -I believe in the one who looked at persons and made them see what God's love saw in them, who by love brought sinners back to purity, and lifted human weakness up to meet the strength of God. -I believe in God who gives us the best of himself. I believe in Jesus, the son of the living God, born in Bethlehem this night, for me and for the world. -I confess my ever-lasting need of God: The need of forgiveness for our selfishness and greed, the need of new life for empty souls, the need of love for hearts grown cold. Merry Christmas, Pastor Mike You’re Invited to A Cookie Exchange!! DATE: Saturday, December 15, 2011 TIME: 2-4 p.m. LOCATION: 12456 Ascot Close Drive King George It is that time again everyone! That’s right it is cookie exchange time. Get out your favorite cookie recipe or buy your favorite store bought cookies and join us on December 15th from 2-4 pm at the home of Sharon Band. Bring a small gift (under $10) for a white elephant gift exchange. We will also be collecting cookies again this year for our homebound members that will be distributed by our men’s ministry members. In addi- tion, this year we will be collecting a donation that will go toward purchasing sewing machines for the ministry of Wendy Ryan in South Africa. Wendy was one of the missionaries that we skyped with during VBS this year. Wendy helps women diagnosed with HIV earn a living to provide for their family by learning to sew. Can’t wait to see you there! Call Sharon Band at 540-775-2456 if you have any questions or need more information.

Lester Zook, a JUNEAU survivor, was among the prominent guests at that commissioning cere- mony. His presence showed the spirit of camarade- 70TH Anniversary of the sinking of USS rie that spanned three generations of ships and Sail- ors. He died in 1998 on the anniversary of the JU- JUNEAU (CL 52), our Shiloh NEAU disaster. connection The motto “We Stick Together” was taken from by Cindy Miller the Sullivan brothers and handed down from the first ship to the second. On November 11, we recognized our veterans As those five Sullivan brothers cherished each during worship service, reflected on their service to other, the men and women of the U.S. Navy treas- our country, sang the patriot songs, and went away ure the bonds they’ve made with passing ship- feeling grateful to them for preserving our freedoms. mates, such as Lester Zook…such as those in our The day before, a special edition of the USS THE congregation. SULLIVANS (DD 537/DDG 68) Association news- Eternal Father, Strong to save, letter arrived in my mailbox, and I just wanted to Whose arm hath bound the restless wave, share this story. Who bid'st the mighty Ocean deep On Nov. 13, 1942, USS JUNEAU (CL 52) was Its own appointed limits keep; sunk by a Japanese submarine in the naval Battle of O hear us when we cry to thee, Guadalcanal during World War II. That special edi- for those in peril on the sea. tion newsletter paid tribute to the 687 officers and crew of JUNEAU who lost their lives, including the “Five Sullivan brothers-- George, Francis, Joseph, Madison, and Albert--from Waterloo, Iowa, and the 10 men who survived. The next Navy ship built was to be named after the Sullivan brothers, as directed by President Frank- lin D. Roosevelt. Less than a year after JUNEAU’s sinking, USS THE SULLIVANS (DD 537) was com- missioned and saw service in both World War II and the Korean War. It was decommissioned in 1965; my husband, Luke Miller, was the ship’s last weapons officer. The second ship bearing the brothers’ name, USS THE SULLIVANS (DDG 68), was commissioned by Kelly Sullivan Loughren, granddaughter of Albert, the youngest of the Sullivan brothers, in 1997 in Stat- en Island, New York. The commissioning ceremony included not only the officers and crew of THE SUL- LIVANS but also personnel who developed the Aegis Weapon System and associated computer programs for this ship and the Dahlgren personnel who to this day install and maintain the programs. Some Navy personnel and civilians in our congregation perform Fire Controlman 1st Class Robert Dean many aspects of these duties every day. (SW), shown here at Shiloh’s 2012 Memorial Day Rob Dean was one of the Sailors at the commis- services, served in the U.S. Navy from 1991 to sioning that day who, with the entire crew, rapidly 2001. He commissioned two Aegis Destroyers: boarded the ship, following the orders of ship sponsor USS JOHN S. MCCAIN (DDG 56), with whom he Kelly Sullivan Loughren: “Man our ship and bring served from 1993-1996, and USS THE SULLI- her to life.” Luke participated, too. As last officer of VANS (DDG 68), serving aboard her from 1996- the deck on the first USS THE SULLIVANS, he 1999. He was also an Aegis instructor at the Aegis passed the long glass to the first officer of the deck of Training and Readiness Center, NSWC Dahlgren the new ship. Division, from 1999 to 2001. 2

By: Angela Clatterbuck By: Diana Moore

Sparks is for grades kindergarten through 2nd. Christmas is coming soon! Books and videos are This is a wonderful age to learn about Christ’s love now on display in the library and on the shelves by for us. Sparks are distinguished in their uniform by a the choir room. There is something for every age. red vest. They will use this vest all 3 years and Keep your children reading over the holidays. They attach patches and jewels as they accomplish their can then share what they learn about the reason we books. This age group will read biographies on celebrate the season – Christ’s birth. The lovely people from the Bible, memorize scriptures, learn the Christmas scene miniature by Henrietta and Ed books of the Bible and complete some fun activities. Hastings is lit up in the library. Be sure to drop by to If they complete all three books they will have admire their talents. Dana Jensen donated “Junie B. explored the whole Bible. We have several Jones and that Meanie Jim’s Birthday” by Barbara wonderful adults who work with this group each Park. The Reger family donated a big bag of books week. Again, it is not too late to join the Awana and toys. Richard and Suzanne Headley brought in program. If you or someone three big bags of books. There are also two you know is interested in inspirational books for teens: “Chicken Soup for the checking us out, come by any Teenage Soul II” and “Taste Berries for Teens #3”. Sunday from 4 to 5:30 – we’d love to see you! Thank you to all of these donors. Also this month we are preparing for our Awana Christmas store! As the kids memorize scriptures they earn “Awana bucks”. They can use these Awana bucks at the Christmas store to buy presents for siblings, Dad, or Mom. We are asking the church to donate small items that would make nice gifts for Thank you all so much for donating so many the kids to purchase. Please see Jim Jensen, Angela coats! We were able to send about 95 warm winter Clatterbuck, or Cathy Lyon if you have questions or coats to the people at the Standing Rock Indian need ideas! Reservation! I was so excited to be a part of this Finally, this Month the Trek kids (middle school ministry opportunity and I am thankful for the age) joined the regular youth for Sunday nights. Trek support that you all gave me. My aunt even sent kids that are still interested in continuing to coats from Japan to be donated! When the ladies memorize verses should arrive at 3:45 to have those went to Eagle Eyrie to drop them off to be shipped, verses signed off by a leader. We praise God for Jim they doubled the amount there that day. Again, thank Reger’s calling to the Minister of Youth at Shiloh you for helping me to bless others with the donation. and look forward to working with him to enhance the Jordan Lyon middle school youth experience!

Upcoming Events

Dec. 8 7:00 pm Christmas Concert Dec. 9 7:00 pm Children’s Christmas Prog Dec. 11 10:00 am Bible Study in FLC Dec. 15 2:00 pm Cookie Exchange

Dec. 18 1:00 pm Feed the Needy

Dec. 19 No Services Dec. 21 6:00 pm Christmas Caroling Dec. 24 5:30 pm Christmas Eve Service Dec. 26 No Services Jan. 4 4:00 pm Awana resumes Coat collection site at Eagle Eyrie. 5

Women’s Getaway

The first weekend in November a group of eight Music News women from Shiloh Baptist attended the annual by Barbara Perry Women’s Retreat at Eagle Eyrie Baptist Convention Music Minister Center in Lynchburg, VA. We had a wonderful time of Bible study, fellowship and wonderful food! There What a blessing to be a part of such a wonderful were amazing worship services and insightful breakout church and music program!! We are super busy in the sessions where we had the opportunity to learn about music department gearing up for Christmas. The subjects ranging from children’s ministry and mission children and adults are all working hard to prepare for opportunities, to making key chains out of handmade the Christmas concert on December 8 and for the Ugandan beads, to the human trafficking trade. Our Christmas Services. keynote speaker was Kathi Macias who spoke on how We are also planning on some special practices for to live “Beyond Me”, or outside your own comfortable the Children for the last of November and beginning of boundaries by surrendering to God’s will for our lives. December. Please check the church calendar for those We were able to deliver almost 95 coats to be dates. I plan to start using our new Orff Instruments!!! distributed to the Standing Rock Reservation, collected We hope to see you all there! by our own Jordan Lyon. We are incredibly proud of all of her hard work and the amazing response of our Operation Christmas Child church congregation! (OCC) Erin and William Brown, missionaries from Israel, Shoebox Update were also at the conference. If you were a part of the VBS this summer you may remember that they Thanks so much to everyone who participated in the skyping sessions. We were able to supported this year’s shoebox collection. Shiloh hear a first- hand account of their experiences and even collected a total of 161 shoe boxes to bless children in got a picture with them. They were very impressed one or more countries around the world. Along with with the idea of skyping as part of VBS and plan to Shiloh members and visitors, a Girl Scout troop, the spread the word to other VBS groups that they work Classical Conversations home school group and even with! some Dahlgren Aegis As always we came back exhausted but energized Training and and with strengthened existing friendships and new Readiness Center friendships started. I would encourage anyone who employees could not go this year to mark your calendars for the contributed to this first weekend in November for next year! year’s collection. Without the donation of filled shoe boxes, items to fill shoe boxes and money for postage, our Operation Christmas Child support would not have been possible. Each shoe box will be delivered with “The Greatest Journey” booklet which introduces a child to Jesus and how He loves them – a simple but effective way to meet needs and reach children for Christ. Thank you again for your tremendous support! Missionaries from Israel, William & Erin Brown, with our Shiloh ladies. Teresa & Rachel Tubbs 3

Children’s Ministry News by Ray Tubbs, Jr. Children’s Minister

. Birthdays 15 Steve Davis It’s hard to believe that Christmas is almost 1 Daniel Williams 18 Jason Norris here. It just seems like yesterday we were in the 3 Jacob Schouweiler 19 John Owens middle of VBS. I would like to thank all of you nd 4 Betsy Altman 20 Lorrie Gump that have volunteered for 2 hour and Wednesday Lynne Mitchell nights and helped out with the various events for Mildred Thorne 24 Paul McDonald the children. I am so very thankful for each of 5 Kenneth Lee 26 Elizabeth Lee you. We do have a few things coming up. The Children’s Christmas program is set for December 6 Robert Burge 28 Lee Bulger 9th. I just looked on the calendar and noticed that Weston Rouse Jim Jensen Chad Taylor Faye Lumpkin Christmas is on the 25th this year, so don’t forget that. On January 19th we are planning on roller 8 Richard Mason 29 Stephen Ballard skating again from 10 – 12. In February we are 9 Travis Chewning 30 Brenda Hastings planning something a little different. The Chil- 10 Jack Gouldman Tom McGinniss III dren’s Council and myself are having a Bible Ad- Richard Minter Joshua Parker venture. The children will follow the life of Moses, Hazel Jones 31 Caleb Parker unlocking clues, following maps, interacting with Seth Parker Agnes Oakey Bible characters. This is something that the Chil- Anniversaries dren’s Council and myself are writing from scratch. 11 Sam Jensen A lot more info will follow in the next newsletter. 10 Frank and Linda Moore 13 Jeremy Jones Have a wonderful Christmas. 16 Charles and Agnes Oakey 14 Rick Wilks 18 Richard and Jane Mason

Shiloh Baptist Church 13457 Kings Hwy King George, VA 22485 Rev. Michael Jessee, Pastor Barbara Perry, Music Minister Ray Tubbs, Jr., Children’s Minister James Reger, Youth Minister

(540) 469-4646 www.kgshiloh.org

Forwarding Order Requested The Shiloh Visitor is published monthly as an official communications medium for Shiloh Baptist Church. The deadline for submission is the 15th of each month. Address all comments and submissions to: Sherri Hall, Editor, The Shiloh Visitor Shiloh Baptist Church 13457 Kings Highway King George, VA 22485-3015 telephone (540) 469-4646 fax (540) 469-4500 or email [email protected]