December 2011 Eastwind

December 2011

THE GIFT OF

Christmas

Join us for a musical celebration of the greatest gift ever given, Jesus Christ, December 11 & 12.

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Give the gift of God’s Word — Eastminster’s Christmas Eve offering. Page 3.

Every good and perfect gift is from above …

James 1:17

Christmas at E a s tm in s t e r C h u r c h

by Dave McKechnie, Interim Senior Pastor I love the excitement of the Advent/Christmas season. Yes, there are pageants, decorations, television specials, gifts, wrapping, shopping, parties, family celebrations and worship. As Christians, it is a time when we are more cognizant of Emmanuel, God is with us. Truly, the presence of God in the incarnation is something to celebrate.

What would Christmas be without music? Advent/ Christmas is announced in our culture by music, both secular and sacred. Music affirms the revolution of God’s dynamic presence in the birth of Jesus Christ.

The holiness of this season comes home to me in those well-worn Christmas carols.

Christmas, will be offered at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, December 12, for the greater Wichita community in the Eastminster Sanctuary.

Christmas Eve at Eastminster, Saturday, December 24, will offer family-oriented worship experiences with carols and candle lighting at 3 and 4:30 p.m. Our Carols and Candlelight worship at 6 and 8 p.m. will feature the Chancel Choir, carols and the candle lighting ceremony. At all four services, I will speak on Inn-ovation. I hope to greet you at one of these four celebrations and personally wish you “Merry Christmas.”

Sunday, December 11, Advent III, we will celebrate this holy season with two identical worship experiences at 9:30 and 11 a.m.

I will speak briefly on the theme of joy. Both of the services will feature the Chancel Choir, full orchestra, organist Anna Jeter and pianist Linda McKechnie. Many of the arrangements are Linda’s. She paints a landscape of Christmas with a colorful, eclectic palette of timeless melodies, gentle rhythms and a mix of classical styles. The same program, The Gift of Photo by John

Moody

Message Series • December 2011

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December 4

December 11

December 18

The Present of Presence Dave McKechnie Philippians 4:4-7

Prep Time Dave McKechnie Mark 1:1-8 services at 9:30 & 11 a.m. only

The Age of Consent Dave McKechnie Luke 1:26-38

December 24 Christmas Eve

December 25 Christmas Day

Inn-ovation Dave McKechnie Luke 2:1-7 services at 3, 4:30, 6 & 8 p.m.

God Appeared!

Paul Bammel Titus 3:3-7 one service @ 11 a.m.

Christmas Eve Services Saturday, December 24 3, 4:30, 6 & 8 p.m.

Eastminster Sanctuary

Christmas Eve Offering

Our family-oriented Children’s Candlelight Services will be offered at 3 and 4:30 p.m.

These services are perfect for youngsters and feature the retelling of the Christmas story with live animals and the traditional lighting of the candles. (No child care is offered.)

Give the Gift of God’s Word This year’s Christmas Eve offering will be used to purchase Bibles and other Christian literature for distribution to Muslims.

Two of our missions partners have great opportunities to give the gift of God’s Word. One partner will work during the Christmas season and the other during the Olympics in London next summer.

A vital way we can help is to give the resources needed to purchase Bibles that will be given away by outreach teams.

For example, $1.50 will provide a New Testament Bible written in the Turkish language for our partners in Moldova, led by Pastor Oleg Reutki, to give to Turkish Muslims. This special distribution will occur during a limited time that Muslim officials in Istanbul have granted permission for such activity. Our Moldovan partners already speak Turkish and are allowed to freely cross into Turkey, making this outreach distribution such a great opportunity.

The second opportunity will come during the 2012 London Olympics when thousands of Muslims will flock to Britain as tourists. Pastor Wagih Abdelmassih, an Eastminster missions partner in London, is putting together a team of street evangelists. They will distribute thousands of pieces of Christian literature including Bibles written in Arabic. This will be done with a special emphasis during the Olympics in areas most frequented by Muslims.

Pastor Wagih also has extended an invitation to Eastminster members to come and be a part of the outreach team. On-site training will be provided. Our Egyptian partners from Kasr El Dobara Church in Cairo are already planning to fly to London to be a part of the team.

If you will not be in worship this year on Christmas Eve at Eastminster, you can still make a contribution designated for Bibles for Muslims before the end of the year.

In addition, we’ll have two identical Carols & Candlelight worship services at 6 and 8 p.m. The evening candle-

Photo by John Moody

light services feature the Chancel Choir, directed by Tom Wine, pianist Linda McKechnie and organist Anna Jeter, as well as a hand bell trio.

Child care for newborns through 3 years old is offered at both the 6 and 8 p.m.

Christmas Eve services.

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Christmas Memories Christmas songs have a way of awakening special memories. We asked several Chancel Choir and staff members to share reminiscences from years past. Enjoy their Christmas journeys back in time …

sons would comment, “You’re not going to put those ugly things on our tree again, are you?” Although only a few of those “ugly things” now find their way onto the tree each year, Hans and I always check to make sure that the rest are still safe and sound in the bottom of the ornament tub.

Karen & Hans Kraus In 1958 after Hans was discharged from the Air Force, we moved in May with our 1-year-old daughter Kathy to Germany. Hans had made arrangements for us to live with his parents while he studied at the engineering school in Wuerzburg. The summer flew by as I learned German and grew to love my new in-laws and the small town of Volkach; however, Hans started school in the fall, the daylight hours were becoming much shorter, and not having a Thanksgiving was very disappointing.

My first hint of the approaching Christmas season was when a cute green wreath in the flower shop window caught my attention. It had four red candles and was suspended by red ribbons on a stand. Nowadays, Advent wreaths are common in the States, but with different colors.

Soon thereafter, the Christmas baking with my angel-onearth mother-in-law began in earnest with all the cookies, Christmas stollen and Zwieback. The woodstove oven was a challenge — some batches burned while others took forever to bake.

Luckily, Hans agreed that his mother’s Christmas present that year would be a new stove with an accurate oven, which made baking cookies the next year even more fun.

Around the middle of December, I began to talk about the Christmas tree and was told that it wasn’t put up until Christmas Eve. Sensing my growing homesickness, my thoughtful father-in-law went into the forest, cut down a small pine, brought it home and set it up in our living room upstairs. For several nights while Hans studied, I made homemade ornaments, and even though it had no lights, we were proud of our tree. Years later, one of our

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As Christmas came ever closer that year, the culture differences became even more pronounced, and I began to question why they couldn’t do Christmas the “right” way. There would be no Santa Claus, no stockings, no wrapping of presents, and, of all things, the gift exchange would be on Christmas Eve. Then, in the late afternoon of the 24th, knowing that the big tree was finally getting decorated, I picked up Kathy to show her the tree. As we neared the closed door leading to the parlor, a neighbor, who had stopped by, grabbed my child and covered Kathy’s eyes. After I had comforted my screaming baby and composed myself, the neighbor explained that children aren’t allowed to open the door and see the Christmas tree until they hear the bell that the Christ child rings as he flies out the window after completing the decoration of the tree.

Several hours later, still quite upset and terribly homesick, I joined the family around the tree with real candles burning brightly (and dripping), but at least there was the familiar manger scene at the base. Then, they began singing “Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht,” and, since I didn’t know the German words at the time, I quietly joined in with “Silent Night, Holy Night.” Suddenly, a peace came over me. With the singing of this internationally known and beloved carol, it became quite clear that, although the location, customs and language were new, the important thing was that our family was together and we were all celebrating the birth of Jesus, our Savior. Frohe Weihnachten

Anna Jeter with Nancy Graham A few weeks ago, Nancy Graham and I were remembering the times when, as students, we sang the entire Christmas Oratorio by J. S. Bach every Christmas season at Friends University.

Dr. Cecil J. Riney was the director of the Singing Quakers at that time, and about the middle of October we would bring our scores and start working on all the choruses and chorales. The vocal parts are very instrumental in nature and quite difficult, but we loved working on the music. As a freshman it was daunting to learn the entire piece of 195 pages, but the seniors knew the music nearly by heart because they had sung it for three or four

years. Freshmen hoped they would get better and not be frowned upon by the seniors for singing in a rest!

On the first Sunday in December, about 80 members of the Singing Quakers, the

Photo by Barre

tt Morgan

orchestra (which included strings, woodwinds, trumpets, horns and timpani), plus the five soloists from our vocal faculty would squeeze onto the small stage in Alumni Auditorium for the performance.

Squeeze is truly what it was. The orchestra players were sitting so close to the front row of singers we could have turned their pages or combed their hair. One instrumentalist who did not play on every piece always brought a briefcase on stage with him. Besides his music, he always had a Reader’s Digest on his music stand.

To give you some historical background about the work, the Christmas Oratorio is a set of six cantatas that were originally sung on December 25, 26, 27, January 1, 2 and 6, 1734-35. Each cantata is about 30 minutes long and was sung as part of a four-hour service in an unheated church.

(The sermons were about an hour long.)

Since Bach was in charge of the music at both Nicolaikirche and Thomaskirche in Leipzig, the choir, which was mostly students, would sing the cantatas at both churches each feast day, alternating the morning and afternoon services.

The text includes the Scripture telling of the story of Jesus’ birth through the adoration of the Magi. The solos, choruses

and chorales give further meaning for Christians into the Christmas story.

As the timpani started the first cantata and the choir would join the orchestra singing “Christians, be joyful,” the sun would usually be shining through the beautiful rose window at the back of the room and also the side rows of windows. The light would dance around the Alumni Auditorium as the sun went down. The wooden floors, chairs and ceiling of the room gave a warmth and clarity to the sound not unlike the churches in Leipzig where Bach originally performed the cantatas.

As musicians we have performed many Christmas concerts and worship services over the years, but there is something special about a magnificent work such as the Christmas Oratorio. The powerful piece was something we didn’t ever forget and still sing portions in various choirs through the years with our original scores.

The Gift of

Christmas Sunday, December 11, at 9:30 & 11 a.m. services & Monday, December 12, at 7:30 p.m. (concert only) Eastminster Sanctuary

Join us for this musical celebration of the greatest gift ever given, Jesus Christ.

This unforgettable concert features familiar Christmas carols and hymns with the Eastminster Chancel Choir, Hand Bells, full orchestra, piano and organ. Artists include Linda McKechnie (piano/arranger), Anna Jeter (organ), Deborah Harris

Cheryl Hennigh As a freshman in college, I had never heard of the Bach Oratorio. In only my second month of being in the Singing Quakers at Friends University, I came to rehearsal one day, and Dr. Riney asked who needed the “Bach book”? I was so surprised that there were only a few of us who did not already have this music, and it was their own personal copy! He handed me the “book,” and my first thought was

Photo by Barre

tt Morgan

(continued on Page 7)

(hand bells), and Tom Wine (choir director) with a special message by Pastor Dave McKechnie.

The concert includes special Christmas carol arrangements

by Linda McKechnie as well as Christmas Day by Gustav Holst; Shepherd’s Pipe Carol

by John Rutter; Arise, Your Light Has Come, arr. David Danner; Some Children See Him by Alfred Burt; and No Eye Had Seen, by Michael W. Smith.

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A Heart for the World

By Renee Edwards In May of 2010 I went on a short-term missions trip to China that changed my life. In preparation for the trip, I was challenged to pray a very simple prayer for 30 days: 1) Love God with all my heart, soul, and mind; 2) love others as Christ loves me; and 3) love those God placed before me in China.

Yannan, a Chinese student at WSU befriended by the Edwards family, loves to play with Jacob, Wesley and Avery Edwards..

By the time I prayed for 30 days, I told my husband, Chad, that I didn’t think I needed to go to China to have my life changed. I could already see ways that prayer had begun to transform my mind and heart. But I did go. While I had not ever been remotely interested in China or its people before, I immediately fell in love with the Chinese college students I met.

While there, I marveled at the sincere belief that had developed in my heart that God’s love in me could move mountains of disbelief and breathe life into spiritual voids. I also found myself laying awake at night convicted by the knowledge that there are Chinese students going to school at Wichita State University, just down the street from my house.

When I returned, Chad and I contacted Dick Daeschner with ISI, International Students Inc. ISI works all over the United States on college campuses

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connecting international students to Christian families.

ISI has a great ministry here in Wichita.

Chad and I went through ISI’s training with four other couples from our small group and my parents. After the training, those ready to commit were assigned a student. We were assigned a Chinese girl named Yannan. Convinced that the Lord had used it powerfully in my life before, I prayed the same prayer and trusted that God would give me and the rest of our family great love for her.

From the first moment our family met Yannan, we were filled with affection for her. A shy, soft-spoken student with a lack of confidence about her English, Yannan captured our hearts immediately. She was struggling with normal stresses: an inconsiderate roommate, overwhelming classes, making new friends and missing home. Our hope had been that we could build a friendship with Yannan, invite her into the life of our family, and look for opportunities to share our faith in Christ with her. Imagine our surprise when on the day we met her she said, “I need to know Jesus.

Can you tell me about him?” I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that God had been preparing me for this relationship, and now I had the incredible gift of an open door to introduce her to Christ.

In the next few weeks, we prayed with our three children (Jake then 10, Avery 9, and Wes 5) for Yannan to know Christ. We saw that prayer answered in a matter of weeks.

Our family was invited as special guests to her baptism service. Yannan and I met weekly all year to read the Bible together.

In all my life as a Christian, I have never experienced anything like reading the Bible with someone who is hearing it for the first time. I could literally observe its power as I sat with Yannan and watched its truths wash over her. One day as we read its words aloud together, she looked at me and said, “I think this must be a very special time for you to read the Bible with me.” Truer words were never spoken!

One of the priceless parts of this relationship is its effect on our children. To them, Yannan is a big sister. While she often feels self-conscious of her English with adults, she is at ease with our kids. She loves to come over and play games or draw with them. When we’ve invited her to parties, we often find her downstairs playing with the kids rather than mingling with the adults. She has come to school programs, theater performances, soccer games and holiday gatherings.

We have been able to pray for her needs and her spiritual growth as a family, and we have been able to watch God provide for her and sometimes meet a need ourselves.

that our friendship with him has also captured our hearts, enriched the life of our family, and grown our faith.

Through these students, our family has been given an opportunity unlike anything else to expose our kids to different cultures and see God give them a heart for the world. We marvel that our first grader now regularly prays without prompting for different people groups and world religions to know the one true God. And some of the time he is praying by name for someone he knows.

As Chad and I share our faith with our international friends, our kids are right alongside

Above: Naman and Chad Edwards Below: Renee Edwards with Yannan

You might read this story and conclude that our experience with Yannan is exceptional. It’s true. I believe in my heart that she is exceptional, and she is God’s gift to us. However, our family was also assigned another international student, a graduate student from India. There is not enough space here to tell his story, but I can say

us. We model, but the whole family practices evangelism through a very easy relationship.

We always think of missionaries as those who go out. Over 2,000 international students have come to us. Some are from countries that would never allow a public proclamation of the gospel. The opportunity is to befriend them, to share our culture with them and learn about theirs, and to love them as Christ loves them.

Christmas Memories (continued from Page 5)

that I hoped we did not have to memorize it. It was over 100 pages long!

Dr. Riney told us to turn to the chorale of Break Forth O Beauteous Heavenly Light. Everyone in the choir immediately turned to the page and I started searching. I found the page just in the nick of time, as he brought the choir in on the downbeat. I sat in shock! It was the most glorious, rich sound I had ever heard! After my awe wore off a little, I wondered how everyone already knew it, and I didn’t. The dear upperclassman sitting next to me saw my bewilderment and explained that this was a tradition at Friends, and most of the choir had been singing it for several years, and that I, too, would learn to love it.

She was so right. Every piece I learned, from the soft, slow, sacred chorales to the large choruses with tympani and brass became my favorite. The day of the concert, and it was all day long, all of the pieces of the soloists, orchestra, chorus and Dr. Riney fit together beautifully. What an incredible tradition, and I was now a part of it!

The next year as a sophomore, I was so ready when Dr. Riney told us to pull out the “Bach Book.” This time I knew what he meant, and I looked over at the freshman girl sitting on my left and smiled at her puzzled expression. I knew we were on our way for a lot of hard work, extra rehearsals and standing for hours. But in the end, we were going to be a part of a wonderful concert that glorified God and started the Christmas season at Friends University and the city of Wichita.

Eastminster Presbyterian Church

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Eastminster Presbyterian Church 1958 N. Webb Road • Wichita, Kansas 67206 316.634.0337 • www.eastminster.org

Worship Services Sundays at 8, 9:30 and 11 a.m.

The goal of Eastwind is to support the five Core Commitments of Eastminster Presbyterian Church: Know God, Grow in God, Connect in God, Serve God and Glorify God. Executive Director of Communications: Gail Adamo (gadamo@eastminster.org). Associate Director of Communications: Courtney Browning (cbrowning@eastminster.org).

December Favorites at Eastminster Mark your calendar now for these celebrations, services and special events.

Chili Christmas

Women’s Christmas Brunch

Sunday, December 4, 5:15 p.m.

Thursday, December 15, 9:30 a.m., Fellowship Hall

It all begins in the Gym with a chili dinner from 5:15 – 6:30 p.m. and then moves into the Sanctuary for a short Christmas musical celebration with the kids. This free event is a family favorite!

A nursery is available for infants through 3-year-olds during the program. Bring a package of baby diapers (any size) with you to Chili Christmas. We’re collecting diapers for the Union Rescue Mission’s pantry and the Pregnancy Crisis Center.

A festive Christmas tradition continues! Enjoy sweets and savories, mingle with old friends and new, and share in the joy of the holiday season with other Eastminster women. Susan Pompeo, wife of congressman Mike Pompeo, will share on the topic Is Christ Invited to Christmas in Washington? The event is free, but please RSVP to Kat Anderson at 634.0337, ext. 204, by December 9. Child care (birth to 5 years) reservations are required by December 8. Contact Mary Stephens at 634.0337, ext. 226.

MS Christmas Party: White Out Wednesday, December 7, 6:15 p.m., Student Ctr.

Christmas Food Boxes Project

It’s an all-white night at the 2011 MS Christmas Party. Dress in your most colorless outfits and get ready for a white winter wonderland. We’ll have Christmas games, snacks and festive drinks, so grab a friend and join the white out!

Saturday, December 17, 9 a.m., Gym

HS Christmas Party: Shaving & Shaved Ice Party Sunday, December 11, 7 p.m., Student Center It’s a night of snowy shenanigans as we celebrate the Christmas season in true wintery style. We’ll have all sorts of shavingthemed games. Be sure to bring a pack of disposable razors to donate to the local Union Rescue Mission.

Eastminster is continuing our tradition of helping others through providing a holiday meal. We’ll fill and deliver boxes full of delicious food to those in our community who may not otherwise have a Christmas dinner.

It’s a great family project!

Christmas Eve at Eastminster Saturday, December 24, at 3, 4:30, 6 and 8 p.m.

See Page 3 for details about our Christmas Eve services.

The Gift of Christmas

Christmas & New Year’s Day Services

Sunday, December 11 & Monday, December 12

Sunday, December 25 & January 1, 11 a.m.

See Page 5 for all the details about our Christmas concert.

We’ll have one traditional service at 11 a.m. on both holidays.