Christmas 2012
Letter # 48
Dear Friends and Family: Grace and God’s Peace to all of you this Advent Season 2012. Judy and I are beginning to get used to having a little extra time with me being into my 4th year of retirement and Judy into her 4th year of organizing my life. The luxury and leisure of retirement has the new discipline of being at Judy’s beck and call. She beckons and calls and I prioritize my day around these loving interruptions. One of these jobs is writing out the Christmas cards and letter. Here it is. First, it’s all about you. The preparation for the Christmas joy of Christ’s birth includes remembering and naming each of you in our prayers as we address and sign this Christmas card and letter. Jesus was born in the close circle of family. The Bethlehem birth reminds us that Jesus came among all of us. He comes to love, forgive, and finally bind us together for now and for eternity. It’s a great circle of Friends and Family that reside on our mailing list. God bless us, every one! What are we doing? The busiest one among us these days is Judy. Judy continues to be committed to Trinity’s Handbell Choir here in Hillsboro. She teaches at Concordia University – Portland, two days a week. Judy and I go to Seahawk football home games, she regularly goes to the Sunday night symphony, Monday night bowling, Tuesday night community bell choir, Wednesday night monthly Broadway Musical Series, Thursday night Trinity Bells… and she’s got over 20 piano students. I’m not so busy. When in Hillsboro, I usually show up at the 10:30 am coffee klatch at the Hillsboro Pharmacy fountain counter with a dozen or so cronies. There’s still quite a bit of Lutheran church work, but I’ve only consented to one 3 month church vacancy commitment this past year. Most of the time I volunteer with agencies and ministries and attempt NOT to attend too many meetings. Travel has taken either me or both of us this past year to places like Pasadena for the Rose Parade and Lutheran Hour float preparation. We’re called ‘Petal Pushers” and we spend hours gluing flowers to the Lutheran Hour float. We watched Oregon University win the Rose Bowl, and we “brought home” the Wisconsin quarterback, Russell Wilson who now is the rookie quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks. Go Hawks! I’ve traveled to Alaska a couple of times with the Alaska Mission for Christ and Lutheran Association of Missionaries and Pilots (a.k.a. Lutheran Indian Ministries). Judy and I went to Hong Kong to speak at the 50th Anniversary of our Church of All Nations on the Hong Kong International School campus. We spent 3 weeks in Hawaii this past year and then got home in time to host our whole family on the Long Beach Peninsula at a beach home where we rode our Honda scooters and could drive our truck on the beach and spend time around a beach fire. Our most recent trip was to see new grandson, Sterling Titus Royal Warren Schumacher, born to Dawn and Joel on October 14th. I participated
in his baptism over Thanksgiving this year. Judy and I enjoyed the whirlwind of activities of Joel, Dawn, 7 year old Nico, and new baby brother Sterling. Dawn’s extended Italian family have exceeded all past visits with New Jersey festivities. Judy and I enjoyed a day in the “city” and went to the Spiderman Broadway show. Judy, Dawn, and Nico went to the Macy’s Parade on T-giving morning. On Friday, Joel took Judy and Nico to the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Extravaganza, Dawn did some shopping, and I stayed home with 6 week old Sterling. Grandpa duties are the best of all! Grandson Simon is growing up so fast. He has turned 16, and stayed “home alone” this past weekend while Karl and Alison used our season Seahawks tickets to see Seattle beat the Arizona Cardinals 58-0. Judy directed Bells in 3 concerts at Concordia University’s Christmas concert, and I stayed home with Noel (12) and Aria (7). Again, Grandpa duties are the best of all! We’re doing the holidays a little differently. While I was parish pastor, almost all events took place at our house. Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving were here. Now things are getting scattered about. We enjoy journeying out to the Oregon coast for celebrations with Karl and Alison and family in Newport. Our friends, Ken and Carla Leander, have always been together with us, but now they are producing events of their own. For the second Christmas season in a row, I am privileged to DO a baptism of one of their grandchildren. Cyrus Leander Kellogg will be baptized between Christmas and New Year. That sort of rounds out some of my pastoral / chaplain services that began in 1968 when I preformed Ken and Carla’s wedding in Mount Vernon. Since that time we’ve share every transition in our lives together, and this new era of grandchildren duties is the best of all! Brother Tom Schumacher and wife TJ live in Olympia. They joined us for the Long Beach family gathering and we occasionally get together. Tom “officially” is retired, but his “part-time” plans seem like work to me. I’ve been honored to serve their family as well, with a couple of weddings, but no baptism yet. Just a hint to those interested, Grandpa duties are the best of all! Love and hugs to you all. Our gracious Lord has convinced us all that love conquerors all, and that God’s unconditional love is sweet and tender. Christmas and the gift of the precious Baby Jesus is the event that causes us all to pause, pray, and praise. Our bags are packed for our southern Caribbean Bells of the Cascades cruise that leaves Ft. Lauderdale on Epiphany, January 6th. We’ll be searching the skies for reminders of the Star light that lead the Magi to visit our infant Lord. We have been led by the Christmas light of God’s Son for these past 48 Christmas letters that we’ve sent out and we pray that this light shines on us, every one. Blessed Christmas, Judy & Warren