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Christmas observance for me began with the Church School Christmas Program held on a Sunday afternoon a week or two before the Holiday. There was the pageant followed by a dinner. There were roles in the pageant for every child: not just the Holy Family (Jesus was a doll placed in a manger) but shepherds, sheep, angels, wise men, and the inn keeper. All speaking parts were memorized and there were at least three rehearsals before the big day. There was always a packed house, parents had to show up to see their child.

Dad would buy the Christmas tree a few days before Christmas. He always picked out one which others would pass by. I think he felt sorry for the unselected tree. He would bring it home and repair it: drilling holes and sticking branches in those areas of the tree where there were none. He truly was a craftsman when it came to repairing Christmas trees! He would string the lights on the tree and my brother and I would then put on the ornaments. Brother Bill always put on the tinsel, strand by strand, each strung just right. When Bill was not home to do this job I would strew the tinsel on and let it land where it would land!

There was the 11pm Christmas Eve Service timed to end exactly at midnight. It was not Lessons and Carols. Rev. Krebs preached a long sermon just as he did each Sunday. Sunday morning services, however, were one hour and fifteen minutes. Christmas Eve was just one hour! Then it was home to open presents. Not all presents were under the tree. Special gifts, such as a bicycle, would be brought it at an appropriate time. One year Bill received one and another year I did: both were second hand bikes that Dad had fixed up. New bikes were too expensive for our family budget. Christmas wrappings were gathered up carefully because one year some money had been thrown out with the wrappings!

Christmas Dinner on Christmas Day had the same guests as on Thanksgiving and, yes, Helen was asked to favor us with a few numbers at the piano.

We enjoyed leftovers from that Dinner for several days. I loved that.

A Word About Church Finances

John Deitz

So far during 2008, the congregation’s General Program Fund has been operating at a deficit. The General Program Fund is the principal operating fund of the church – expenses such as the Pastor’s and Organist’s salaries, fuel, insurance, and general maintenance. The main source of income for this fund is your undesignated giving and building use contributions. As reported at the Annual Meeting, a deficit was expected, but is considerably more than anticipated.

2008 has been a tough year financially for many of us. 2009 is likely to continue so. For those who are able, please consider an extra “year end” gift.

The provision exempts from taxable income any finds transferred (“rolled over”) from an IRA to a charitable organization, which can save donors on taxes while also yielding gifts for charities such as Old South Haven Presbyterian Church. The following limitations apply:

 The donor must be age 701/2 or older

 The cap or annual IRA rollovers is $100,000

The contribution must be a direct gift to a charity (no planned gifts)

(based on information from the Long Island Council of Churches)