EVERYTHING LISTED UNDER: Chaplain

By Diane Gunsolley, Aberdeen Village chaplainIt’s time for glittering decorations, warm holiday movies, scrumptious goodies and so much more! This is the month when friends and family join us in celebrating Christmas. As Aberdeen Village chaplain, I encourage you to deepen your Christmas experience by joining the following activities:O Come O Come EmmanuelEach Sunday of December we will light the advent wreath and prepare our hearts for Christmas with a 3 p.m.

No other month of the year compares with December when it comes to music. Several radio stations even stop their regular programing to play non-stop Christmas music. Here at Aberdeen Village, multiple carolers from the Girl Scouts to the Dickens Carolers will croon through the halls. A hand-bell choir will ring out Christmas cheer, and members of the Grace Covenant Presbyterian choir will lead our All-Aberdeen Hymn Sing.

Did you know that October was Pastor Appreciation Month? It joined the unofficial holiday list back in 1992 when layperson Jerry Frear Jr. was brainstorming with church colleagues about how they might be of help to their minister. He apparently glanced at a calendar and noticed that it was almost Groundhog Day. Frear said, “I thought, if they have a day for groundhogs, there ought to be a day for the 375,000 clergy people in America.” Hallmark Corporation agreed and starting selling cards for Pastor Appreciation in 2002. Today, many churches in America do something to mark the event.

As chaplain, one of my greatest delights is getting to know the people who live at Aberdeen Village and their families. When someone trusts me with their story, I consider it a precious gift. Like discovering precious metals, getting to know someone well is rare and valuable.