Merry Christmas from CCA

OFFICE HOURS All calls are confidential. Clinical coordinators are available. Mon - Fri, 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM 724-396-1510 Christmas Greetings from Dr. Rich Hoffman Clinical Director of CCA As we celebrate the birth of Emmanuel, God with us, we pray that you experience His peace, joy, and hope in this season and beyond. Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year from all of us at Christian Counseling Associates!" What Sets CCA Apart? The Stable In an Unstable World   A wise pastor recently said we can embrace the stable in an unstable world. We can find joy and hope that transforms the heart. We can build or rebuild our lives on what started at Christmas, the stable in an unstable world. Sometimes, life can sound like a big project, but Jesus knows how to build your life.   The building project starts at the heart. Jesus is the craftsman. He taught, whether by word or example, He did not intend for his listeners to store away the intellectual truth of Christmas and his teachings. Rather, He challenged people to become like Him, to apply the truths he taught in life-changing, culture-impacting ways. Because of Bethlehem by Matthew West Be encouraged; with a little faith, we can allow Jesus to build in our lives in big ways. Let us celebrate Christmas and the baby in a manger, and let us rise and build our lives on His grace and truth, in Jesus name, Amen. Remember, no matter how complex your mental health issues may be, CCA has the resources to help you find your turning point! Services Include Counseling for: Depression Anxiety Trauma Marital Issues and Relationship Problems Workplace Problems Grief and Loss Addictions Family or Parenting Problems Anger Management We Also Provide: Psychological Testing Online Counseling  Parenting Classes Marriage Classes Workshops and Presentations Clinical Supervision for Clinicians and Organizations A Christmas Prayer   Lord Jesus, there is spiritual, moral, and physical devastation everywhere. Your mission of salvation was the ultimate disaster response, and you are the ultimate rescue worker. Please help us never to become hardened by the influence of this world, but let us be encouraged. Let us make room for you. Come, Lord Jesus, be the center of our lives. We invite you to be the builder, the craftsman, our Lord and Savior. Come, work in our hearts that because of Bethlehem, we will celebrate Christmas! Amen. Merry Christmas from the staff at CCA!   Richard Hoffman, Ph.D. Clinical Director Christian Counseling Associates Schedule an Appointment at CCA SERVICES....WHY CCA....NEW CLIENTS....LOCATIONS....ABOUT Christian Counseling Associates Serving Pennsylvania, Ohio Arkansas, New York, West Virginia and Internationally in Liberia, West Africa. Stay Social With Us:

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Today in the Mission Yearbook - Two years after floods, presbytery works to support neighbors impacted by hurricanes

Churches in Transylvania Presbytery gather to fill disaster relief buckets for communities impacted by Hurricanes Helene and Milton

The Rev. Philip Lotspeich, general presbyter of the Presbytery of
Transylvania, participated in the event and said communities in Eastern
Kentucky are still working to recover from flooding two years ago.
(Photo by Rich Copley)

https://vimeo.com/1021868586

More than 60 members and staff of at least eight churches in Eastern and Central Kentucky’s Presbytery of Transylvania gathered in the fellowship hall of First Presbyterian Church of Lexington on a recent Sunday afternoon to fill large buckets with a plethora of supplies needed to begin recovery from a natural disaster like a hurricane or a flood.

The effort was in response to Hurricanes Helene and Milton, which ravaged communities in the southeastern United States from Florida to Virginia in September and October. It was also inspired by the outpouring of support Eastern Kentucky received from Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) and other organizations two summers ago following catastrophic flooding in 16 counties in Transylvania Presbytery.

The Rev. Philip Lotspeich, the presbytery’s general presbyter, said that two years later, people are still working to recover from the floods that came with little warning.

“I don’t know if that’s paying it forward or paying it back,” said Rev. Linda Kurtz, associate pastor of Christian Formation at First Presbyterian, who co-organized the bucket brigade with the Rev. Hannah McIntyre, pastor of Pisgah Presbyterian Church in neighboring Versailles, Kentucky.

Rev Linda Kurtz with two others organizing disaster relief supplies
(Photo by Rich Copley)

Kurtz noted that many of the churches that experienced flooding in 2022 contributed to the drive either financially or by bringing supplies. In all, the effort involved nearly 100 people and raised more than $13,000, and funds remaining after expenses for the bucket project are paid will be donated to PDA. One of the donors was a lay pastor in Eastern Kentucky who lost his car and suffered significant damage to his property in the floods.

“We know how effective cleanup buckets can be and how important they are in the initial mucking out,” Kurtz said.

When she heard that hurricane response had put a significant dent in the supply of buckets PDA and Church World Service had on hand, Kurtz said she and McIntyre were inspired to put together a bucket effort to help replenish supplies for continued hurricane response or “for the inevitable next disaster.” That Sunday’s event resulted in 117 completed buckets.

The Rev. Hannah McIntyre of Pisgah Presbyterian Church in Versailles,
Ky., was co-organizer of the bucket event. She led the volunteers in
prayer before the bucket filling began. (Photo by Rich Copley)

The fellowship hall at First Presbyterian resembled the home-goods aisle at a grocery store with heavy garbage bags, dishwashing detergent, gloves, and many other items on tables arranged in a horseshoe. Participants grabbed a bucket and proceeded around the tables taking each item and stuffing them into the buckets.

At the end of the line, lids were put on the buckets, they were sealed and loaded on a truck that delivered them to a CWS distribution point in Indianapolis.

“We are overwhelmed with the response from this presbytery,” McIntyre said, “and not just these churches that were here today, but churches from across Transylvania Presbytery. It’s been amazing.”

Rich Copley, Multimedia Producer, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

Let us join in prayer for:

• Becky Burton, Data Entry Representative, Ministry Engagement & Support, Administrative Services Group (A Corp)
• Kelly Cahill, Business Administrator, Information Technology, Board of Pensions 

Let us pray:

Gracious God, may your sacrificial love on the cross move us to the genuine offering of ourselves in obedient service for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - Nativity of the Lord | Christmas

God’s family on the move

Photo provided

There’s never a good time to move.

Mary knew it. And Joseph did, too. And yet, despite Mary’s being great with child, they left their home in Nazareth of Galilee to travel to Bethlehem of Judea when God and civic duty called.

Like the Holy Family, I didn’t want to move. We were comfortable in our community, moored in our ministries. And yet, because God’s call once again proved irresistible, off we went in September from the relative warmth of Louisville to the lake effect snow and bitter cold temperatures of Rochester, New York.

There’s never a good time to move.

But this last move was easy compared with the one we made nearly 30 years ago. Great with child myself at that time, I remember sitting on the floor of my church office, staring up at the crowded bookshelves and down at the empty packing boxes, immobilized and in tears. I couldn’t move. And yet somehow, I did.

Somehow, with our soon-to-be-born daughter Elizabeth — named for Mary’s visit to her similarly expectant cousin in the first chapter of Luke’s Gospel — leaping for joy in my womb, and my husband John’s steady hand coaxing me onward, we packed up and drove off.

And not surprisingly, all these many years and several moves later, some of those same boxes remain unopened. Such are the realities of moving.

And this first Christmas in our new home has proved especially challenging. At the bottom of which unpacked box, we wondered, would we find our family’s Christmas stockings? No matter, really, since there’s no fireplace or mantel here on which to hang them. But, even more importantly, where was John’s Nativity collection? That discovery was far more critical, because Elizabeth’s annual tradition has always been to arrange — and rearrange — each beloved grouping of figures, a practice she planned to teach our 1-year-old grandson Elijah this year.

Just as we were about to despair of ever finding them, the angel’s words never rang truer: “Fear not!”

For amid all the boxes, open or not, stacked high in our basement, the Nativity set we bought for Elijah last year in anticipation of this very moment rose to the top.

It was a sign. In a miraculous season filled with signs and wonders.

There’s never a good time to move. But at Christmas, whatever journey — whether arduous or easy — has led us to this day, let us rejoice in the miracle of resilience that brought us wherever we are and that sent Mary and Joseph to the city of David to deliver to us a Savior, who never ceases to surprise and delight us with the good news of great joy for all people.

Emily Enders Odom, Associate Director of Mission Communications, Interim Unified Agency, PC(USA)

Let us join in prayer for:

• Diana Burgos, Cook, Stony Point Center, Presbyterian Mission Agency
• Erica Burns, IS Specialist, Presbyterian Foundation 

Let us pray:

Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace and goodwill among people. Amen.

Happy Holidays from PPF

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