Lincoln Chapel United Methodist Church Gallery

Secret Sister Christmas Party 2005
     On July 12, I talked with Margaret West about our Secret Sister program. You may have heard Sharon and Margaret talking about the Secret Sisters during church. Several months ago a group of 24 women and young ladies signed up to be a Secret Sister. Once they signed up the ladies had an opportunity to select a name from a basket. Each lady, over the next several months, would receive small tokens and cards from their Secret Sister.
     After several months of anonymous gift-giving, cards and prayers, the Secret Sisters ministry attended a luncheon, held at Carriage Corner Restaurant, on December 3, 2005. Each Sister was instructed to bring a hand-made gift, along with her appetite. On this day, the ladies learned who their Secret Sister had been, and it was a most joyous occasion, indeed. Vanessa DeVett graciously shared her musical gifts with us, and played the violin beautifully during the social hour and hors d’oevres, then classical guitar during the Christmas carol sing-a-long, when the room resounded with the wonderful sounds of Sisters in Christ lifting their voices up together in hymns of praise.
     Following a scripture reading by Sharon Lowry and a Christmas poem by Margaret West, Sharon led the women in prayer, and a delicious luncheon buffet was enjoyed by one and all. The menu consisted of: soup and sandwiches—ham, turkey and cheese served with locally renowned pretzel rolls, assorted side dishes, and a lovely holiday cake with coffee for dessert. A heartfelt “Thank You” to the anonymous donor/s who picked up the tab for the three young ladies in attendance: Aleah Schlief, Rachel Shively, and Margaret West.
     Sharon Lowry had a special treat for the ladies: as the last crumbs of that delicious cake were being nibbled, she introduced the “Three Wise Women”, who arrived to help distribute the gifts and reveal the Sisters’ identities. Dressed in authentic costumes, the Wise Women entered the room, with much pomp and splendor, then assembled by the Christmas tree to begin the gift roll call. As each Sister’s name was called, she received her gift, then announced her Secret Sister’s name, from the attached card or gift tag. Many beautiful, thoughtfully crafted gifts were exchanged, each one held up for the others to admire and applaud.
     The festivities continued with a high-spirited Secret Sister’s Scavenger Hunt, which involved locating someone in the group who fit a certain description, for example: someone that has red and green on, someone that has their Christmas list with them, someone with a Biblical name, someone that has gone to Lincoln Chapel all their life, someone whose favorite composer is Beethoven, and someone who has read the entire Bible. This fun activity was followed by a game which had all of us wracking our brain to complete: The Christmas Alphabet Game by Margaret West. Some of the letters were easy to fill in, such as A is for angels, but unless you knew that X is the Greek symbol for Christ, you found yourself scratching your head, trying to think of a holiday word that begins with the 24th letter of the alphabet!
     Door prizes were also handed out, names were drawn by Rachel Harvey,and other winners were decided on the basis of their game scores. The Haines Family generously provided the wreaths which were given to the lucky Sisters. Two Sarah Lincoln dolls were awarded to Aleah Schlief and Margaret West in recognition of their special contributions to Lincoln Chapel; Aleah was honored for her faithful service as acolyte, since an early age, and Margaret was honored for starting the Secret Sisters ministry at age 9. After all these activities, the ladies spent the rest of the their time together in fellowship, with much laughter and joy. The luncheon was resounding success, and everyone involved had a wonderful time. Sharon Lowry closed the event with prayer, and we all departed, with a satisfied feeling of holiday spirit. Many thanks to Sharon and Margaret for orchestrating this fun-filled event, also those who supported the Secret Sisters’ ministry, and the anonymous donors who contributed to paying for the young ladies’ meals and dolls.
     This time around, there were 30 women involved in the Secret Sisters, 6 more than the first time.
     Congratulations to our Secret Sisters, and blessing to you all in 2006!

Secret Sisters
Lois Pick had Kafy Long’s name;
Kafy had Carolyn Stamm;
Carolyn had Dawne Shreckengast;
Dawne had Cathy Bryner;
Cathy had Helen Benfer;
Helen had Sue Snyder;
Sue had Lori Jo Showalter;
Lori Jo had Sharon Kahl;
Sharon had Mary Elizabeth DeVett;
Mary Elizabeth had Kathy Kuhns;
Kathy had Marcia West;
Marcia had Aleah Schlief;
Aleah had Sue Vance;
Sue had Carol Rishel;
Carol Rishel had Margaret West;
Margaret had Terry Matrey;
Terry had Marcy Long;
Marcy had Thelma Houtz;
Thelma had Jen Haines;
And Jen had Lois Pick.
Joanna Vanatta had Sharon Lowry;
Sharon had Marion Ditzler;
Marion had Becky Finsterbush;
Becky had Lisa Harvey;
And Lisa had Joanna Vanatta.
Tara Hauck had Rachel Shively;
Rachel had Deb Snare;
Deb had Jane McCleary;
And Jane had Tara Hauck.