A Christmas Message from Larry Monroe - Christian Village ...
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December
at MASON 2020
A Christmas Message from Larry Monroe
It is hard for me to believe that 2020 is coming to an end and Christmas is upon us. The challenges of this year
and the constant weight of the pandemic and world events have in some ways left me feeling a bit robbed of the
festive joy I typically experience leading up to December 25. It’s as if I suddenly awoke from a deep sleep and
realized Christmas is here. Perhaps you can relate.
It has been an unprecedented year on so many fronts. There is so much uncertainty in the world. Today I want
to encourage you with a message of hope, that in spite of the chaos that spins around us there is a reassurance
and confidence that the world can’t comprehend. We don’t have all of the answers to the world’s troubles,
but we can know the One who does. Soon the entire globe will celebrate a baby born miraculously of a virgin
mother and laid in a lowly manger. The Son of God was sent as a gift, the supreme expression of love who grew
to be a man and who willingly gave His life as a ransom for the sins of the world. We have hope in Him, not that
we will live lives without turmoil, confusion, stress and challenges, but hope in that the toils and troubles of this
world need not define us, nor will they be our final story.
For many, Christmas will be different this year. Many will be without the usual gathering of loved ones and
friends. Kathy and I want you to know that as you celebrate our Lord’s birth this Christmas, our prayer is that in
the midst of it all God will bless you with peace and joy through His Son Jesus Christ.
Merry Christmas,
Larry
Tree of the Month
Spruce trees are a type of coniferous evergreen in the Pinacea (or pine) family.
These large trees grow up to an average of 60 to 200 feet tall. Spruce trees sport
four-sided needles that are attached in a peg-like fashion to its branches.
They are used as a Christmas trees, lumbar, pulpwood (to make paper), and
medicine. Fresh spruce shoots are an excellent source of vitamin C. In fact,
Captain Cook used them to make spruce beer to prevent scurvy. Native Americans
used spruce roots to weave baskets and bind birch bark for canoes. In Hopi
legend, Salavi, a revered ancient chief, transformed himself into a spruce when he
died, making the trees sacred.
Spruce trees are native to North America and thrive in temperate climates. They Spruce Tree
can live to be around 200 years old. However, Old Tjikko, a Norway spruce
located in Sweden, is thought to be the world’s oldest living tree-at 9,550 year-old!
1
Birthdays, Celebrations and Updates
December December
Birthdays Anniversaries
This information is for
Christian Village at Mason residents.
This information is for Time Warner/Spectrum
Christian Village at Mason residents. Billing Questions
Call (877) 772-2253 and mention you are a CVM
resident. This may better assist the Spectrum
representative to help you with your concerns.
CVM Transportation
Transportation services are available to all CVM
residents. Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Concierge Cards - $25 for 12 round trips
Grocery
For errand (non-medical) trips within 5 miles.
Pickups Appointments by Mile or Hour
For medical appointments or other trips that would
Please turn in one list per week into the Front Desk not qualify as a concierge trip.
(4 or 5 items). Due to increased number of lists
submitted each week and limited staff, you may • $2.00/mile from drop-off and pick-up
not get your groceries until Friday. We will try to • $25/hour for the driver to stay with you
accommodate you in a timely manner. Please give list
Scheduling Transportation
and money to the Front Desk or call Transportation
Call 701-3415 to schedule an appointment
at (513) 703-3415.
2
Chaplain’s Corner
BY CHAPLAIN TOM MOLL
Worship Services Prayer List
Join us at 10:15 a.m. for worship every Sunday If you have a prayer request, drop it off in my office,
morning on Channel 1851. You will be able to listen e-mail me at tom.moll@christianvillages.org, or leave
to beautiful hymns and Christmas carols, observe the a message on my phone (513) 701-3406. Please
Lord’s Supper, and study God’s Word. We are now allow me to pray for you.
able to have up to ten people from the apartments
In Memory of: Jeanne Brand, Robert Campbell, Joan
attend services in the chapel (and can add additional
Cawdry, Filomena Dechellis, Robert Johnson, John
services if needed).
Moorhouse, Betty Moyer, Ruth Schnier
December messages will focus on the birth of Christ,
what it meant to people then, and what it means for us LITTLE BABY IN A MANGER
today. Little baby in a manger,
Nestled in a bed of hay,
Communion Sets Available Do you know what lies ahead
Communion cups and wafer sets are available in the As You’re born on Christmas Day?
outer lobby on Fridays and Saturdays for pickup (or
we will deliver to you). It has been encouraging to see Little baby in a manger,
so many sets taken every week. Thank you for your With your parents standing by,
desire to remember the Lord’s sacrifice on the cross Do you know the world You came for
by partaking of these emblems of His body and His
One day will demand You die?
blood.
Little baby in a manger,
Offerings
Having no place in the inn,
December is often marked by a generous spirit Do you know the price You’ll pay
of giving and a desire to bless others. One of To redeem mankind from sin?
the ways that you can express thanks to God for
His indescribable gift is through offerings for our
Oh, love beyond all other loves,
Compassionate Care Fund or for the Stone Center.
A love we cannot understand,
You may put your gifts in the basket in my office or
drop them off at the front desk. You know! And still you come
To lay down Your life for man.
Bible Studies
Little baby in a manger,
Bible studies will not meet in December but will
Nestled in a bed of hay,
begin again after the first of the year. If you have a
We praise You for the sacrifice begun
suggestion for what you would like to study, please
feel free to let me know! As You’re born on Christmas Day.
Kay Moll
3
Social Services
BY HEATHER CARTER, LSW, DIRECTOR OF SOCIAL SERVICES
Podiatry
Audiologists
Services
Due to restricted visitors in the main building, Dr. Norman will be in the Village Clinic on 1/7/2021 for
audiology visits have been canceled. If you are having Garden Home residents for podiatry services. Please
difficulty with your hearing aids or would like to speak contact Dr. Norman at (937) 431-4749 to schedule an
with the audiologist, you can contact Hear All Hearing appointment time.
at (513) 801-9322.
The Well
BY KYRA SCHROER, DIRECTOR OF FITNESS & WELLNESS
It is hard to believe that I’ve been the Director of the four wellness areas and we celebrated successes
Fitness & Wellness at The Christian Village at Mason along the way or identified barriers to success. Fast
for almost 2 years. This will be one of the many things forward five years and I was doing similar work with
I’ll list on my “grateful list” for our family Thanksgiving adults as a health coach for Tri-Health.
Zoom call. I never imagined that the pandemic
I thought as winter approaches it might be a good
would hit in early 2020 and close the fitness center.
time to remind you that I am here to support you in
It has been very difficult for many in this community
your wellness goals. We all have to be creative in the
which makes the wellness part of my job even more
social fitness area. I’ve never been on a Thanksgiving
important. My background is kind of broad and I
Zoom call but if I set my expectations low and have
feel like many things I’ve done have led me to this
an attitude of gratitude it might be kind of fun. I would
community, and this role in particular. Wellness
encourage you to think about setting a small goal
encompasses much more than fitness and mind, body,
in one of these areas (mental, physical, social, and
and spirit can’t be separated.
spiritual) since they work together for overall health. I
One hat I’ve worn as a volunteer is Personal Fitness am available by phone (513) 701-3455 or email kyra.
Merit Badge Counselor for my son’s Boy Scout troop. schroer@christianvillages.org if you need to talk it
I’m a proud mama and must brag that Ryan made through with someone. I’ve found that most people
Eagle rank in 2013. The badge that I taught these already have the answer they just need someone to
teenage boys is called Personal Fitness not Physical listen while working out the details.
Fitness because the physical part was included but
it involved much more. These soon to be young men
had to explain reasons for being mentally, physically,
socially, and spiritually fit. They also had to set goals
in each of these areas that were Specific, Measurable
Attainable, Realistic and Timely (SMART). I encouraged
the boys to begin with a small action step in one of
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Auxiliary & Resident Organization News
2021 Spring Flower Sale instrumentals and singing. Larry will be including
several songs with guitar accompaniment.
By Donna Black
Be sure to mark your calendar.
A very Merry Christmas is wished to all from the
Black’s & the Spreen’s this holiday season! Although
CVM Employee Christmas Fund
we are all into decorating our homes and Christmas
trees for the holidays, next month we will post the By Bob Moorehead
order forms for the Auxiliary Spring Flower Sale! So
Our campaign for the 2020 Employees/Residents
for now, enjoy your Christmas Season but remember,
Christmas Fund is winding down for another year.
January is the month to begin to “Think Spring!”
We thank all of those who have contributed this year
so very much. With the no tipping policy in effect at
Kroger Community Rewards CVM, the Fund is a positive way for us all to show our
Program appreciation for the services provided by our CVM
employees, especially during the Holiday Season as
By Pat Wilson #1
2020 comes to a close.
Remember, purchases will not count for the Auxiliary
The 2020 Christmas Fund Committee adapted the
until after you register your card(s). By registering
theme “HEROES WORK HERE” for our campaign
Mason Christian Village Auxiliary, it costs you
this year. How appropriate for such a strange and
nothing. It does not affect any perks and discounts
different world we live in during these coronavirus
you already receive. Kroger already donates a portion
days! With those limitations this year, the checks will
of money back to the community. By registering,
be distributed by Administration with the usual pay
you choose where your portion of that money goes.
schedule. We hope next year to be able to do this at
What better way than giving to your auxiliary. The ID
our “normal” Christmas Party in December 2021!
#UY336, https://www.kroger.com/communityrewards
Also, please stay tuned in to TV 1851 to learn the total
If you do not yet have a Kroger Plus card and shop
dollar amount donated this year and the name of our
at Kroger, these cards are available at the customer
winner of the “Guess the Amount Donated” contest!
service desk at any Kroger. (They don’t cost anything
Frosty says, “Thanks again for all the help on this
and save you money when scanned at the cash
2020 Christmas Fund Campaign!”
register.)
A Christmas Celebration
All are invited to tune into 1851 December 16 at 7:00
p.m. for a special Christmas musical celebration THANK
featuring pianist extraordinaire Tom White and our
CEO, Larry Monroe. Many are familiar with Tom White, YOU!
who has played many times in our dining room and
for special events. Tom will join Larry in a concert of
beloved secular and spiritual Christmas songs and
carols, consisting of a combination of featured
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Library News Though we do not have a firm date for when we will
launch this new channel, we are estimating that we
By Mary Ann Watrous: will have it up and running before the end of this year.
All the transition work will be handled by Touchtown
New Additions from Mid-October to Mid-November:
and there should be minimal interruption in service.
• Daisy Goodwin, Victoria The station number will remain 1851.
• John Grisham, A Time for Mercy (New) Stay tuned!
• Catherine Ryan Hyde, Take Me With You, Say
Goodbye for Now, Heaven Adjacent Operation Christmas Child a
• Debbie Macomber, Any Dream Will Do Success!
• Susan Orlean, The Library Book
Despite Covid-19 interfering with CVM resident
• Jodi Picoult, The Book of Two Ways (New) participation, we were able to pack and donate over
• Nora Roberts, Hideaway 100 boxes! Over 178 million children in more than 150
• Nicholas Sparks, The Return (New) countries will have received an Operation Christmas
Child shoebox. The project delivers not only the
Mason Public Library Outreach, Friday, December 4, joy of what, for many kids, is their first gift ever, but
11:00 a.m. also gives them a tangible expression of God’s love.
Special thanks to our Memory Care Guardian Center
New 1851, Coming Soon! residents, Garden Apartment residents, Trudie Pringle
and Janet McNamara, (pictured) who helped pack the
By Lizz Stephens
boxes as well as numerous donations provided from
One of CVM’s main forms of communication is our CVM residents, family members and employees.
local TV station, 1851. Unfortunately, the company
that supports 1851 no longer exists so we cannot
make improvements or enhancements to the system.
In addition, staff that utilizes the system reports
that the software is cumbersome. We explored
other providers and have found one that will fit our
communities’ needs called Touchtown.
Touchtown specializes in senior living technology.
They have over 20 years’ experience and many of our
local competitors use them as the provider for their
community TV station. Touchtown will provide us with
a more modern looking station catered to our staff
and community needs.
With Touchtown, our staff will be able to access the
system remotely giving them more ease of making
updates. There will also be a wide variety of attractive
slide options that can even be customized to match
our branding. It will allow us to schedule movies to
play and most excitingly, we can stream live content
from a phone, camera or laptop offering flexibility to
broadcast events in locations other than the Chapel.
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Old St. Nick
When I was a little kid and Christmas was near, there was always talk of Old St. Nicholas. I was surprised when
other children were talking about Santa Claus coming to visit them. My grandma knew everything, so I asked
her about this Santa Claus. She told me that the original Santa Claus did not inhabit an ice-home or a workshop
near the North Pole. His name was St. Nicholas and he lived in the Near East.
As I grew older, I discovered St. Nicholas was a fourth-century bishop of Myra in Turkey. It is said that he saved
three daughters of an impoverished family. He secretly slipped into their home at night and put a bag of gold in
each of the girl’s stockings as they dried by the fireplace.
As this legend grew over the years, the parents in Holland provided bulging sacks of presents to their children
via Sinte Claes on St. Nicholas Feast Day on December 6. Gradually this Feast Day was set to coincide with
Christmas. The Dutch brought Sinte Claes to the New World and the first mention of the trans-formed Santa
Claus appeared in the 1771 New York Gazette.
Until the 1880’s, people picture Santa as a slim, stately gentleman in bishop robes. Things changed when
Clement C. Moore wrote “A Visit from St. Nicholas”. It became one of the world’s most favorite poems,
describing the lovable character who became the personification of Christmas giving. This jolly old elf with
white beard, rosy cheeks, and a droll little mouth traveled over rooftops in a miniature sleigh with eight tiny
reindeer. As Clement C. Moore’s old “St. Nick said as he rode out of sight: “Happy Christmas to all, and to all a
good night.”
By Dick Biedinger
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You Never Know BY RUTH ODOR,
GARDEN APARTMENT
RESIDENT
THE BEST THI N G A B O UT C HR ISTMA S
Try as I may, I cannot recapture the anticipation, popping corn, and carols sung by the church choir. The
the excitement, the joy that I used to experience at joy on the faces of my children on Christmas morning.
Christmas time. I put up some decorations (maybe a
tree), bake some cookies (if I find the energy), turn on Suddenly one day I decided that I was wrong; the best
some carols. But it’s not there! thing about Christmas is not remembering. The best
thing about Christmas is knowing. Knowing that long
Then I decided that the best thing about Christmas is ago in a land faraway a woman held a newborn Baby
remembering. So I set out on that journey. in her arms. The Incarnation! God had come to earth!
Knowing that shepherds on a hillside saw a glorious
My first doll!--sitting under the Christmas tree-- a sight and heard a wondrous message; that they hurried
large baby doll dressed in a pink organdy dress and to Bethlehem and knelt before that Baby, wrapped in
wearing a pink organdy bonnet! My treasure for swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. The Messiah
years. Then there was the Christmas when I was only had come! One day He would feed a hungry multitude.
three or four and said my first Christmas “piece” at One day He would cause a blind man to see. One day
the church program. I was rewarded with a piece of He would die on a cross for the sins of all the world.
chocolate candy. For years my brother, father, and I
We know that the pictures on the Christmas card are
dragged our sled over snow-covered hillsides looking of an event that really happened; that the words of the
for the perfect Christmas tree. Of course when we carols tell a story that is true; that the drama enacted
got it home, it was too tall for the living room. But on the church platform depicts a moment in history.
my father sawed off enough for it to fit. How can I We know!
forget the smells of Christmas--pine from the tree,
spices from the cookies and cakes baking in the The best thing about Christmas is knowing Immanuel!
kitchen. The sounds of someone wrapping presents,
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