The Victoria Christmas Pageant is presented annually to the community as a Christmas gift from the Music Ministry of Northside Baptist Church. The production, now in its 27th year, celebrates the traditional Christmas season as well as the sacred story of Christ’s life and resurrection. More than 9,000 people attended the pageant last year, and similar crowds are expected for the 11 presentations planned this season.

Nearly five hundred members of the congregation are involved in the cast, chorus, and production crew. The pageant features elaborate sets, detailed costumes, and live animals.

Dates for the Pageant are December 5-11 with performances at 6:30 and 8:15 p.m.

Call 578-1568 for ticket availability There is no charge. Tickets can be picked up at the church offices at 4100 N. Laurent or ordered on line at: www.nbcvictoria.org/pageant .

Like many of us, I would not be where I am today without the inspiration and guidance of childhood teachers and mentors.

Mr. Albert Kiecke taught journalism and photography at the high school I attended. He was also the sponsor/advisor for the school newspaper and yearbook.

He instilled in me a love of these subjects, and was instrumental in getting me my first job after graduation.

Thank you, Mr. Kiecke, and thanks to all of you teachers who impart the love of learning to our children.

Joyce Rhyne, Editor, Dolphin Talk

Albert H. Kiecke

Albert H. Kiecke, Born June 13, 1928, in Muellersville, near Brenham, Texas to the late, Bernadine Knoop Kiecke and Albert F. Kiecke. He was one of three children raised in a single parent family by his mother after his father passed away on October 28, 1929. (Mother passed away May 17, 1988).

He graduated from Brenham High School in 1945, received Associate of Arts from Blinn College in 1947, Bachelor of Arts from Sam Houston State Teachers College in 1957, and a Master of Education from the University of Houston in 1961. From 1943 to 1955 he worked in the composing room of the Brenham Banner-Press. Albert proudly served as a corporal in U.S. Army Signal Corps during the Korean Conflict. January 12, 1951- January 12, 1953.In August, 1957, he began a career with the Clear Creek School District that lasted until his retirement in November, 1988. He attended Faith Lutheran Church in Dickinson since 1957, where he served as an usher and on the church council.

He married Leona Ingram of La Marque on July 21, 1959, at Faith Lutheran Church in Dickinson; she died on February 22, 2003.

He is survived by his children, Dennis Dale and Deborah Kiecke of Cypress, Albert Lester and Denese Kiecke of League City, and Katherine Anne and Jerry Fackrell of Tyler; grandchildren, Julie Ann Kiecke, Amanda Rae Kiecke and Megan and Brock Birenfeld; brothers, Howard and Elverda Kiecke of Brenham, and Elroy and Jeanette Kiecke of Bellville; two cousins, Betty Jane Browning and Marion McCarty.

He enjoyed drinking coffee with his friends at “The Bank” and at Shipley’s Do-Nuts, the Thursday lunches with his retired colleagues from Clear Creek High School, and the Clear Creek Association of Retired Teachers. His favorite day was when his birthday fell on “Lucky Friday the 13th”.

Funeral services were held in his honor on Thursday, November 17, 2011 at Faith Lutheran Church in Dickinson. Interment was on Friday, November 18, 2011 at the Houston National Cemetery.

The annual Pearl Harbor Ceremony hosted by Battleship TEXAS and sponsored by the Texas Commandry of the Naval Order of the United States, will be held December 3 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the Battleship TEXAS State Historic Site, 3523 Highway 134 LaPorte, Texas.

The event commemorates the December 7, 1941 bombing of Pearl Harbor, bringing the U.S. into World War II. You are invited to join in paying respects to those whose sacrifices saved our freedom.

The San Jacinto Chapter Pearl Harbor Survivors Association will be featured in the ceremony. Wheelchair accessible on Main Deck only.

For information: (281) 479-2431

There is still time to help make some child’s Christmas merrier by participating in Port O’Connor’s Adopt An Angel Program. The deadline for participating is December 10. Paperwork can be picked up at POC Hardware. You will know the child’s age, gender, and sizes, but names are confidential. There is no need to purchase toys, as they are generously provided by the annual “Toy Run”.

A spending limit of $100 per child is recommended. If you would like to participate but feel that you cannot afford this amount by yourself, enlist a friend or two to split the cost, and share the fun of shopping and wrapping, along with the glow of knowing you have helped a child have a nice Christmas.

The wrapped gifts, discretely labeled with your child’s designated number, must be taken to POC Hardware by December 10. The store will keep the gifts until time for their delivery/pick-up. The employees at the hardware store are most gracious in helping to complete this project each year, and they have an alarm system which keeps everything safe.

If you want to participate but are unable to do the shopping, call Marie (983-2322 or 983-4764), Brenda (983-2272 or 920-2272), or you may let Wanda at the POC Hardware know. Santa’s elves will be glad to help.

Well, I guess we have all stepped on the scales since Thursday and realized Thanksgiving has passed and Christmas is on its way! There may still be some turkey and trimmings in the refrigerator and maybe some pumpkin pie around, but family and friends have gone and all that remains is the mess they left!

But, the question remains, did we stop – truly stop – and express our appreciation for the Lord’s blessings? Did we even pause the television football game or parade route to say “Thank you, Lord” for His bountiful provisions? Too many of us are like the nine cleansed lepers that we read about in the Bible in Luke 17. They were healed by the miraculous power of Jesus Christ, but were too involved with their own lives to return to give thanks!

We all see evidence of ingratitude everywhere we look. Often people get so wrapped up in doing the right thing that they forget the many gifts that they receive along the way. Most theologians would call that “legalism” and note that it removes much of the reason for thanksgiving in its call to performance!

We see ingratitude in the dishonoring of, and in the failure to honor those around us who have been instrumental in helping us to become the person we are. A few years ago I felt the Lord speak to me about Christians by saying, “If there is no good tidings for all people, there can be no joy.” As a result, I made several telephone calls to people who I had not talked to in years, just to say “thanks” for their contributions to my life. I talked to former Senior Pastors with whom I had served, former board members who had served me, and to many friends that I had left behind in my geographical moves. It is often correctly said, “Out of sight, out of mind”, but for the grateful, every effort will be made to never allow this to happen! Go, get your old phone books and make some phone calls – write some notes – or go visit somebody who has helped you along your pathway!

We see thanklessness in the attitude that expects the world to provide everything we want without any obligation from us! One thing that really “sticks in my craw” is for people who want all kinds of gifts and feel no need to even say, “Thanks!” But, even then, a simple “thanks” can have a greater impact with actions behind those words. It is a Biblical principle to give a tithe of our increase, but the principle also should be extended to deeds. Imagine the blessings to the community if each of the basket recipients would show appreciation by some appropriate action!

The cure for ingratitude is the recognition of our personal unworthiness. This comes easy for a person who has been a great sinner, but it is hard for people who do not recognize they have done wrong in this life. Once our self-deceiving image of what we are is shattered and we look to God for mercy, then perhaps we will begin to be grateful.

We all must make a conscious effort to discover the source of our blessings. We are the recipients of the creative contributions of the entire human race. Our lives are entwined in innumerable ways with those of all people living today, and what those people are and what those people do somehow touches our lives.

If ingratitude is to be cured in our personal lives, we must discover the blessings of giving. Gratitude grows as we see what our own giving can mean to others. One who learns to give learns to be grateful! This is why I applaud the efforts of the Scout leaders who are taking the Scouts out to gather canned goods to give away. May others seek ways of teaching the younger ones how and make it possible for them to have something to give.

There are a number of benefits of a grateful heart. Gratitude will make one more joyful and less critical. Envy is the root of criticism. A thankful person can and will rejoice in the success of others, and will try to help those who seem to always fail, succeed. Gratitude will motivate us toward service!

Gratitude will add a profound sense of meaning to our existence. We will begin to understand, in part, why God has put us here; why God put others here; and how important the ingredient of gratitude is in both the earthly and eternal happiness of mankind.

Thanksgiving was a time to stop, take a long, deep breath and say, “Thank you, Lord!” If you were too busy getting on with life that you failed to be grateful, then take time right now. Never find yourself like the nine ungrateful lepers, and always find yourself like the one who returned to give thanks!