Newly elected and re-elected County officials will be sworn in at 10:00 a.m. on January 1 at the Bauer Exhibit Building at the County Fairgrounds. The public is invited to attend. The officials being sworn in are:

Mike Pfeifer, County Judge, Vern Lyssy, Commissioner Precinct #2, Rhonda Kokena, Treasurer, Anna Goodman, Clerk, Dan Heard, District Attorney, Alex Hernandez, Court-at Law Judge, Pamela Martin-Hartgrove, District Clerk, Hope Kurtz, Justice of the Peace #1, Calvin Anderle, Justice of the Peace #2, Tanya Dimak, Justice of the Peace # 3, Wesley Hunt, Justice of the Peace #4, and Nancy Pomykal, Justice of the Peace #5.

Ground Water District to be discussed

Tim Andruss of the Calhoun County Ground Water District will speak at the next meeting of the Calhoun County Republican Club on January 5, 2015, in the Community Room of the Grace Episcopal Church on Austin Street in Port Lavaca. A delicious home-cooked meal at a cost of $7.00 will be served at 5:00 p.m. and the meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. Reservations for the meal only are recommended by calling 281/898-6057.
-Rita Miller

If you missed the Service Club’s “Christmas At The Coast” luncheon this past December 5th., you really missed a fantastic event! Marie Hawes, President of the Service Club, opened the outstanding occasion by introducing the entertainment, The Port O’Connor School Students and their Christmas In Songs. The Students were great!

The Community Center was beautifully and very professionally decorated from the entrance, the beautiful Christmas Tree and the theme included all the table decorations. Bro. Donnie Martin, Pastor of First Baptist Church blessed the food and the meal began. First, there were Appetizers: oyster stew, boiled shrimp, crab balls and stuffed jalapenos, WOW! AND wow! A BIG THANK YOU to the Port O’Connor Service Club for an Outstanding Event, one we will not soon forget!

First Baptist Church celebrated their Annual Christmas Party and “Birthday Bash” this past Sunday evening and there was FUN GALORE. All those with Birthdays in October, November and December were treated to a loud, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Everyone was treated to an array of “finger foods”, desserts, coffee, and drinks. Then it was off to the “FUN TIME” with a “WHITE ELEPHANT” gift exchange. If you saw someone open a gift that you would like to have, you took it away from that person. Several of the gifts had multiple owners! It was really a relaxing and fun time.

The Church Choir will be presenting their Christmas Program in Song and Scripture on Sunday morning, December 21, 2014 in the 11:00 a.m. Worship Service, The Choir will be presenting “The Story Of Christmas”, directed by Raymond Grant.

The new Church Van took a group from the Church to visit the Cuero Christmas Lights this past Thursday Evening. There was a short stop for a quick meal and then off to view the lights.

The Annual “Lottie Moon” Christmas Offering for International Missions is underway this month. Our Church Goal is $2,000 to contribute to Missionaries around the World.

The Church will celebrate the Ordinance of “The Lord’s Supper” on Sunday Morning, December 28, during the morning Worship Service at 11:00 a.m.

Preparation is underway for the Big 20th. Anniversary “SWEETHEART BANQUET”. The Banquet will be Thursday, February 12, 2015 at 6:30 p.m. in the Port O’Connor Community Center. The theme this year is “FABULOUS FIFTIES”. Tickets will go on sale January 11, 2015 at $8.00 each.

See You In Church Sunday! Doyle Adams

We are living in busy days, but I believe that these are some of the most productive days of the year. We have helped distribute the 37 Thanksgiving Food Baskets for needy people in our community and are now getting prepared to distribute the Christmas Baskets on December 23. We will be adding additional “kid friendly” foods, since we know they will be out of school for two weeks.

Our November calendar was full, but we did get to take a day or two here and there to do some hunting. Truly, we do more “hosting” than “hunting”, but it is always good to see family and friends and spend a few hours with them.

Our December calendar of events includes many opportunities to keep Christ in Christmas. I have been preaching and will continue ministering on “Have A ‘Mary’ Christmas”! Jesus’ mother was an excellent example for us and I am spotlighting some events that we can be inspired by. You are welcome to come and hear this special series of messages.

Our Christmas Caroling and Hayride is on Wednesday, December 17. Having been gifted a “fire pit” by special friends of the Chapel, we are planning to include a fire over which we can roast hot dogs and marshmallows. It will be a special time!

Our Annual Christmas Dinner and Party will be at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, December 21. After special music and dinner, we will have our “white elephant” gift exchange in our traditional way. We truly create memories like the ones we have from past Christmas parties. Everyone is welcomed to attend and asked to bring a “white elephant gift” to enjoy an evening to remember.

On Christmas Eve, we will be having our “Come and Go” Christmas Family Communion. We will be at the Chapel from 6:00 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. for families to come as a group to celebrate Communion together. It has always been well received in this community and one does not have to attend the Chapel to participate – all are welcomed to remember what Jesus came to earth for!

On December 25, we trust that all will take time to celebrate Jesus’ Birthday! We often make that day about family, friends, and food, but please pause from the gift exchanges to remember Whose Birthday we are celebrating! “Jesus is the reason for this season!”

We will continue our regular schedule of services following Christmas. We offer Bible Study at 10:00 a.m. each Sunday with Morning Service following at 11:00. At 5:00 p.m., Pastor Joane is leading us in corporate prayer and all are welcomed. The Sunday evening service begins at 6:00 p.m. Fisherman’s Bible Institute (FBI) meets at the parsonage at 7:00 p.m. each Tuesday. We have a special time for our area youth on Fridays from 7-10 p.m. On Wednesdays we gather at 7:00 p.m. for a mid-week fill up to help us keep moving in the right direction.

Fisherman’s Chapel has been a part of this community for almost 20 years and continue to offer a Christ centered approach to living. We are an interdenominational congregation, which means if you love Jesus, you are a part of who we are, and have things for both youth and adults. You will find a warm welcome at the Chapel and are urged to, “Come, grow with us!”

Most people like the holidays. Thanksgiving turkey, Christmas cookies, New Year’s toasts all have special meaning with special memories attached. But for some people it is a difficult time of year. Maybe they lost someone special this past year, have health problems, feel all alone, have financial difficulty or have relationship issues that make celebration not so much fun. Understandably, they do not look forward to the holiday season. I have been there, and know just what that feels like. When I lost my husband and my daddy in two short days just a few weeks before the holidays, I thought I would never celebrate again. I wanted to hide away and wish the holidays gone. Finally I went to a local shelter kitchen where my sweet late husband had volunteered for years and served thanksgiving dressing. I still felt sad and lost and all alone, but my perspective changed. I realized my brand of sadness and suffering was not unique. All people suffer and experience loss and hurt. It is that which makes us human. As I served dressing and met some folks who were struggling as well, I felt less alone in my struggles. I cannot tell you the holidays were great, but I can tell you I saw them differently.

The very best way to deal with the holiday blues is to find a place where you can give to someone else. Serve a meal, bake cookies, help with gift wrapping, volunteer or give to someone who needs a little help this year. You don’t have to have extra money or lots of talent. You just have to be willing to do something considerate, be of service or go the extra mile for someone else. You have to be willing to look outside of yourself. When you give to someone else, you take the focus off of yourself. You think less about what you do not have or wish was different when you think about giving what you do have to someone else. It is hard to feel sad or hopeless when your focus is outside of yourself and fully on someone else, even just for a little while. Grief is normal and loss is a hard thing. We all experience hard times and life struggles, but just a little bit of selfless service will improve your outlook this holiday season. You might make a new friend, learn a new skill, find a new talent or interest, or develop a new memory
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It won’t solve the problems in life, but they will seem smaller and maybe feel more manageable when you take a break, reach out and touch another. If you need help finding a way to give contact a church or local service agency. Many people could use an extra hand, a caring friend or a listening ear during the holiday season. The best part of it is the greatest gift of giving is the gift you give yourself. You get a new perspective. I still needed time before I wanted to want to have celebrations and family holidays again, but that first year, looking past my own circle of despair allowed me to see that there was another sunrise and another sunset outside of the darkness of my holiday blues and eventually the sun would rise and the blues would lighten and I would feel better. Giving without expecting any return helped me find the truth in that. Try it yourself this holiday season.