Commun ty Matters Rolla Presbyterian Manor
December 2017
‘In those days’ In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (Luke 2:1, NIV).
By Allen Teal, chaplain
Luke, the writer of the third account of the life of Christ, used a phrase that is still familiar today to introduce the birth of Jesus—“In those days.” While Luke only intended to tell us that around the same time that angels announced two miraculous births, the emperor called for a census. However, a greater message is delivered by these three simple words. “Those days” were bringing about a new day. Those were the days when the calendar was being divided to make room for the birth of a savior. Those days marked the winding down of the Old Testament law so a new day of grace could emerge. It was a transition from the thundering violence of Mount Sinai to the time when faith in Jesus Christ would become the pathway to salvation. “Those days” marked the opening of the curtain covering God’s Mercy Seat. The curtain in the temple hiding the Mercy Seat will not be ripped DAYS, continued on page 2
Joelle and Ceagan Freeland visit last year with Santa and Mrs. Claus at the Children’s Party.
Appreciating the ‘real’ Santa All children know that Santa has many helpers. For many Rolla-area children, there is only one “real” Santa and Mrs. Claus—Bob and Dorette Fitez. For nearly 10 years, Bob and Dorette have been the stars of the annual Children’s Christmas Party at Rolla Presbyterian Manor. All of the children of staff members are invited to the event, where they each receive a gift from Santa. Marketing Director Joelle Freeland first hired the Fitezes to play the jolly old elf and his wife. She knew them from church and thought they bore more than a passing resemblance to the traditional pictures of Santa. “The Fitezes are so real-looking that several of the children, even older ones, will only come see him and declare he is the real Santa,” Joelle said. “One year I had a mother ask me to have Santa talk to their son about being nicer to his little sister. This only made Bob Fitez as Santa more SANTA, continued on page 2