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What is Your Favorite Christmas Carol?

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By Lorie Ham

two pictures of Christmas ornaments
Photo by Margaret Mendel

Christmas season is upon us again! While this one will be a bit different due to the pandemic, there are still many things we can enjoy on our own, and virtually together. This time of year, many enjoy listening to and singing Christmas carols, and while there may not be caroling in person this year, you can always carol via Zoom!

According to Wikipedia, the first known Christmas hymns can be traced to 4th-century Rome. The publication of Christmas music books in the 19th century helped to widen the popular appeal of carols. I think we all have our favorites!

“My favorite Christmas carol is ‘Hark the Herald Angels Sing’,” says Mennonite Insurance Services employee Stephanie Heier. “When we are sitting in church, and everyone is singing the parts, it has such a beautiful tone. And the words talk about Jesus bringing peace and reconciling sinners, that’s the whole gospel wrapped up. And it’s just beautiful.”

Board Chair Jim Brandt’s favorite is “Silent Night.” “That’s how Jesus came. No big fanfare–other than angels shaking up the shepherds. Just a quiet birth in some obscure location.”

Staff member Michelle Heinrichs loves almost all Christmas carols, but her all-time favorite would be “Mary Did You Know?” “It is a rather new Christmas song. It tells a story of Jesus’ mother Mary and the profound idea that she is carrying and giving birth to the future King of the World, the Christ child. As a mother of a son, who is special, but far from perfect, I can only imagine the idea of being Mother to Jesus Christ, the King.”

Michelle’s family doesn’t normally go out caroling, but she has Christmas music on much of December and finds herself singing along. “We will sing in whatever church settings we will be given the blessing to safely meet in. But, we will be grateful for our health this year and look forward to gatherings next year. Singing on Zoom is a scary endeavor in my experience for those on the receiving end of the music, with the exception of organized choirs.”

General Manager Jerry Linscheid’s favorite carol to sing is “Angels We Have Heard On High,” because the bass part of the refrain is fun, though they have not had much luck singing together over Zoom. “What I have seen done well is for a person (or several) to sing the different parts of a song and then merge the recordings together, so one person is singing multiple parts. That takes time and can’t be done on the fly. The best compromise our church has come up with for singing during a virtual worship service is for one person to sing the melody and the rest of us sing along muted.”

Board member and Phoenix pastor Al Whaley says “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer” is NOT his favorite Christmas song. He prefers “What Child Is This?” “Because it focuses on Jesus and demonstrates God’s love for the world.”

Please share with us on our Facebook page what your favorite Christmas carol is, and how you will be enjoying it this year. Have a very Merry Christmas!

Huntington Lake Volunteer Fire Department Loses Station in the Creek Fire

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By Lorie Ham

This year’s Creek Fire near Shaver Lake, California has caused a lot of damage. As of November 23, the fire had burned 379,895 acres. One thing lost in this fire was one of the Huntington Lake Volunteer Fire Department’s fire stations. That fire department helped save many structures insured by Mennonite Insurance and we are very thankful to them for their assistance, and sorry for their loss.

a fire burning up a building

Brother Christopher Donnelly has been the chief of that department for 16 years, and a volunteer with them for 22. According to Brother Donnelly, the Huntington Lake Volunteer Fire Department was established in 1993. “We currently have 13 members, all save one are EMT’s, have graduated from a fire academy, and are fully certified both in wild land and structural firefighting. During the summer, we staff our first-out station 24/7 and average one 911 call per day. Most of our calls are for medical assistance–most years that’s about 87% of our total call volume.”

While few people actually live at Huntington Lake, summers are very busy. “Fresno County estimated [that during] one regatta weekend (when the sailboat competitions are held) 14,000 people were visiting Huntington in the two church camps, three scout camps, two private camps, the multiple forest service camp grounds and private cabins and condos,” says Brother Donnelly. The Mennonite Camp Keola is at the western most end of the lake. 

The Huntington Lake Fire Department was very involved in fighting the Creek fire and was instrumental in helping to save camp Keola. Their fire pre-planning for Keola included control lines, burn-outs and back fires, all of which worked together to save the camp. “We put out many spot fires that blew over the control lines in and around Keola that could have burned down the camp. Although I am extremely proud of the work our firefighters did, it should be clear that we were part of a much larger effort involving many brave and hard working women and men.”

While most of the buildings at Huntington did not burn, according to Brother Donnelly, 74 cabins were completely destroyed. Some of the lost cabins have been in the same family for over 100 years and many didn’t have insurance so they will not be able to rebuild. “One young mother told me as I was helping her to load her car, after ordering her to evacuate, ‘my great grandfather built the cabin in 1913 and I can remember my grandmother telling me that one of her earliest memories was collecting pine cones around that cabin … I wonder if my grandchildren will be able to do that?’ Her cabin burned to the ground 12 hours later!”

The fire station’s own loss happened while they were fighting fires in other parts of the lake. Sadly, the buildings were not insured. “Our ‘first out’ fire station was completely destroyed. We had accommodations for three, a two-bay apparatus building, a shop and storage.”

While waiting for the fire station to be rebuilt, they have a second firehouse on the east end of the lake that has become their main response station for the time being. The need to replace the buildings is urgent so they can continue to provide 911 services to the community when people begin to return to the area in the spring. “We of course need everything that goes into a building; furniture, appliances, water heaters, forced air furnaces … on and on … but first I need a building!”

If you would like to help the station rebuild, you can donate on their website. If you have concerns about your own fire insurance, Mennonite Insurance is ready to answer any questions you might have 559-638-2327.

Being Thankful In the Midst of Crisis

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By Lorie Ham

2020 has been a difficult year. The pandemic, wildfires, financial difficulties—at times it can be overwhelming. However, despite all of that, most of us have at least one thing to be thankful for—probably more.

One thing we can be thankful for are those who have stepped up during this time–not only those on the front lines. The entertainment community has been amazing, providing free online entertainment for those of us stuck at home–streaming conventions, online concerts, plays, and even Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard on Star Trek the Next Generation) read a sonnet a day on Facebook! Those who can sew have been making and donating masks to essential workers, people have been delivering food to the elderly, and so much more.

A few Mennonite Insurance employees and board members wanted to share some of the things they are thankful for this year:

“I am grateful for my step-children and step-grandchildren (although, we don’t use the word ‘step’) because they have accepted me as a dad and grandpaw,” shares Board Chair Jim Brandt.

“I am excited and grateful that Julia is coming home Friday after a month and a half in the hospital and convalescent hospital,” says board member Dennis Langhofer whose wife Julia fell and broke her pelvis.

Staff member Dalia Jiminez is grateful for the support of her family and coworkers while she was going through radiation. “And the great staff at Community Cancer Institute Clovis for all their hard work and caring of every patient.”

“I am grateful for my faith in God,” shares staff member Yolanda Hernández. “This year has been challenging, not only due to the pandemic, but personally challenging. I can honestly say that without my faith in Him, I would not have been able to deal with a lot of personal things in my life that are still ongoing to some degree. Even with our churches being closed and no personal contact with our religious leaders, church friends, and church gatherings in general, it has allowed me to feel even more grateful in knowing that my faith in God is constant and strong.”

General Manager Jerry Linscheid is grateful for some stability in his life right now. “Covid has changed a lot at work and at home. It is a blessing to be able to work from home, especially when we were experiencing a shut down. Our extended family hasn’t gotten together in person in a long time. However, we have connected through video conferencing. That allows some of the more distant family members to participate. So, while there is great turmoil in our country in many areas, I’m thankful for a few small eddies in the current where the water seems calm.”

As we approach Thanksgiving, what are you thankful for? We would love it if you would share some of the things you are thankful for on our Facebook page. If you need some inspiration to get you started, the website Lifehack has a great list of 60 things to be thankful for not just this year, but every day.

An Alternative to Your Typical Halloween

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By Lorie Lewis Ham

The Halloween season is upon us once again. Many people love the scary side of the holiday, but some prefer a gentler, happier version. A lot of churches provide an alternative for kids with some sort of festival where they still get to dress up, but with no scary costumes or events allowed. Instead of vampires and werewolves, you have princesses and bunnies. More pretty lights, instead of dark and scary decorations.

Many Mennonite Brethren Churches have gone all out with these lighter events, seeing it also as an opportunity to reach out to the community. The Reedley Mennonite Brethren Church has been a part of a large event since 1998. Not only are these events a lighter more carnival type atmosphere, but they also provide a safer alternative to families than going house to house trick or treating.

The Reedley MB carnival started out as a joint venture with the First Baptist Church in town. They call their event the Fall Family Fun Night. “Initially it was intended to be an event teaming up with other Reedley churches,” states Mike Schellenberg, Pastor of Discipleship & Outreach at the Reedley MB. “Over the years it has become more of an RMBC event as other churches have started up their own church events.”

Mike says that they realized Halloween could be a very dark, scary, and unsafe evening for the community and they wanted to bring the Light of Jesus to a very dark day for their city, especially the neighbors right around the church. “We have hundreds attend from the community and RMBC. We try really hard to keep it affordable and fun. All the games and inflatables are free! The only items that cost are food.”

The church members volunteer to serve in the booths, make food, etc. and they collect candy from the church members during the month of October. Everyone who participates in the games gets free candy, win or lose. Through the years, the food available has included pizza, tri tip sandwiches, fajita burrito, Frito boats, nachos, cotton candy, kettle corn, and pumpkin pie.

Each year they also have a live band that plays all styles of Christian music. “Last year we were blessed to have the Cruising for Jesus band and many of their beautiful cars,” continued Mike.

“We also want to be intentional about sharing the love of Jesus. We have a designated group from RMBC that walks around handing out Bibles and offering to pray for anyone that would like it. We have a prayer booth and a special kids booth with a children’s interactive kids story that leads to the plan of salvation. We have kids every year pray to receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Over the years, God has used the event to build relationships with individuals from the community and break down walls.”

As for what they may be doing this year, Mike says they have been talking to the city and other churches trying to sort that out. “Whatever we do it will definitely look different this year. Some of the ideas we are discussing are taking the FFFN downtown to the park, or merchants on G Street, or partnering up with Cruising for Jesus at their outdoor location on Dinuba Ave. But nothing has been decided yet.” 

If you are among those who prefer your Halloween to be something gentler and lighter, most towns do have other options available. To learn what might be going on in your town this year, be sure to check in with your city and local churches. Even if your Halloween means dressing up and staying home this year, hopefully, next year things will be back to normal.  

We would love to see your photos of what churches in your area do for Halloween. Be sure to share with us on our Facebook Page.

Pumpkins and Apples

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By Lorie Lewis Ham

a hand holding an apple

Who doesn’t love pumpkins and apples? With fall upon us, it is a time of year when people probably think more about them than any other time. Whether it is pumpkin pies and pumpkin spiced lattes, carving a pumpkin for Halloween, caramel apples, or apple pies for the holidays. However, why not try something different this fall. If you do a search online, you can find all sorts of ideas!

The Smart Money Mama’s website has 12 different ideas for apples including pies, peanut butter apple slices, a chicken Waldorf salad (with apples), apple butter and much more! The Sustainable Food Trust has even more ideas, such as drying or pureeing them, pickling, juicing and baking them. Kitchn has 35 different recipes involving apples that you can try out this fall. You can even do crafts with apples! Red Ted Art has 27 craft ideas using apples.

Now on to pumpkins—it just isn’t fall without pumpkin pies and pumpkin spiced lattes! Country Living Magazine has a list of 60+ recipes to make with pumpkins, including pumpkin soups, pastas, cheesecake, scones, pies, pancakes and so much more. On Christina Cucina’s website, you can learn how to cook a whole pumpkin whether you want to cook, roast, or bake it. If you are looking for pumpkin crafts, The Pioneer Woman has a list of 25 pumpkin crafts to get your home ready for fall.

If you are like me, and one of your favorite things in the fall is a pumpkin spiced latte, you don’t need to drive through Starbucks to get one. You can find many recipes online to make your own, which is cheaper, and you don’t have to deal with the drive through line.

I don’t know about you, but I am more than ready for fall and I can’t wait to try out all of these fun and delicious ideas with pumpkins and apples! We would love to see your photos and recipes of what you do with apples and pumpkins this fall. Be sure to share with us on our Facebook Page.

Isolation During COVID-19

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By Lorie Ham

This has been a difficult year not only because of the fear of getting COVID-19, but the isolation has been very difficult for some as well. Many have been lucky enough to be isolated with family members, and some are now back at work so may interact with people there, however, for a large number of the elderly it has been especially hard, whether they live on their own or in a retirement community.

My mother in law has a third-floor apartment in a retirement community and until very recently hasn’t been able to leave that apartment since the first lockdown–now they are allowing short, scheduled outside visits. Her physical needs have been attended to and she has her dog, but it has been hard for her. Not being internet savvy, she hasn’t been able to take advantage of video calls, but she has at least been able to talk on the phone. My mother is in another retirement community but her apartment is on the ground floor so we have been able to chat with her outside with sufficient distance and masks after the initial full lockdown was lifted, as well as doing video calls.

Mennonite Aid Insurance Manager Jerry Linscheid has been trying to do what he can for his father who also resides in a retirement community. His father had just lost his wife in November so hadn’t really adjusted yet to being alone when Covid hit. “This has been a big change on top of a big change. The rules in place are designed to keep COVID at bay, but that translates into little or no contact with people. It seems really tragic that when people need visits and hugs, that is not possible now and may not be for months to come.”

For his father, not being one who has embraced technology either, most contact has been through phone calls—Jerry calls him every day. The only times his father has left the building have been to visit the doctor. However, he does get exercise by walking the hallways and the stairs of the 3-story building with a mask on, at times when he feels he is least likely to run into anyone.

Retirement communities are doing all they can to help the people who live there. Caitlin Gipson, Marketing Consultant at Sierra View Homes in Reedley, CA, shared some of the things they are doing to combat loneliness in their residents. More info can be found on their website.

  • Daily check-in chats with apartment residents when delivering meals
  • Visits from our Chaplain for prayer/connection
  • Hallway exercise classes
  • Individual enrichment activities: adult coloring, word searches, crosswords, writing, drawing, painting
  • Playing games with our residents (dominoes, tic-tac-toe, hangman, chess, checkers)
  • Walks to enjoy the sunshine
  • Zoom/Facetime with families
  • Zoom/Facetime visits with doctors (whenever necessary)
  • Picking flowers
  • Manicures
  • Custom music headsets as part of our Music Project  
  • Interactions with pets

Palm Village Executive Director Jim Higbee shared that they are doing many of the same things for their residents. Palm Village is also located in Reedley. “Our Activities team and Social Services team have really been amazing through all of this. They have assisted residents with Zoom calls, Facetime/Duo calls, celebrating birthdays in an extra special way, morning wheel chair strolls around the campus, physically distanced small group activities and most importantly, daily interaction, conversation, and reassurance.”

Residents can leave their rooms to see other residents and are encouraged to wear masks when leaving their rooms. They have also been having virtual religious services streamed through their closed circuit channel. At the very end of June, there was guidance from the state health department regarding resuming visitation with strict guidelines. “We began having outdoor visits in early July under the new guidelines.”

While this isolation has impacted the mental health and well-being of Palm Village residents, Higbee feels they have fared much better overall than they initially feared. “Especially as this has gone on much longer than anyone initially anticipated. Our residents have done quite well and all the credit goes to our staff.” 

Higbee stated that they are also appreciative of all the support and understanding they have received from families and residents, as well as the larger community. “Without all of the prayers and support, we would not be doing as well as we are.”

Many seniors and others who live on their own don’t have this type of support available to them, but there are ways for them to cope with the isolation. They too can take advantage of video calls or phone calls to family and friends. There are also places that have free or discounted food delivery services for those who can’t drive to the grocery store and can’t afford regular delivery costs. Some internet companies are providing discounted internet during this time. You can find other tips on how to survive the isolation by searching online. If you have a family member or friend in this situation, consider calling them more often and doing video calls where possible. If we work together, we can survive this difficult time.