Greetings

About the Book

These poems are the Christmas Greetings my husband and I shared with friends over the years. He died in 2001, but I have continued the tradition. These poems, in traditional metered and rhymed lines, usually end with a prayer for the New Year, similar to what might be included in a greeting card. Hence the title “Greetings!” Many friends have expressed appreciation for the poems and my colleagues in Ministry have found them usable and quotable in sermons. Many of the poems can be sung to familiar meters or hymn tunes.

About the Author

ABOUT THE POET Anna Lucinda Deppen Lutz was born near Dalmatia in Northumberland County, Pa. She is a graduate of Cedar Crest College, Allentown, PA and of the Moravian Theological Seminary, Bethlehem, PA. She was Ordained into the Christian Ministry in June of 1970 in First United Church of Christ, Quakertown, PA, where her husband, the Rev. Dr. Earlin H. Lutz was Senior Pastor. She served First Church as Minister of Christian Education (1970 to 1991) and as Co-Pastor until their retirement in 1994. Ann was an active member and President of the Quakertown Ministerium and was a member of the Pastoral Services Advisory Council for the Penn Foundation for Mental Health in Sellersville, PA. She served as Chairperson of the Christian Education Com- mittee of the Pennsylvania Southeast Conference of the United Church of Christ and was a leader of many Church and Church School Workshops. She served as Moderator of the Conference from 1978-80 and later chaired the Conference Division of Church and Ministry. In 1983 the Moravian Theological Seminary awarded her the John Hus Award for Excellence in Ministry. Ann as served on the Board of Trustees of Cedar Crest College, the Board of Govern-ors of Moravian Theological Seminary, the Board of Trustees of Lancaster Theological Seminary and the Board of Managers of the Wyncote Church Home for the Aged. Ann is a published author. Her poems have appeared in Ideals publications; sermons in Pulpit Digest, devotional materials in These Days and The Upper Room Disciplines. In 1995 Ann and husband retired and moved to Willow Valley Retirement in Lancaster, PA, where he died in 2001. They have two children and six grandchildren.