The following in an excerpt from the book, Illuminate: An Advent Experience, which I have been reading as I journey on the road to Bethlehem preparing for Christmas.  It is part of a devotional based on Mark 1: 1-8.

Instead of having angels, shepherds, or wise men prepare us for Christmas, the gospel of Mark gives us a weather—beaten prophet wearing camel-hair clothes and a leather belt.  This desert prophet, known as John the Baptizer, is the first person Mark wants us to meet as he gets ready to tell us the good news.  Mark spends no time at all on the stories of the first Christmas.  There is simply this announcement:  “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”  The rugged baptizing preacher is the messenger, and his message is about Christ, the embodiment of this good news.  Jesus is the Son of God, and the story that unfolds is his story.

Mark does not get to Jesus right away because he wants us to pay attention to John’s preaching.  Standing knee deep in the turbid waters of the Jordan River, John calls out to the crowds gathered on its banks, “Get ready!  Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.”  John’s message is an urgent call to make our relationship with God our first priority.  We are to do this by confessing our sing and turning in repentance toward God so that we are ready when the Messiah shows up.  We need to be listening.  The prophetic word asks us to abandon our frantic holiday preparations – the gift-buying frenzy at malls and department stores and other activities that so drain people during the days leading up to Christmas that the day itself finds them spiritually empty and emotionally spent.  Instead we are to listen to the voice crying in the wilderness.

As we take these next steps along the road toward Bethlehem, we stop long enough at the Jordan to hear from John the Baptist.  The scriptures that illuminate the mysteries of

Christmas urge us to find this place of confession and repentance.  As we stand there in the desert heat on the riverbank with the crowd, we are anxiously looking around for the One about whom John is talking.  Advent warns us that he is not only coming again but is indeed already among us.  Jesus   So we listen to this desert prophet, the Baptizer, the most unlikely of Christmas characters.  We get on with the business of straightening things up in our lives and rise from the waters of our baptism of repentance at peace with God – only to discover that the One who is coming is already here.

So, how are you getting ready for Christmas?  How is your journey to Bethlehem going?

See you Sunday

Pastor Donna

(the following was adapted from an article by Jim Hawkins on Ministry Matters.)

The season is changing. As many of us are cleaning up from Thanksgiving dinner, shoppers will be looking for bargains in stores that can’t wait for the traditional Black Friday start to the Christmas shopping season. Malls and downtowns around the country are already decked out with holiday decorations. Christmas music proclaiming this the most wonderful time of the year can be heard on public-address systems and radios. Santa Claus is listening to eager children share their wish lists. Holiday-themed movies are in theaters, and Christmas specials are on television.

The church is changing seasons as well. We have now moved on from Ordinary Time. This week is the first Sunday of Advent, the season of preparation for Christmas. The worship will look different, with an Advent wreath, paraments in purple, and a Chrismon tree. The choir is practicing music for upcoming Christmas worship services. Scripture lessons proclaim God’s promise of a Messiah. The season’s activities convey hope and joy.

Hope and joy in the midst of gloom?  Many of us both inside and outside the church still find the economy and the economic outlook gloomy.  Many still hunger and lack the basics of life.  Too many face the prospect of another Christmas with despair and desperation.  How can we speak of hope and joy?

When we look at the world around us, we recognize that although the reign of God has already begun with Jesus’ first coming, that reign is not yet fully realized here on earth. We live in a time of “already” but “not yet.” While we can catch glimpses of the reign of God, there is still much in our world that is not as it should be. During Advent, we remember Jesus’ promise of his future coming, also known as the Second Coming, when the reign of God will come in its fullness.

As we remember that we are living in a time of “already” but “not yet,” we also remember that as we wait for Jesus’ future coming, we do not wait idly. Christians are to live as though the reign of God were already here in its fullness. We are to live by the values of God’s reign. After all, God is our potter. When God molds us, as a potter shapes clay, we are transformed. In short, we can follow Jesus, loving God with all that we are and all that we have and loving our neighbor as we love ourselves. When we live hope-filled lives, we proclaim that hope with our words and our actions. In fact, we may find that one of the ways God brings hope to the world is through us.

Christians are a people of hope, even in a time of widespread despair. We know that no matter how bleak the world around us may seem, God is tearing open the heavens and coming to us. We hope for more than an economic recovery and an end to partisan bickering. Even when the unemployed find work and our political leaders work together, we continue to live in a broken world. The Christian hope is that Jesus Christ was born and will come again—now as well as in the fullness of God’s reign—to transform our individual lives and our world.

Here’s wishing you a hopeful Advent,

Pastor Donna

“As we move toward commitment Sunday on November 20, I want to share with you a daily reading from Bishop Robert Schnase’s book, Practicing Extravagant Generosity:  Daily Readings on the Grace of Giving.

It is through giving of ourselves as God has given to us that we help the body of Christ flourish.  Offering our material resources to God is a fundamental activity that is so critical to the church’s mission that failure to perform it in an exemplary way leads to the decline of the church.  Churches that nourish proportional giving and tithing among their members thrive.  They accomplish great things for Christ, offer robust and confident ministry, and they prosper for the purposes of Christ and make a difference in the lives of people.

Every sanctuary and chapel in which we have worshipped, every church organ that has lifted our spirits, every pew where we have sat, every Communion rail where we have knelt, every hymnal from which we have sung, every praise band or choir that has touched our hearts, every church classroom where we have gathered with our friends, every church kitchen that has prepared our meals, every church van that has taken us to camp, on a mission trip, or to a meeting, every church cabin where we have slept – all are the fruit of someone’s extravagant generosity.

We have been the recipients of grace upon grace.  We are the heirs, the beneficiaries of those who came before us who were touched by the generosity of Christ enough to give graciously so that we could experience the truth of Christ for ourselves.  We owe the same to generations to come.  We have worshipped in sanctuaries that we did not build, so to us falls the privilege of building sanctuaries where we shall never worship.

People who practice extravagant generosity pray for their congregations to flourish in the ministry of Christ for children, youth, adults, members, and strangers near and far. They serve the church, offering their best efforts.  They push the church to offer bold and vital ministries that transform the world, relieving suffering, deepening justice, encouraging love.  And they give – regularly, generously, sacrificially, faithfully, and humbly.

Extravagant Generosity is not just about the church’s need to receive, but about the Christian’s need to give.  Generosity is an essential quality of spiritual maturity and growth.  The practice of extravagant generosity changes churches.”

Will you help change our church?  We want to be more outward reaching and inviting.  We want to continue our ministries with children and youth.  We want to keep singing new music and having vital worship.  We want to make a difference in the lives of our church members and in the lives of those who live in our community and our neighborhood.

We need all of you to give as generously as you can.  Please give from your heart – for your love of God and your church.

In Christ,

 Pastor Donna

Thanksgiving is fast approaching and so is the time to provide food for those who can’t get out and get it for themselves. That is where the youth are going to help! We will be providing a Thanksgiving dinner to the shut-ins of our church and delivering it on Wednesday, November 23rd beginning about 11:00 am.

We need as many youth on that day as possible to help deliver the meals. Remember, shut-ins love to see a youthful, beautiful smiling face bringing them a meal that is nutritious and delicious to let them know that they are remembered and loved and that the Church is truly blessed to have them.

Please come and help on the 23rd!

The menu for the meal will consist of ham, dressing, mashed potatoes, a vegetable medley, roll and a fruit dessert.

Parents, please have your youth come and help with this very important event.

Our project for next month will be the Cookie Wonderland. More details and information to come soon.

Thanks,

Nanette

It seems hard to believe that it is November 1st already!  Time sure does fly by really, really fast!  Before you know it, it will be Christmas time.  But before we skip to the Christmas holidays, we must remember to stop and give thanks to God for our many, many blessings which He provides to us on a daily basis.  Thanksgiving is also a time of remembering - remembering whose we are and who we live our lives for in the service to others that we provide all year long.  We are a family that prays together, worships together, eats together and joins with one another in a time of fellowship.  Let’s remember this Thanksgiving holiday to especially give thanks for our fellow church members.  Some we know and some we don’t know.  As you give thanks for those you don’t know, pray that you will make time to get to know those you don’t.  Prayer can do marvelous things such as getting people to know one another.  Learn their names and where they live.  Give thanks that they chose to come here to church.  Praise God for their witness.  Give THANKS!!

The youth will be doing just that either around Thanksgiving or Christmas when we choose to provide a dinner (with Erin’s help, of course!) for the shut-ins.  They are oft times overlooked because they cannot attend church at the building anymore.  Please do not forget these fellow church members in your prayers of thanksgiving.  They are the ones that have gone before to strengthen and grow the church to what it is today.  Won’t you help us provide a dinner of thanks for them?  Look for more info. on this to come.

Likewise, on Christmas, the youth will be adopting a family to provide for who otherwise would not be able to provide toys or food for their children.  Look for more info. on this in the future as well.

Cookie Wonderland will be coming up the second week of December as well.  Please keep this in mind and be getting ready for those wonderful cookie ideas that always show up!

Thank you so much for supporting your wonderful youth!  They are truly a blessing to me and to all!!

See ya Sunday, Nanette

We all know what generosity is, don’t we?  It is an aspect of character that we recognize in others and long to have ourselves.  Its opposite is selfishness, self-centeredness, and greed.  Bishop Robert Schnase, in his book Practicing Extravagant Generosity, writes, “No stories from Scripture tell of people living the God-related spiritual life while fostering a greedy attitude.  Generosity extends beyond merely the use of money, although it most definitely includes that.  There are generous spirits; generous souls; people who are generous with their time, with their teaching, with their love.”  Generosity flows from the heart – first from God’s hear into ours, and then from our hearts into the world.

Schnase also tells the story of a part-time custodian at a downtown congregation who taking out the trash when he saw a homeless man in the alley beside the church.  He put down the garbage, pulled out his wallet, and gave the man a few dollars along with some kind words.  The pastor, who was leaving the church at the time and saw what had happened, was surprised and humbled by the custodian’s unsolicited generosity.  In contrast to the custodian’s spontaneous generosity, the staff had spent hours trying to come up with policies and procedures for relating to the homeless population.  Schnase writes, “The pastor asked the custodian why he gave the money and pressed him about whether he thought the homeless person might misuse the money for alcohol or drugs.  ‘I always do what I can,’ the janitor answered.  ‘I give them a little money and say, God bless you, because I figure that they are some mother’s son, some father’s child, and so I give them something.  What they do with the money – well, they have to answer to God about that.  I have to answer to God about what I do with mine.’”

Our scripture reading for this Sunday will be Matthew 22:34-40.  In this passage Jesus answers a question about which in the greatest commandment.  Jesus answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.”  This is the greatest and first commandment.  And a second is like it:  ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

When we know and love God, we naturally respond to the needs of others with loving generosity.  On Sunday, November 20, you will have the opportunity to show your love of God by pledging to be generous in your giving to this church.  Your generous giving will enable us to continue the ministries we offer here, as well as, offer some new one.  We can continue to buy curriculum for kids and youth; we can continue to hold VBS each summer; we can continue to reach out to the children and families who join us each Wednesday for food and conversation.  We can continue to worship each Sunday and enjoy the music ministry of the Praise Band and Chancel Choir.  We can continue paying salaries and utility bills.  We can still offer Palm Sunday Easter egg hunts and brunches and Christmas Eve candlelight services.

My dream is that we don’t have to cut the budget for next year.  Instead I would like to see us expand the budget and include more outreach ministries to the community.  There are so many needs in the community that we could be addressing; so many people in the community we could be blessing and helping.  But to do this, we need generous people to pledge more to the church so that we can be the church God calls us to be.

Please prayerfully consider what you can give to the church in 2012 so that others may be blessed by your and the church.  You will be blessed indeed.

In Christ, Pastor Donna