My brothers and sisters in Christ,
To be honest, music is a powerful stimulus for me. You can imagine it is a little busy at church. I’m not saying it is only me, but the church has been a buzz of activity. Christmas decorations are out. Christmas trees have been decorated. Quilts are boxed, ready to be sent out. Presents have been gathered and delivered to children in Foster Care. I am meeting Kay Raineri at Aldi to purchase food with the money collected for our holiday food baskets. On Sunday, cookies were decorated and delivered to our homebound. And I apologize if I forgot something, because I am sure I did.
With all the hustle and bustle, I sometimes forget what we are waiting for, Advent. It is not Jesus Christ’s birth. That has already happened. We are waiting for his return. One of the reasons why I have been preaching the Isaiah text. It is his vision of what the kingdom we are waiting for will look like.
Getting back to music. It was Sunday’s offering collection that stirred my heart. Bridget played O’ Come, O’ Come Emmanuel on the piano. It was beautiful. As I waited, I found myself singing the words to the song. First Christmas tune I have sung this season. I am so ready to sing more.
That is why I am looking forward to the next two weeks. We have the Musical Cantata next weekend. They will be singing at both services. I am very serious about inviting a friend or a family member. You do NOT want to miss this event. I am blessed to hear it twice.
Then, the following weekend, we will hear from our children. They will also sing and give glory to God. There will be no Saturday service on December 20. We say we want more children in our church. This is one of the ways we will be showing our love for them. I hope to see many grandmas and grandpas in the crowd. I also hope I see many of the Saturday crowd attending this event.
Here is the following schedule:
December Schedule
December 13 & 14 -Third Weekend of Advent – Musical Cantata, both Saturday and Sunday
December 20 & 21 – No Saturday Service. Children’s program on Sunday
Christmas Eve Service – 3:00 p.m. (New time)
December 27 & 28 – Normal worship schedule
I am sad to report the passing of Bernice Menne last week. She was the oldest member of our church, and we will miss her spirit. I made the comment, how many of us were greeted by Bernice. She was amazing. Next time you attended, she would call you by name. She always had a smile for you.
Not sure when we will have the service for her. I have been on the phone with her daughter, Cindy.
We decided to wait until the end of December before we have the service. It will be a celebration of Bernice’s spirit. If you want to share a memory about Bernice, feel free to contact me, and we will give you a spot to share it. You could also write it, and I can read it in front of the gathering, or if you can seal it in an envelope, I will make sure it gets to the family. We will NOT be passing the microphone. If you want to share a memory, I need to know ahead of time.
On Sunday, we celebrated the birthday of Charlotte Snead-McCall. Her birthday was last Friday. She is now the oldest member of our congregation, turning 99 years old. She is a member of our church council, which is a three-year commitment. Got to love that.
We would really like you to write a Christmas card to our homebound. Addresses can be found in the Messenger, or you can pick up a strip of addresses on the table where you pick up the bulletins. This act of kindness goes a long way.
Crossed marked and spirit sealed,
Pastor Tom
815-223-1144
Readings for Third Weekend of Advent– Weekend of December 13 & 14
Isaiah 35:1-10 Psalm 146:5-10 James 5:7-10 Matthew 11:2-11