Our Place Holy

 Well, it’s the Winter Solstice (yay, longer days ahead!), and somehow we once again survived the end of the world. And God is STILL speaking, even if the Mayans aren’t! Things are in a flurry here in the office, where Cathy and Jessie have been working hard to print bulletins for FOUR different services (the 23^rd, 30^th, and 2 Christmas Eve services). And our bulletin angels came in to stuff them so that we can come and worship. Many others have worked hard to make this a special season in the church – THANK YOU to all of you who have so faithfully and cheerfully offered your time and gifts!

I want to extend a special thank you to Monica Bosworth-Viscuso and all those who helped make the Advent Garden a sacred and beautiful experience for children and their families. As we hold in our hearts all those who are grieving losses this holiday season, especially those who have lost children, we also cherish and celebrate the gift of babies and children who bless our lives with wonder and joy.

Whether you will be with us in body or in spirit, I am thankful for your presence this Christmastide. In the flurry of activity and preparations, I hope you can take some time to breathe and recognize the wonder and holiness of this present moment. I’ll leave you with this poem from one of my favorite poets and writers, Wendell Berry:

Remembering that it happened once,

We cannot turn away the thought,

As we go out, cold, to our barns

Toward the long night’s end, that we

Ourselves are living in the world

It happened in when it first happened,

That we ourselves, opening a stall

(A latch thrown open countless times

Before), might find them breathing there,

Foreknown: the Child bedded in straw,

The mother kneeling over Him,

The husband standing in belief

He scarcely can believe, in light

That lights them from no source we see,

An April morning’s light, the air

Around them joyful as a choir.

We stand with one hand on the door,

Looking into another world

That is this world, the pale daylight

Coming just as before, our chores

To do, the cattle all awake,

Our own white frozen breath hanging

In front of us; and we are here

As we have never been before,

Sighted as not before, our place

Holy, although we knew it not.

(from A Timbered Choir by Wendell Berry)

Blessings, peace, and the light of Christ to you,

Manda

Note: I will be on vacation from December 26, returning to the office on January 7. If you have an emergency pastoral need, please call the church office for the phone number for the Rev. Wayne Gustafson, who will be providing emergency care if needed.

 

Texts For This Week:  
Psalms           Psalm 116
Gospels         John 1:1-14

Second Sunday of Advent

I hope you were able to get out and enjoy some of the lovely weather earlier this week, and that these colder days are giving you ample opportunity to snuggle up with loved ones - both people and animals! This Sunday, warm your spirit by joining us for worship, where the choir will sing the first part of the Messiah. Stay for the all-church meeting to hear more from the church council, and come back in the afternoon for Christmas Crafts and the Pasta Supper.

During December, our special offering goes to the Christmas Fund for the Veterans of the Cross and the Emergency Fund. This fund helps retired ministers, and it also goes to help others who are currently serving churches. You might be surprised to learn that I have been a beneficiary of this fund. When I was in seminary, I had some unexpected medical costs that I just couldn't cover. The South Central Conference Minister applied to the Christmas Fund on my behalf, and I was given a generous gift that helped to pay these costs. I am extremely grateful for this gift, and I know that when I give to this fund, it goes to those who truly have need. Here is some information about how the funds are used (from pbucc.org):

The generous gifts of UCC congregations and individuals to the Christmas Fund enabled the Pension Boards’ Ministerial Assistance program to provide the following gifts:

Some form of Ministerial Assistance will be provided to approximately 1,600 persons during 2012.

• Christmas Gift checks were sent to approximately 900 persons in 2011. Of those who received checks, 20 are over 100 years of age. The oldest person is 107. One person has received Christmas checks continuously since 1976. The 900 gifts total $270,000. 
  
  
• Monthly pension supplementation is being provided to 394 persons. These gifts total $109,447.17 per month. A significant part of annual total of $1,255,885.20 comes from the Christmas Fund. (2012 data) 
  
  
• Quarterly health premium supplementation is being provided to 226 families, totaling $130,456.75 per quarter. All of the funding for health premium supplementation is derived from the Christmas Fund. (2012 Data)
   
• Emergency Grants totaling $61,684.23 were provided to 40 individuals and families from January 1 through November 30, 2012.
  

(These statistics reflect annualized projections as of November 30, 2012. The numbers of persons receiving assistance and the totals of assistance payments fluctuate on a monthly basis.)

As you consider all the worthy causes to which you can contribute this season, I hope you'll include the Christmas Fund in your giving plans. You can place a check in the Sunday offering or give it to the church office (write "Christmas Fund" in the memo line), or you can donate online by clicking here. 

Whether or not you can make a financial gift, please take some time to pray for those who have given so much of themselves to serve the church.  

Blessings and peace of the season to you... 

Manda

Texts For This Week:  
Gospels                   Luke 1:26-38