Mid-Week Message - Christmas Edition!

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be always with you!

One week today is Christmas Eve!  (I just said that to Elaine in the next office, and her response was "Don't remind me - I still have 11 million things to do!") 'Tis the season of hustle and bustle, for sure!

I've talked about it before, but this season of Advent that we are in is a season of preparation, but the preparation is deeper than the hustle and bustle that we associate with December.  The preparation of Advent is more that just crossing off lists and making sure that all of the gifts have been purchased, and starting the Christmas dinner ahead of time so that everything lands on the table at the right time.  (And if I want to chastise myself:  the preparation of Advent is about more than getting all of the bulletins prepared and getting all of the sermons written and singing in ALL OF THE CHOIRS.)

Instead, Advent is about preparing our hearts and the world for Christ.  One of my favourite Advent songs is "Ready My Heart" and it begins:  "Ready my heart for the birth of Emmanuel / Ready my soul for the Prince of Peace. / Heap the straw of my life for his body to lie on / Light the candle of hope, let the Child come in."  (You can listen to Steve Bell sing it by clicking here. I've linked to a live recording that I like even more than the album version.)

This morning at bible study, we were reading the prophet Micah, which includes a beautiful vision of what God's reign will look like:  swords will be transformed into ploughshares; spears will be transformed into pruning hooks; nations will not rise up against nation; no one will learn the art of war any more. (Micah 4:3). (We also spent time looking at the most famous verse from Micah, 6:8 - "What does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God.")

Our conversation led us down the path of what that might mean and what it might look like, and how it is impossible for any human to do.  But we don't have to do it alone. The task is impossible by any amount of human effort; but when we trust that the Holy Spirit is working in us, and that the Holy Spirit is working in everyone else, that is when the impossible becomes possible.

And so our the preparation for Advent is the preparation of our hearts and our lives for this reign of God.  It is preparing our lives to be a place where God can dwell.  Advent is a season when we are reminded that we live in both the "now" and the "not yet" - we are in that in-between time between when Jesus has already come to the earth, and when Jesus will come again and reign over a perfected creation.

Which means that preparing our hearts is essential - allowing the Holy Spirit to work in our hearts so that we can participate in God's world, rather than fighting against it.

And so no matter what those 11 million things are on your to-do list for the next week, I invite you to add one more thing:  carve out some space to spend some time in prayer.  Light a candle if you like - either your advent candle(s) or another candle (battery operated if you have pets or children around!).  Slow down your breathing.  When you breathe in, think about breathing in peace; when you breathe out, think about breathing out anxiety or fear.  And as you sit, and as you slow down, invite the Holy Spirit to work in your heart and in your life.  Ask the Holy Spirit to transform your life into a place where Christ can dwell.

And once the Holy Spirit has transformed every human heart and life, then that reign of God that Micah was talking about will be our reality.

In terms of announcements for this week (the church's to-do list???) in chronological order:

• "What Did the Star See" - the Westfield United Church Choir's Christmas Concert is coming up tomorrow evening, Thursday December 18, at 7pm. Tickets are $30 at the door, or just show your ticket at the door if you subscribed to the full season. If you can only attend one concert this season, you will want it to be this one! I've been saying for several weeks now that Bertis has outdone himself in putting together the programme for this concert - guaranteed to lift your heart, and likely to put a tear in your eye too. (We had our dress rehearsal on Monday evening, and are sounding fabulous!)

• Caroling Around a Bonfire - this year will be at Westfield United (either in the parking lot or in the clearing behind the church that the Scouts made, depending on how slippery things are on Saturday) on Saturday evening (Nov. 20) at 7pm. Dress for the weather (we don't want any frozen toes!), but our hearts and our faces will be warmed by the fire and by the singing.

• Worship on Sunday will be at 9:15 at Long Reach and 11:15 at Westfield and on Facebook Live. This week we will light our 4th Advent Candle, a candle of Peace, and we will hear the story of one of the magi who traveled to Bethlehem. The scripture will be Matthew 2:1-12, a reading that we normally hear in January at Epiphany.

• Blue Christmas Service - Sunday December 21 at 7pm at Westfield United Church. As I say each year, this isn't a service that is designed to make you feel sad - instead, it is a service where it is a safe space to take off any (metaphorical) mask and let yourself feel whatever it is that you are feeling at this time of year.  This year, it will be a Taizé-style service, weaving together scripture and silence and simple songs that are repeated over and over again until our song becomes our prayer.

• Christmas Eve - 4pm at Summerville; 6pm at Long Reach; 8pm at Westfield. (Last year, we were snowed out for 2 of our 3 services - fingers crossed that we have a clear day/evening this year!)

• Christmas Day - 10am at Westfield for a simple, joy-filled gathering of our church family to celebrate Jesus's birthday! (Feel free to wear your PJs to this one!)

• Sunday December 28 Potluck Lunch - after worship (9:15 at Summerville and 11:15 at Westfield), there is going to be a community potluck at St. Matthew's Church (45 Dollard Drive) with all of the local churches participating. (This is a great opportunity to sample the beloved potluck dishes that our sister churches in the village get to enjoy!) The worship service will be shorter than usual that day to give everyone time to get down the road, so bring your favourite potluck dish, and enjoy some community times with our wider church family!

• Thursday January 1 - I will be hosting my annual New Year's Day Levee again this year, so you are invited to drop by my home between 2 and 4 on New Year's Day to enjoy a mug of warm cider with your church family. (Address Redacted - message me if you need it!)

• Annual Reports - as 2025 draws to a close, committee chairs (and anyone else responsible for a report) are reminded that we are close to the time when you need to prepare your report for the annual report.  Elaine needs your reports no later than January 14 - you can email them to her at wuc@nb.sympatico.ca (Word documents preferred over pdf, to allow her to format the full report), or drop off a printed report to the office.

• 2025 Donations - the last day to make donations to the church that will be included in your 2025 receipt is December 31. Donations can be made by dropping them off in the offering plate on Sunday (or at the church office on other days). Westfield (westfielduc@gmail.com) and Long Reach (lructreasurer@gmail.com) are also able to receive e-transfers. And for Westfield, you can even donate through Canada Helps by clicking here!

• Vacation - I will be on vacation the week after Christmas (Dec. 26-31). If you need to reach a minister in that time, you can call Margaret Stackhouse at 506-xxx-xxxx and she will connect you with the minister who is covering.
  

Thank You Corner - this week's "thank you" goes out to the Westfield UCW - you are literal angels in our midst, bringing good news to the people you meet. Thank you for inviting me to be part of your Christmas Communion service last week, thank you to all of you for participating in that service, and thank you for your generous donations that you made last week to various organizations around Saint John. You are the hands and feet of Christ, and I am thankful for you.

(And a secondary thank-you to all of you for your generosity this season. We don't have the final numbers, but Bette tells me that Summerville has been very generous towards their Christmas family, and Judy told me that Westfield folks gave $550 to support families through Christmas Exchange! We'll have the final numbers in January.)

For a closing thought this week, I'm going to share with you a mini-playlist of some of my favourite seasonal songs.  I started up above with a link one of my favourite Advent songs, "Ready My Heart," but here are some more listening suggestions from me to you:

A song for the longest night:  "Bringing in the Light" by Gathering Sparks

A jazzed-up version of a classic:  "We Three Kings" by Pink Martini

A song to take your breath away:  "The Wexford Carol" by Alison Kraus and Yo-Yo Ma

A song re-imagined in a minor key:  "O Holy Night" by Ben Caplan

A cover of a CanCon Classic:  "Song for a Winter's Night" by Sarah McLachlan

A new take on the season:  "The Rebel Jesus" by Jackson Browne

And with that, I wish you blessings on these closing days of Advent, and a very merry Christmas!  (There isn't going to be a mid-week message next week or the week after - Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve - so you can watch for me popping up in your inbox again the first week of January!)

Blessings to you and yours, today and always!

Kate.

Rev. Kate Jones

Two Rivers Pastoral Charge

(506) 757-2201 (office)

(506) 343-1307 (mobile)

www.tworiverspastoralcharge.com

Pronouns:  she/her/hers

"Teacher, what is the greatest commandment in the law?"

Jesus replied, "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: "You must love your neighbour as you love yourself."

(Matthew 22:36-39)