May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be always with you!
Have you got your Christmas decorations up yet? Have you started listening to Christmas music yet? Watched any Christmas movies this year? (My decorations are going up on Sunday evening; my Christmas playlist will be brought out of it's slumber on Sunday as well; but I confess to having watched a couple of Christmas movies in the past couple of weeks!)
What about the practical preparations for Christmas - Christmas shopping, planning your Christmas dinner, writing Christmas cards? (No shopping for me; I don't cook Christmas dinner; and I've purchased my cards and with a little good luck they will be written by the time the Canada Post strike resolves!)
As I mentioned in this year's Christmas letter, all four of our Advent Sundays are going to be focused on Mary's story - we'll begin this Sunday at the end of Jesus's life as Mary was there when he was crucified (the story picks up where we left off last Sunday) but then moves backwards in time, through the Annunciation, Mary's visit with Elizabeth, her prophetic song of praise, and finally with the birth of Jesus.
Because my imagination has been living in Mary's world as I've prepared these sermons, I've been thinking a lot about what she went through in those 9 months. To have been transformed in a blink of an eye from a young girl beginning to plan her marriage to all of a sudden carrying the son of God within her body. It must have been a whirlwind of a year, preparing to become a mother (and, once Joseph didn't call the wedding off, preparing to be married as well).
One of my favourite lines in the Christmas story as told by Luke is, "But Mary treasured all of these words, and pondered them in her heart." (Luke 2:19) She had so much to ponder - from divine messengers and shepherds to the everyday miracle of birth and new life.
This Advent, I invite you to make some time to slow down a little bit. Create a space in your imagination and ponder what it might have been like to welcome Jesus at Christmas. Maybe not as Mary welcomed Jesus - you don't have to go out and buy a car seat and diapers! But if Jesus - God-in-human-flesh - was going to be joining you for Christmas dinner this year, what preparations would you want to make? Is there anything in your heart or your life that you would want to prepare to welcome Jesus?
Advent is a season of waiting, and a season of counting down, but it's also a season of preparation (and not just preparing those gifts and that dinner) - it is a season where each year we can prepare our hearts so that we can truly welcome Jesus at Christmas, and the true miracle of God taking on human flesh and blood, and thereby making our flesh and blood holy.
For announcements this week:
Worship on Sunday will be at 9:15 at Summerville and 11:15 at Westfield and on Facebook Live. This is the first Sunday in Advent, and as I mentioned earlier, our Mary-Story will begin at the cross, reading John 19:18-30. All four our our Advent Sundays will a continuous story, as told by Mary - each Sunday is written so that it can stand alone, but if you want the full story, I encourage you to come each week to hear it. (I also see that our Decorating Elves have been busy at our churches - I can't wait to see what they come up with this year!)
Christmas Letters have all been dropped off at each of our churches. Because of the Canada Post strike, we won't be able to mail any that aren't picked up until after the strike resolves. This year, it is extra-important for us to hand-deliver as many as we are able to, so next time you are at the church, please have a look at the stack that is leftover and drop any off to friends or neighbours that you are able to. If you would like to download a pdf of the letter, you can do so by clicking here. (It doesn't have the fancy formatting and decoration that the printed version does; but the second page includes the December calendar of everything going on in the churches.
Advent Candle Fundraiser - as of yesterday, all of the candles have been sold - thank you Cindy! I hope that everyone who wanted a candle was able to get one this year; and I'm sure that she will be ordering more next year!
National Day for Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women - as we do every year, we hold a service of remembrance on December 6 where we lament gender-based violence and search for signs of hope. This service will be held at Long Reach United Church at 7pm, and everyone (of all genders) is invited to attend - gender-based violence isn't "just a women's problem."
UCW Bake Sale - the UCW are having their annual bake sale on Saturday December 7 from 9-12 or until they sell out. (And from past experience, they usually sell out long before 12, so if you want to do your Christmas baking by going to their bake sale, be sure to get there early!). You can see the poster by clicking here.
Westfield United Church Choir Concert - "Will You Come to the Manger: Songs for Advent and Christmas" - in last week's Mid-Week Message, I said that the poster would be coming soon, and it's here now! You can see it by clicking here. Mark your calendars for December 12 at 7pm as this is one concert you won't want to miss!
White Gift Sundays - we have boxes at the back of each of our three churches to collect donations for Hestia House, Coverdale, and Avenue B; and the boxes will be there until December 15. Each organization has given us their Wish List - you can read it by clicking here.
Moderator's Advent Message - this year's Advent message from the Moderator of the United Church of Canada, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Carmen Lansdowne was released this week. If you want to watch it, you can click here.
Ministry and Personnel Committee - Two Rivers Pastoral Charge, like every United Church in the country, has a Ministry and Personnel (M&P) Committee. They function a little bit like a "human resources committee with heart," acting as a liaison between the church employees (including the minister) and the congregation. We are blessed with a solid and supportive M&P committee, ably chaired by Bev Mosher. Whenever I have any concerns, I know that I can turn to them; and likewise, if anyone in the congregation has any concerns about the minister or other employees, they are there for you too. Bev prepared a brief information insert about their work as a committee - it will be a bulletin insert, but in case you aren't going to be at in-person church or would prefer an electronic copy of it, you can download it by clicking here.
Grand Bay-Westfield Age-Friendly Committee - some of you have probably heard from Dave Sheaves about this committee - this is an Advisory Committee of the Town council which supports the physical and social needs of people who are aging in our community. They have an e-mail database (that is kept confidential) for sending out monthly newsletters that include information about events and upcoming activities. If you are over 50 and would like to receive this information, you can contact Rick Adams, at radams@towngbw.ca (and before you yell at me that 50 isn't old, when Dave presented to our local Ministerial group and several of us revolted as we are closer to 50 than we would like to think, he made a very good point by saying that many people in their 50s are supporting elderly parents or other relatives who would also benefit from the information but aren't able to access it). And if serving the town on this committee might be of interest to you (here, the age is 18 or older!), there are several vacancies - either Dave or I can pass the application on to you. (And Peninsula peeps - if you would like to know what events and activities are going on in Grand Bay-Westfield, you are also welcome to contact Rick and ask to go on the mailing list - they don't ask for proof of residency for any of their programs!
And I think that's it for this week. There are certain seasons in the church calendar when the number of events and activities goes up; and we're coming in to one of those busy seasons now!
For a closing thought this week, I've shared Nadia Bolz-Weber's writing here before, and her sermon from this past Sunday (which was "Reign of Christ" or "Christ the King" Sunday) really resonated with me. And it filled me with a deep hope. If you want to read it too, you can click here.
Blessings to you and yours, today and always!
Kate.
Rev. Kate Jones
Two Rivers Pastoral Charge
(506) 757-2201 (office)
(506) 343-1307 (mobile)
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)
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