Beloved of God,
 
A few housekeeping things you will want to take note of:

1. Currently, there have been no additional COVID positive tests in our congregation. Praise God that we have been defended from further sickness!
2. A final decision about what Sunday morning service will look like will be made by the council Friday evening.
3. Our Christmas Eve service will have a cap on how many of us can attend in compliance with state law regarding COVID safe practices for houses of worship. Please take a moment to fill out this survey to help us plan a service that meets those expectations as we gather for worship next Thursday.
   

 
I bought a copy of The Old Farmer’s Almanac. I couldn’t even begin to explain exactly why. I was just looking at wall calendars online, and the next thing I knew I had spent 5 bucks on a digital edition of a farmers almanac. I don’t even garden! There’s something of a running joke around the office that every once in while I’ll do or say something that makes more sense if I was born in 1896 rather than 1986. Perhaps it was that impulse. Who can say?
But I spent time with it and really have enjoyed it. There are seasonal weather predictions and fun little anecdotes. I really got enamored of the monthly calendar page. The calendar page in an almanac keeps track of things I’ve never heard of. For instance, there are three Ember Days this week.
I’d never heard of Ember Days, but on a little bit of investigation, it turns out they are a very old, mostly forgotten practice of prayer and fasting at the change of seasons. Their purpose has a few facets:

1. To praise God for the gift of a new season, and whatever goodness it may bring.
2. To give yourself three days for a spiritual checkup.
3. To pray for folks who are starting something new in this season, especially if it's a new ministry.

 
            I have to tell you, I kind of like this idea. I think we might all do well to mark some time for a spiritual checkup. Have we been keeping up with the practice of our discipleship? Has our sense of God’s presence and calling grown, or diminished since the fall? Where have we been complacent? Where have found God’s love and provision? Now might be a good time for all of us to think about all the ways God has been faithful to us through the past season, and prayerfully recommit to following Jesus through the winter. After all, discipleship is a daily endeavor. All of the synoptic gospels contain Jesus’ call to take up the cross and follow Him in discipleship. But Luke remembers a detail that Mark and Matthew don’t: we take up the cross daily. Perhaps these Ember Days are an opportunity to pause, pray, and reflect on what that daily engagement in our discipleship should look like through this winter.
 
Please join me in praying for:

• An end to this pandemic.
• In praise for defense and recovery from the pandemic in our congregation.
• Doctors, nurses, paramedics, PA’s and others working to keep us all well during this time.
• Those spending Christmas alone, or with an empty space at the table.
• Teachers and students as they work to finish up an unprecedented semester of challenge and study.
• Our leaders at the federal, state, and local level
• In praise for the new life being welcomed into the world by several of our families during this season.
• For Christians and churches around the world celebrating Christmas during this season of uncertainty.
• Faithfulness, day by day, season to season, in our discipleship.
• One another (please email [email protected] if you’d like to be added to our prayer list).

 
You are the salt of the earth; you are the light of the world,
 
Marshall

Beloved of God,
First off, I hope you are aware of our congregational meeting on December 20 immediately following the service. There will be opportunities in the coming week to get a look at the matters coming to the floor, and some meetings set up online to make sure you are able to join virtually if you need to. Stay tuned!
I love that the celebration of Advent is an act of rebellion against the busyness of the season. You cannot commit to the commercial hustle and bustle completely if you are also making time to meditate on what God has done in the coming of Christ, and looking forward to receiving Christ when He comes again. There isn’t enough space or time for both. Perhaps that forces a choice on us, and perhaps it's a choice we need to make anyway.
One of my readings today was from Psalm 126. I love Psalm 126. I think at this time of year it helps us look backward at all that God has done for us in the coming of Christ. It also reminds us to look forward; to note the fact that even if we go out weeping, we will return with songs of joy on our lips. The promise of Advent is that God has been willing to come among us to heal us and save us, and God will surely do it again. We practice receiving Christ at Christmas because it prepares our hearts to receive Him when he comes in power. It is an exercise in being ready. We prepare to sow the seeds of our faith even when we’re heartbroken, because we already know how our story ends.
Please join me this week in praying for:

• An end to this pandemic.
• Those who are sick right now, that they would find rest and healing.
• Doctors, nurses, paramedics, PA’s and other healthcare professionals working to keep us well.
• Those that are lonely, afraid and desperate in these hard days.
• Teachers and Students as they finish important end of term work.
• Those who are grieving.
• Our elected officials at the federal, state and local level.
• Those who will be traveling over the coming month.
• Those who will be going into Christmastide with a deeply felt absence.
• Those who are cold, and hungry, and have no place to rest.
• Each other (please email [email protected] if you’d like to be added to our prayer list).

You are the salt of the earth; you are the light of the world,


Marshall

Beloved of God,

    I want to remind you that if you have any interest in helping us secure a couple of Christmas trees for our Great Room, there is still some space among the hunting party. We’ll be heading out from the church parking lot as soon after 9:00am as we can manage, and hoping to come back with the trees in the early afternoon.
    If you would like to spend some time helping to festoon the Great Room on Saturday, there are times lots available for that as well. We would love your help, and one doesn’t often get the chance to festoon or even use “festoon” in a sentence.

Please use this link to sign up if you are interested in doing either, or email Vanessa or myself and we can put you down. Spots are limited, and time slots are in place to make sure we are keeping each other safe.

Our Psalm for Sunday (Ps 113) closes this way:
      7
           He raises the poor from the dust
               and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
     8
          he seats them with princes,
               with the princes of his people.
     9
          He settles the childless woman in her home
              as a happy mother of children.
              Praise the Lord.

It’s hard for me to read something like this and not think of some of the mothers in Scripture who receive God’s notice and action in special ways. But this time of year, I think of one in particular. I ran across this image several years ago, and I always like to revisit it during Advent and Christmas because it humanizes the story so well:

   

Advent is a time to ponder the reality of God’s presence with us. God has come among us not just physically, but as one of us in Christ. He indeed is a God who sets the poor among princes, and calls the childless into motherhood. These aren’t abstractions or nice ideas. These are things God has done and will do. What a wonderful thing to know that “God with us” really does mean God with us.

Please join me this week in praying for:

• An end to this pandemic.
• Those who have experienced loss or harm because of this terrible virus.
• Those who are dealing with sickness in a time when medical services are stressed.
• Doctors, nurses, PA’s, paramedics and other healthcare professionals as they work to keep all of us well.
• Those who are grieving.
• Leaders in positions of public trust at the federal, state, and local level.
• Those who are anxious, depressed, desperate or weary as we enter the Christmas season.
• God’s defense over those who are anticipating and celebrating the arrival of a child in these days.
• Brothers and sisters in Central America as they continue to recover from Hurricanes Eta and Iota.
• The safety of Christians throughout the world, preparing to celebrate Christmas at a difficult time.
• Those who approach the season having lost a job, or discouraged as they search for one.
• Those who are cold, and hungry, and can’t find a place to stay.
• Each other (please email [email protected] if you’d like to be added to our prayer list).

You are the salt of the earth; you are the light of the world,

Marshall