Pastor Joel's Mid-Week Reminders for 12/27/2011
This entry was posted on 12/28/2011 6:43 AM and is filed under Mid-Week Reminders.
'But Mary
treasured all these words and pondered them in her
heart.' St Luke 2.18
Christmas
trees are stripped of their decorations. The nativity
scenes are
packed away again. The singing angels, running shepherds,
exotic wise
men are all relegated to the past as people say goodbye to
relatives
and Christmas celebrations are tucked into the mind as a
memory.
Mary holds the newborn Jesus in her arms and ponders all
that has
happened to her. The mysterious words of the angel
regarding her
pregnancy, the message of the shepherds in which they speak
of choruses
of angels, the visit of the Magi. That word 'ponders' means
Mary is
simply trying to figure it all out, put it all together,
make sense of
all that's taken place.
Much in our lives doesn't make apparent sense when we're in
the midst
of experiencing events. We need time to ponder what they
mean. We're
no different than Mary in our deeply-seated drive to
discover meaning
as we live our lives. Consciously or unconsciously, our
brain is at
work making connections, forming patterns, pulling isolated
thoughts
together into a coherent whole.
As we approach the new year, we may want to be purposeful
about asking
the old catechism question, "What does this mean?" One
thing is for
sure: we'll never figure it all out, which is OK, because
the Spirit of
God is also at work in our hearts and minds, kindling our
trust in God
and gently moving us toward the One in whom all life finds
its ultimate
meaning: Jesus Christ. Happy New Year!!
THANK
YOU,
THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!! Diane and I
are just
overwhelmed by your love and kindness towards us once again
this
Christmas. So many cards and expressions of your love. We
feel truly
privileged to be a part of your lives and we are humbled by
your
generosity. We love you all, and may God bless you and
keep you in
his love in 2012!!
NO
SUNDAY
SCHOOL OR BIBLE CLASSES ON JANUARY 1.
We resume of
regular schedule on January 8.
FRIDAY MORNING BIBLE CLASS
will be on Christmas break
for the rest of December,
resuming on January 6.
REMINDER: All
Officers, Ministry
Team chairpersons, and committee chairpersons need to
submit their 2011
Annual Reports by the end of December.
Please email them to
Pat
Haneberg, who will edit and publish them for our Jan 15
Annual
Congregational Meeting.
CHRISTMAS FOLLOW UP:
Many
thanks to all who participated in our outreach to the
poor and needy in
our community. 37 boxes of
food
were distributed to families through the Salvation Army
as a result of
your generosity and care. Cards and gifts were mailed
to members of
the military serving overseas.
The Giving Tree gifts
you gave
went to a locally needy family. Operation
Burrito
fed about 200 homeless people on Christmas
Day
morning. Sunday School
offerings
were designated for Palestinian Christian children in
Bethlehem,
Israel. Food items brought to church each Sunday were
distributed by Marion Polk
Food Share to the hungry
and unemployed. A caroling
group
visited homebound members of our congregation with gifts
of song and
encouragement. And through it all, the love of Jesus
was shared and
multiplied!
DATES
AND EVENTS TO NOTE ~
Sunday,
Jan 1............10am, Worship
led
by our Praise Band
Sunday,
Jan.
15.........Annual
Congregational
Meeting with lunch
Sunday,
Jan 29..........1pm,
Disaster
Preparedness follow up
training
**Please
see
the weekly bulletin, Spirit Call, and
master
calendar for a complete listing of dates and events.
