Month: January 2020

*Thank You! You are much appreciated!*
**Dick Linde & Ernie St. George have been keeping the walks and steps clear
of snow.
**Kevin Behm & Jason Rengo brought over a skid-steer and pushed back the
snowbanks that were trying to take over the back parking lot.

*Sunday, Jan. 26:* Worship at 10:30, followed by our Annual Meeting and
Church Potluck

*Monday, Jan. 27: *Bible Study at 6 pm. Join Pastor Paul as we explore this
week’s scripture in the Lectionary and bring into our lives and faith.
Questions encouraged.

*Tuesday, Jan. 28: *AA meets in Fellowship Hall, 7 pm

*Wednesday, Jan. 29: “Grill’s On” Community Potluck: *Who says we can’t
share a potluck twice a week? It’s winter, after all! Join us between 5 and
7 as we share a meal together. (No choir this eve, so it’s time to play!)
Friends and strangers welcome! As always, bring what you have, or just
bring yourself. There is always enough!

*Thursday, Jan. 30: *AA meets in Fellowship Hall, 7 pm

*Saturday, Feb. 1: *Morgan Park Community Movie at Good Fellowship Club,
featuring “Flubber” (starring Robin Williams), 5:30-7:30 pm. Popcorn will
be served. Come early to make your own “flubber.”

*Mark Your Calendar:*
**Monday, Feb. 10: Baking Day – Doughnuts & Cookies. All are welcome to
come and help make doughnuts and bake Valentine cookies. Watch for more
details.

*From Pastor Paul: Toward Sunday*
*”Immediately they left their nets and followed him.” *~Matthew 4:20
Heading to the store after work today, and sitting here wondering what
I should make for the Church Potluck on Sunday. Do I lean on an old
standard “comfort food” that I might be assured most people would love? Or
do I go to the fringes and bring something new and creative that folks
haven’t tried before? What’cha have a taste for? Familiar or new?
If you’re like me, it changes. Some days the comfort of the familiar
nourishes me, and some days I sojourn out toward new and exciting things. I
think my faith varies the same way. I have my old standbys – my prayers and
my walks and quiet thoughtful time, a familiar hymn rolling through my
head, a familiar text or scripture that always feels just right, and I
thank God for all of these gifts. But admittedly, I sometimes get rather
used to the view, and every once in a while have to reach out past my
horizons. A new study or commentary, a sermon or lecture from a different
perspective, a conversation with somebody that doesn’t see the world the
same way that I do. I thank God for those moments too – especially those
moments that send me spinning off in a new direction, or pull the rug out
from under theological constructs I previously thought to be solid and
immutable.
And I thank God that I’m not the first. I think of the brothers Peter
and Andrew, or the brothers Zebedee (Doo-Dah!), and the scripture preceding
this ramble. “Immediately they left”…and on they went into the story we
share every week here at church. What if they said: “y’know, it’s been a
long day, and it’s kind of chilly out. I think I’ll just head home, curl up
on the couch, and watch my favorite show.” Or what if, more guarded, they
said: “If I had a quarter for every slick-talking preacher that tried to
nudge me this way or that! I’m gonna stick with what I know!”
We have a meeting this Sunday to lift up and prayerfully consider the
health, well-being, and future of this ministry we share. On the potluck
table, we’ll have some familiar dishes and comfort foods, but we’ll also
have a few new and different things inviting you to expand your horizons.
In those folding chairs around those tables, we’ll have people across the
spectrum the same. Some are seeking growth and change, new and different.
Some are seeking comfort and familiarity. All are holy, in the time and
place they nourish and empower us. We give thanks for the familiar things
that have nourished us. We give thanks that the Zebedee brothers left the
familiar and followed Jesus. What’cha have a taste for?
Keep in Touch!
Pastor Paul

Gracious thanks to all that shared their time and resources for the giving and receiving of Christmas kindness. Mitten Tree. Blanket Drive. Toy Drive, Cookies. Choir. Cleaning. Decorating. The list goes on and on! Together we made Christmas beautiful for our church, and for more people than most of us will ever know.

Sunday, Jan. 5: Worship at 10:30, celebrating Epiphany. Looking forward to returning after a week cancelled due to weather. Fellowship downstairs to follow.

Monday, Jan. 6: Bible Study – 6 pm: Back after a long hiatus! Join Pastor Paul as we explore Sunday’s scripture. Let it be a fresh breath for our faith!

Tuesday, Jan. 7:  AA meets in Fellowship Hall.

Wednesday, Jan. 8: “Grill’s On!” Community Picnic: After two weeks off, let’s get back together! Join us between 5 and 7 as we share a meal together. As always, bring what you have, or just bring yourself. There is always enough! (Hey! Invite a friend!)

Thursday, Jan. 9:  AA meets in Fellowship Hall.

Looking Ahead

**Tuesday, Jan. 14: Church council meets at 7 pm, Trustees & Diaconate 6 pm. (Note the change back to Tuesday meetings – and start time moved up 1/2 hour.)

**NEW MEMBERS/RENEWAL OF COVENANT: Interested in becoming a member? (Or interested in renewing your covenant with the church after a period of absence?) Join us on Monday, January 13, 6 pm. **We’ll welcome new members and celebrate renewal on Sunday, January 19.

From Pastor Paul: Toward Sunday“Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and rejoice….”  ~Isaiah 60:5

Slowly, the Christmas trinkets are packed away, and set back into storage. Or maybe you’re a “get it done” sort of person, and you’re well ahead of me. Anyway, it is safe to say the season of Christmas is over.And yes, the days are getting longer, but the gray and the rain seem to lay over me like a wet dishcloth. Blah.   Then I start the new year with a heaping helping of the flu. I begin the New Year not wanting to (and hardly able to) get out of bed. Double Blah.And then I write the words from the Prophet Isaiah above: “Be radiant!” “Thrill and rejoice!” The punctuation is mine, but it seems to fit, no? I mean, radiance and rejoicing do not seem to be the kind of words you can say when you’ve got a case of the “double blahs”…yet that is what God asks of us, here as the bright red flare of Christmas fades. God asks: “Did you get it? Do you know what all of this means?”   It’s a lovingly worthy challenge for us. Now that the tree is down, can we retain the wonder and excitement? When even the most nimble of us are forced to waddle more than we walk on these icy sidewalks, do we retain a spring in our step for the season? When we’ve quite honestly had our share of socialization and would rather just curl up alone, do we retain our spirit of welcome and goodwill? Of sharing and gift-giving and fellowship and song?   You know, for a fellow just coming out of a heaping helping of the “double blahs”, I’m rather thankful for the nudge. I’m thankful for the reminder that God is not seasonal, no matter how much I (or any of us) may try to make God so. Yeah…that’s a great reminder to myself: God doesn’t pulse brighter in one season than another.   So how do we remain filled with that bright hot Holy Spirit? Need a hand? I do. And lending a hand to nurture one another’s faith is at the core of what we do as church, right? Let’s see what we can do together. Thanks for being there.

Keep in Touch!

Pastor Paul