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