From the Pastor’s Desk. . . Rev. Paula M. Gustafson
Peter Pan Tinkerbelle
September 2008
From the Pastor:
“Joy
to the world! The Lord is come; Let earth receive her King:”
The
celebration of Advent and then Christmas is a time for joy and a time for
receiving the gift of the Christ child into our lives. Although the language is
non-inclusive, most people like to sing the old carols as they were written.
There are incredible and wonderful memories of Christmas pasts for most people:
the Advent wreath that your family may prepare and remember throughout that
season, the time for candle-light Christmas Eve service you attend with your
family, and the excitement of children.
We
know Advent is that time to prepare for the Christ child. It is a time to
watch and be aware of the peace, hope, love, joy and the Light of the world.
We continue to know how important those gifts are in the midst of a world at
war, an economy in crisis, and children who have no health insurance. A sense of
new life comes with the child who reminds us who we are and to whom we belong.
We prepare our hearts, our homes and our church for this. It is a gift
that has been given and we simply remember who this infant child was and is even
today. It is with God’s love that we know Jesus is with us and we can
celebrate on Christmas Day, this wonderful event. The Christmas Eve
candlelight service is at 7 p.m. Bring a friend or a family member who needs a
blessing and a reminder of the gift of new birth.
For
some people, Christmas is a reminder of those for whom they grieve or those they
love that are overseas in the military. People may also find Christmas difficult
if a family has recently been divided and people become depressed with the
shorter days during winter months. Knowing there are folks like this
provides us with a ministry of care in a unique way. We have had an
ecumenical and community-wide Blue Christmas service for the last four years.
It is a service for lament and remembering. There will be special music and a
meditation. This year we will add a time following the service for
fellowship in the Narthex. This service is on December 23 at 7 p.m., if
you know someone who would appreciate this service, invite them to join us and
come with them.
The
other events for this season include the Children’s Christmas program on
December 21st during worship, caroling to our shut-ins on the 21st
at 1:45 pm and a Christmas carol and hymn sing during the worship service on
December 28th. Our mission projects include a trip to the
Pastor Paula
.