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Pastor’s Keyboard Clickings

A new year, you ask? That doesn’t begin until January, don’t rush things Pastor. It is true that on your calendar January 1st is the beginning of the year. The church, however, operates on a different set of seasons and dates. A new year begins for uswith Advent, with December 3rd being the first Sunday of Advent. So we change our paraments to
blue, a color of hope. This year we begin reading our gospel lessons from the book of Mark. Advent is a time to prepare for the major holy season of Christmas, when God sent His own Son to bring us an up close and personal understanding of who God is. It is through Jesus that we see how His will is to play out in human life, and what that plan of salvation entails. As always we add the Advent wreath to our worship setting so we keep track of our progress toward Christmas; as we watch for the Messiah. It is during Advent that we begin to understand the real reason for the season which is coming.

The gospel readings during these weeks remind us that no one knows the day or hour of the coming of the Lord. John the Baptist came to announce his first coming so that the people would get prepared but even with that proclamation not everyone wanted to listen. In the return of the Messiah, the event will be an even greater surprise but we need not fear, for we have the means for being ready, if we remain alert. So our worship will focus on these things for the first three weeks in December.

The 4th Sunday of Advent is on the 24th. Our 9 AM service will be led by our youth as they help us consider the Sound of the Bells. They will help us consider how the sound of various bells tells the story of God’s glory and the humble arrival of the babe of Bethlehem. It is a story that bears repeating again and again. We will be anticipating
that birth, as Mary did so many years ago.

At 7 PM on that day we will celebrate Christmas Eve with candlelight worship. We join together to hear that well-known story told by angels and shared by the shepherds. We will sing that especially loved carol of ‘Silent Night’ with our burning candles held high. Come and be with us.

On the 30th and the 31st we will complete our Christmas season as we recall Jesus’ presentation at the temple and Simeon’s faith.

COME LEARN WITH US

Sunday Zoom Bible Study December  3 & 17~~7:00 – 8:00 PM

Contact the office for the link and study materials

We often pay less attention to the second readings in our Sunday service, since they rarely contain stories like
the Gospel and Old Testament – and those epistle writers can seem to ramble on! In our Zoom Bible study, we
take the time for a deeper look at the second readings assigned for the coming Sundays, and hopefully
enhance our understanding of how they teach and support our faith. Join us for our informal discussions as we
share our questions and insights from these lessons based on a study outline you’ll have in advance.
Contact the office for the link and study materials

Women’s Bible Study: The women will meet Monday December 18th at 1:00 p.m. and use the Women of the ELCA’s
Gather magazine.

Men’s Bible Discussion The men meet at 1:00 PM on Mondays. New participants are always welcome.