God s Grace and Peace, Pastor Deanna

Transcription

1 THE PASTOR S PRESS It may only be November, but preparations for Christmas are already underway! Some may groan in despair while others shout for joy as we see the first Christmas decorations fill the aisles of our favorite stores. Even in the parish we are preparing for Christmas. The packed shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child are already coming in. And soon the youth and young adults will begin shopping and wrapping gifts for the Empty Stocking Fund. Our worship liturgy, on the other hand, will hold off on Christmas celebrations until December 24 th. When the culture around us is wrapping up their celebrations, we are just beginning to sing Christmas hymns and hear the texts surrounding the birth of Christ. So what do we do before the 24 th? We prepare in a very special way! We anticipate with hope the coming of Christ by participating in a season of waiting called Advent. One important part of Advent is the symbol of the Advent wreath that decorates our worship space. The Advent wreath has its roots in the pre-christian practices of northern Europe. People sought the return of the sun in the dark time of the year (at the winter solstice) by lighting candles and fires. As early as the Middle Ages, Christians used fire and light to represent Christ s coming into the world. Using this same symbolism, the Advent wreath developed a few centuries ago in Germany as a sign of the waiting and hopeful expectation of the return in glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. The wreath, a circle with no beginning nor ending, came to represent the eternal victory over death through Jesus Christ. The evergreens were a sign of the faithfulness of God to God s people, even in death, and the lighted candles were a reminder of the light of Christ brought into the world. I invite you to take some time this November to prepare for Advent by creating an Advent wreath for your home. As a family, or with friends and neighbors, gather some materials: candles, wood, greens, berries. You can make it as simple as four mismatched candles in a circle on the table, or as elaborate as a hand crafted wooden circle decorated with various items from nature. This home Advent wreath can be used during evening family devotions throughout the season as we take a few moments to slow down in the midst of a busy culture. Look for Advent devotional booklets to pick up at worship in the coming weeks. Tune back in to the newsletter article in December for guidance on how to have family devotional time during Advent. And bring your home Advent wreath to worship on December 1 st (the First Sunday of Advent) for a special blessing. God s Grace and Peace, Pastor Deanna

2 Commemoration Corner Søren Aabye Kierkegaard, teacher, died 1855 (Nov. 11 th ) Kierkegaard (KEER-keh-gore), a nineteenth-century Danish theologian whose writings reflect his Lutheran heritage, was the founder of modern existentialism. Though he was engaged to a woman he deeply loved, he ended the relationship because he believed he was called to search the hidden side of life. Many of his works were published under a variety of names, so that he could reply to arguments from his own previous works. Kierkegaard's work attacked the established church of his day its complacency, its tendency to intellectualize faith, and its desire to be accepted by polite society. Let us pray: Heavenly Father, shepherd of your people, we thank you for your servant Martin, who was faithful in the care and nurture of your flock; and we pray that, following his example and the teaching of his holy life, we may by your grace grow into the full stature of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. NEWS FROM OUR GARDEN ST. PETER LUTHERAN CHURCH, TOMS BROOK The community garden held its first gardening event on Saturday, September 28 th. Garden committee members, congregation members, Strasburg Agricultural teacher and students, and folks from the community gathered to prepare and plant our first ever winter garden! Three AG students from Strasburg and their teacher, Brian Fisher gave a demonstration while the students talked about how to assemble a cold frame. The agriculture classes at SHS had assembled three cold frames for us to use for our winter garden. Next Susie Wilburn, a community member and an organic gardener from Toms Brook, lead the group through the process of getting the boxes ready for planting. After the newspaper, manure, straw, dirt and compost were layered in the cold frames, the group planted the cold weather seeds. They planted radishes, carrots, spinach, mixed salad greens, garlic and mauch. ELECTION DAY MEAL! Members of St. Peter Lutheran Church will be serving meals to the public on Election Day, November 6. The door will open at 11:00 a.m. and remain open until 7:00 p.m. The menu will include soups, ham pot pie and chili with a choice of sandwiches, dessert and beverage. Mark your calendar FINE FOOD! and then join us for some Fill the Pew! The St. Matthew Council Tuesday night decided to have a Fill The Pew event from now through the end of November to collect non-perishable food items for the food panty. The object is to fill the front pew or pews with canned food for the needy. All donations are welcome. Join the community garden committee at their next meeting at St. Peter on 10 November. The meetings begin at 2:00p.m. The group will begin discussing raised beds and designs for the summer garden. The meetings are open to all. Oyster Dinners will be $14 and Chicken Dinners $10. They will start serving at 4:30. The whole Parish is invited. Oyster and Chicken Dinner November 2 nd St. Matthew will have their annual Oyster and Chicken Dinner.

3 ST. MATTHEW EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH SERVING THIS MONTH MIKE COOK/JOYCE HAMRICK CHARLES DYKE AMELIA MOWERY RITA STROSNIDER Organists Reader(s) Usher(s) Altar Guild NOVEMBER BIRTHDAYS & ANNIVERSARIES 2 Katie Keene 10 Frank Conner, Sr. 21 Tommy & Debbie Keeler 23 David Conner 28 Gary Richard

4

5 St Stephen Men s Breakfast WHEN: Sat. Nov 30 st from 7 to 10 am WHERE: St Stephen s Fellowship Hall FOOD: COST: Sausage, Scrapple, Sausage & Chipped Beef Gravy Fried Potatoes & Eggs Pancakes & Biscuits Free will offering BENEFIT: SS Building Fund Young Adults Calling all Youth and Young Adults! The parish Youth and Young Adult groups will team up to go shopping for the Empty Stocking Fund on Sunday, November 24th. We will meet at St. Peter and carpool to shop at 3pm. We will have a pizza dinner and package the gifts when we are finished shopping. Families with children younger than middle school are invited to attend with their children. This is a great opportunity to care for our neighbors in Shenandoah County. December Newsletter Deadline is FRIDAY, November 15. Please send all articles and information to Gloria Goeres at goeres@gmail.com. North Mountain Lutheran Parish