Holy Trinity United Methodist Church Orleans Houston, Texas Phone: Fax:

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1 Holy Trinity United Methodist Church Orleans Houston, Texas Phone: Fax: Church Website: Conference Website: The Epistle Rev. Meg Edmondson, Pastor Volume 13 Issue 11 We will be and make all people disciples of Jesus Christ. November 28, 2010 O Come, O Come, Emmanuel Advent is upon us and we are living into the new Christian year. This is a wondrous time of year, especially as we find ourselves in the already and the not yet. We are called to prepare our hearts and minds for the birth of a Savior in the form of a baby during the four Sundays of Advent leading up to Christmas. The church season we are in now the first of the Christian year is Advent. Advent is unfamiliar to many of us, but it can be described as a season of anticipation. We anticipate something that has already happened, the birth of Jesus. And we anticipate the return of Jesus as Lord. (Referring to the oddness of anticipating something that has already happened, Fred Craddock says that God s coming in Jesus is an event which shatters our time sequences and we find ourselves remembering tomorrow and looking forward to yesterday.) How might we experience these days in a way that readies us for the wonder and mystery that God is bringing into our world? There are resources here at church to help you pray and meditate each day. Spending even five minutes a day with God can make a huge difference in how you experience the season. Giving yourself to a group working in the community is faithful to the guidance of our texts for the season. Many worship options are available through the month. Restoring a relationship is an option. Let me also suggest just paying attention. This Advent season, as we prepare for the coming of Christ, let us remember to nourish our bodies and spirits, and the bodies and spirits of others. Reach out, tend to, care for, and pray for the needs of others as this cold envelops us all and many go without. Remember that Christ came to be the hope and salvation for the world, and we are called to live simply as Christ lived simply. We are called to help our neighbors, and in doing so, we will live as Christ called us to live. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel. Grace and peace, Rev. Meg LECTIONARY READINGS FOR DEC ECEMBER EMBER In preparation for worship each week, you are invited to read the Scriptures for the upcoming Sundays in December. Readings December 5 December 12 December 19 December 24 OT Isaiah 14:12-15 Genesis 22:1-18 Micah 5:2-5 Job 38:1-18 Epistle Revelation 12:7-9 Galatians 3:26-29 Galatians 3:26-4:7 Revelation 22:16-17 Gospel Luke 10:1-20 Luke 3:1-9 Matthew 2:1-12 Luke 2:1-20

2 WE ARE BLESSED WITH... YOUR PRESENCE October 31 3 November 14 Sunday School 32 Sunday School 31 Worship 10:00 87 Worship 10:00 69 November 7 November 21 2 Sunday School 29 Sunday School 40 Worship 10:00 96 Worship 10:00 84 YOUR GIFTS (PLEDGES & NON-PLEDGES) Budget Weekly Needed $6,057 Received October 31 $7,029 Received Year-to to-date $22 226, 6,451 Received November 7 $5,750 Needed Year-to to-date $284,679 Received November 14 $2,527 Received November 21 $4,694 Short Year-to to-date $58,228 IN MEMORY A gift was given by Betty Johnson in loving memory of Mae Jones. Gifts were given by Betty Johnson and Marty McNally in loving memory of Travis Turner. WITH GRATITUDE Thank you so much for the wonderful luncheon that was prepared for the Children s Weekday Ministries. The food was delicious and enjoyed by all teachers and students alike! You made all of us feel so special! Becky Goolsby YEAR-END CONTRIBUTIONS In order for contributions to be posted to your 2010 Giving Record, they must meet one of two requirements: The gift is received and posted to your account before December 31. The contribution is delivered to the church office on or before December 27. IT S A MYSTERY Do you have 3 extra baking pans in your cabinets at home? The church kitchen is missing 2-9x13 pans and another one that is just a bit larger. If you have these missing pans, please return them to the kitchen no questions asked, promise! COMMUNITY CHRISTMAS It s Christmastime again. We re adopting twenty students from Sam Houston and Northshore Elementary Schools. Names will be ready the Sunday after Thanksgiving (November 28) and due the fifth of December. Thank you for your participation. The Outreach Committee SPECIAL ADVENT AND CHRISTMAS WORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES December 12-Children s Christmas Pageant during worship, 10am December 21-Service of Hope and Healing, 6pm December 24-Christmas Eve worship, 6:30pm December 26-Service of Lessons and Carols, 10am BOX TOPS FOR HOLY TRINITY DAY SCHOOL We all shop for groceries, sometimes two or three times a week - or more. Now turn those shopping trip into easy cash for our school, and encourage friends to do the same! Just look for the Box Tops logo on hundreds of products like Cheerios, Hamburger Helper and Kleenex, in almost every aisle of the store. All you need to do is clip and bring them into the church office to help the Day School - each one is worth 10 and goes a long way to help this wonderful and vibrant ministry!

3 CHILDREN S CHRISTMAS PAGEANT - DECEMBER 10AM We are blessed to have the children present The Fumbly Bumbly Angels during worship on Sunday, December 12. The Fumbly Bumbly Angels is about a group of angels who are trying to get into the heavenly choir, but they keep fumbling and bumbling every assignment. This time, though, they succeed at a very special assignment -- attending the birth of Jesus. The pageant presents the Christmas story in an entertaining and fresh way! ALL children (young and old alike) are invited and encouraged to participate in this pageant. There will be two rehearsals on Sunday, November 28 immediately following worship and Saturday, December 11 at 10am. Please contact Rev. Meg for more information or if you would like to participate in this wonderful gift to the congregation. Advent Advent is the beginning of the Church Year for most churches in the Western tradition. It begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas Day, which is the Sunday nearest November 30, and ends on Christmas Eve (Dec 24). If Christmas Eve is a Sunday, it is counted as the fourth Sunday of Advent, with Christmas Eve proper beginning at sundown. The word Advent means "coming" or "arrival." The focus of the entire season is the celebration of the birth of Jesus the Christ in his First Advent, and the anticipation of the return of Christ the King in his Second Advent. Thus, Advent is far more than simply marking a 2,000 year old event in history. It is celebrating a truth about "rejoice". The shift from the purple of the Season to pink or rose for the third Sunday Advent candles reflected this lessening of God, the revelation of God in Christ whereby all of creation might be reconciled to God. That is a process in which we now participate, and the consummation of which we anticipate. Scripture reading for Advent will reflect this emphasis on the Second Advent, including themes of accountability for faithfulness at His coming, judgment on sin, and the hope of eternal life. Historically, the primary sanctuary color of Advent is purple, but blue is also a recognized color during Advent. Purple is the color of penitence and fasting as well as the color of royalty to welcome the Advent of the King. The purple of Advent is also the color of suffering used during Lent and Holy Week. This points to an important connection between Jesus birth and death. The nativity, the Incarnation, cannot be separated from the crucifix-ion. The purpose of Jesus coming into the world, of the "Word made flesh" and dwelling among us, is to reveal God and His grace to the world through Jesus life and teaching, but also through his suffering, death, and resurrection. To reflect this emphasis, originally Advent was a time of penitence and fasting, much as the Season of Lent and so shared the color of Lent. Some Protestant churches now use blue to distinguish the Season of Advent from Lent. In the four weeks of Advent the third Sunday came to be a time of rejoicing that the fasting was almost over (in some traditions it is called Gaudete Sunday, from the Latin word for phasis on penitence as attention turned more to celebration of the season. This does not eliminate any sense of penitence from the Sea-son. With the focus on the Advent or Coming of Jesus, especially in anticipating His Second Advent, there remains a need for preparation for that coming. Most liturgical churches incorporate confessional prayers into the service that relate to a sense of unworthiness as we anticipate His Coming. It is appropriate even in more traditional services of worship to incorporate confessional prayers as part of the anticipation and preparation of the Season. Red and Green are more secular colors of Christmas. Although they derive from older European practices of using evergreens and holly to symbolize ongoing life and hope that Christ s birth brings into a cold world, they are never used as liturgical colors during Advent. Congratulations to the Holy Stitchers! They have just completed and mailed their 168 th prayer quilt!

4 ADVENT SERVICE OF HOPE & HEALING If you find this time of year overwhelming, possibly due to experiencing illness, grief, loneliness, economic woes, or some other reason, we invite you to attend a special Advent Worship Service of Hope and Healing on Tuesday, December 21, 6 pm. This service is designed to recognize those who may not feel as joyous as they should during this season, and to hold out hope for the light that shines in the darkness. (John 1:5) The dates for the study are: The Stars Tell The Story Our Advent study entitled The Stars Tell the Story continues this month. As the shepherds were bathed in the bright light of God's glory... as the Wise Men scanned the skies for signs of the coming King... so we are urged to look to the skies, and to listen to what the stars proclaim. The Perfect Star is bright with God the Father's creating LIGHT! The Fallen Star (Lucifer) points us toward our need of saving. The Promised Stars are Christians, eager to spread the bright light of Christ. The Guiding Star leads us to Bethlehem. And The Morning Star--that's Jesus, whom we await to celebrate this season. There will be two sessions of this study on Monday mornings and evenings led by Linda Stone and Rev. Meg. Linda will lead the morning session in the Parlor and Rev. Meg will lead the evening session at 6pm at the Parsonage. Books will be available for purchase in the church office for $ nd session: Monday, November 29 3 rd session: Monday, December 6 4 th session: Monday, December 13 5 th session: Monday, December 20 Upcoming Studies for 2011: Romans-8 weeks (January 10-February 28) Lent-6 weeks (March 14-April 18) Beth Moore Study (May 2-July 18) OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD Wow! Eighty-six boxes were prepared and DECEMBER BIRTHDAYS sent last week! Thanks to all of you who 4 Gloria Ludtke shopped, gave monetary contributions, 11 Lois Anderson packed, came to the party, etc. A special 23 Linda Bogan thanks to our special friends who attend Pat Wisdom B.E. Holliday, Jr. Zachar our school they helped pack the boxes. 5 Lottie Robinson What a team effort!

5 DECEMBER BIRTHDAYS 4 Gloria Ludtke 11 B.E. Holliday, Jr. 23 Linda Bogan Pat Wisdom Lois Anderson Zachary Martin 5 Lottie Robinson 13 Megan Thomas 29 David Godell 9 Loyce Gray 18 Sunny Caley 30 Debbie Moseley Kelly Gallemore Johnson 22 Dolores Von Bieberstein 31 Winnie Sims 10 Tyler Feemster Charlotte Terry Casey Wenner

6 JOHN WESLEY ON COMMUNION (Part II of IV) Two of John Wesley s three main emphases on Holy Communion were considered in Part I of this series (contained in last month s edition of The Epistle). Those emphases were The Lord s Supper as a memorial meal (past and present) and as a present sign and pledge of future glory. Wesley s third emphasis, the true presence of Christ each time we receive the Lord s Supper, places some of us in a new relation to the sacrament. Many folks have an awareness of communion as a memorial meal, and some are fortunate enough to sense the present sign and pledge of future glory. However, just as many find the presence of Christ a very challenging prospect. It behooves us to consider what Wesley really meant. Unlike his Roman Catholic friends, Wesley did not endorse transubstantiation. That is, Wesley did not believe the elements literally become the body and blood of Christ. Furthermore, Wesley did not embrace consubstantiation, as his Lutheran friends taught. That is, the bread and wine remaining bread and wine, but Christ actually being present in the elements. Wesley preferred the position of Anglicanism, Christ does not actually come through the elements, but rather through the Spirit. Christ chooses, indeed has promised, to come whenever and wherever the Lord s Supper is being celebrated. He is really there! No wonder the Lord s Supper was such a powerful sacrament for Wesley and his followers. Wherever Christ is present, anything can happen! And so, while Holy Communion is primarily a sacrament to strengthen believers, Wesley and the people called Methodist also believed it could be an occasion when people were deeply convicted, maybe even converted. He placed no limits on the Sacrament s power because he placed no limits on what Christ can do! This opens the door to understanding why Methodists/United Methodists have always practiced open communion. The communion table is Christ s table. The invitation to partake is not reserved for believers, but for any who truly and earnestly repent of sin (Wesley answers questions and puts to rest age-old concerns about preparation for and unworthy reception of the sacrament in Part III of this series. Look for it in next month s edition) Holy Trinity United Methodist Church Orleans St. Houston, Texas 77015

7 Christmas Fun for the WHOLE Church Family During the month of December, we have a number of activities planned for all ages! Be sure to keep this page handy and contact the church office if you have any questions! Holiday Open House at the Parsonage Please stop on by for an afternoon of Christmas fun at the Parsonage on Sunday, December 5 from 1-3pm. Refreshments will be served and ALL are welcome! Walk Through Bethlehem Mission Bend United Methodist Church is hosting a Walk Through Bethlehem on Sunday, December 12. The Road to Bethlehem, an interactive re-creation of the Christmas story, invites guests to begin their walk to Bethlehem past the animal pens into the city of Bethlehem. On the journey, visitors travel through scenes featuring Mary and the angel Gabriel, shepherds, and wise men. As guests enter the gates of the bustling city of Bethlehem, they find a multitude of characters and shopkeepers interacting with one another, heightening the experience. Please meet at the church at 2:30pm and we will carpool to Mission Bend UMC and stop for dinner on the way home. Please bring a can of food as a donation to this wonderful event. Faith and Film: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader On Monday, December 13 we will meet at the church at NOON and take the church van to go to lunch at Red Robin and a movie at the Edwards Marq*e to see The Chronicles of Narnia. This is the third movie in C.S. Lewis Narnia series. Please sign up in the church office no later than Thursday, December 9 so we are able to purchase advance tickets. Please contact Rev. Meg if you have any questions. Christmas Caroling Church-wide Christmas caroling will be on December 15 th (Wednesday) at 6pm in the church parking lot. Please come and help us to bring good tidings to our church families and neighbors. We will return no later than 7:30pm for cookies and hot chocolate at the Parsonage.