Seasons. Awakening to the Kingdom. Advent Christmas Epiphany :: St. Simon s Episcopal Church

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1 Seasons Advent Christmas Epiphany :: St. Simon s Episcopal Church Awakening to the Kingdom Whether we jump out of bed before our alarm goes off or bury under our pillows after hitting the snooze button, all of us wake up to engage whatever the day before us holds. Advent is the season of awakening, an invitation to be alert to what God is up to in our lives and our world. Whether it comes as a rude shock or a welcome relief, the advent of God is woven through with change and always will be as long as we call out, Come, Lord Jesus! In Advent, we acknowledge the bitter truth that our lives, and our world, do not yet reflect God s dream, and we are asked once again: what is it that we are going to do about it? The Rt. Rev. Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury, reminds us only three human beings are in the Creed Jesus, Mary and Pontius Pilate. Jesus, standing at the center of Mary s yes and Pilate s no, asks us: which way are we moving in our lives? In order to choose, to participate, to move more deeply toward yes, we must grow in consciousness. In Advent, we grow curious to see with the eyes of God what we re otherwise blind to seeing. Just how and where do we, and the larger systems of which we are a part, say no; and what might it look like to prepare our hearts to say along with Mary, let it be with me according to your word. As we move into the season of Christmas, our consent to incarnate God in our own daily living in thought, word and deed is the birth we await and celebrate, the co-mingling of human and divine in you and in me even as in Jesus. This holy invitation is God s tremendous gift to us, but it also requires something of us. Commit this season to awakening to the kingdom, so we may shimmer and shine as God s light in the world.

2 Advent: Someone is Coming to Town Advent is the church s season before Christmas a time of preparation and introspection. On the whole, the culture around us skips the introspection part and does the preparation starting somewhere around Halloween these days. At St. Simon s, the teams planning worship for the parish are not going to give up Advent, nor are we going to dismiss or harangue the culture. Advent brings expectation, hope, joy, excitement. St. Simon s Worship Planning team made up of staff, Altar Guild, acolytes, lay readers, chalice bearers, ushers, musicians and clergy attempt to provide following our Prayer Book and other resources ways to help the gathered worshippers express our deepest longings while stretching us to new possibilities. To that end, the liturgy for the Advent, Christmas and Epiphany season will include old favorites and new opportunities. The Rector s reflection on Advent as a time of awakening to the challenge of a new day a new yes to the old nos challenged us planners. Some of the yes expressions will appear as old hat. Some will be new. Perhaps the sounding of an ancient shofar will call us to Prepare the way of the Lord, through a more modern medium of the 1970 s hit, Godspell. And then there is the more solid Schubert mass, a favorite for two centuries. New hymns will expand our notion of Advent. The Gospel of Mark: Awakening a New Perspective Advent 2017, the beginning of the Christian year, brings to us a facet of God among us through the eyes of the Gospel of Mark. Many provide witness to the power of Mark. Jürgen Moltmann, one of the greatest theologians of the 20th and 21st centuries was imprisoned as a German soldier in a prison in Scotland during WWII in He and his fellow prisoners were shown pictures of the atrocities in the death camps at Buchenwald and Belsen. They were horrified by what they saw and began to internalize the deep complicity they had participated in. Moltmann had little Christian background and no theological education. The chaplain passed around copies of the Bible and Moltmann read Mark s gospel. Later he wrote: I read Mark s gospel as a whole and came to the story of the passion; when I heard Jesus death cry, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? I felt growing within me the growing conviction this is someone who understands you completely, who is in your cry to God and has felt the same forsakenness you are living now...i summoned up the courage to live again. The community that Mark was writing to was experiencing the same thing, as are many in our world, perhaps even you. Throughout this year, we will explore the many ways in which Mark s telling of the story just might awaken in us courage to live again in a new way. 2 : St. Simon s Seasons : Advent Christmas Epiphany

3 Sundays in Advent Indigenous Ministry: Awakening to Others Sunday, December 3, 9am Did you know that there are Native American Episcopalians? You ll find them both within and beyond the dioceses of Alaska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Navajoland. The Office for Indigenous Ministries for the Episcopal Church, led by The Rev. Dr. Bradley Hauff, works for the full inclusion of Native Peoples in the life of the church. Join Brad, and seminarian The Rev. Leon Sampson from Navajoland as they share with us a glimpse of the culture, spirituality and challenges facing our indigenous sisters and brothers. Christmas Gift Ingathering Sunday, December 3 Remember to bring your Christmas Basket gifts to church no later than Sunday, December 3. Letter Writing for Amnesty International Sunday, December 3 Following each of the services, we will write letters in support of Amnesty campaigns to help stop human rights abuses by putting pressure on governments, armed groups and intergovernmental bodies. Advent Walk In Wednesday Wednesdays, 6-7pm Join us on Wednesday evenings for a potluck meal. Bring a side dish to share and spend some time laughing with and getting to know the wonderful people in our community. The evening ends with a brief service from Daily Prayer for All Seasons. Growing Together During Advent Wednesdays, November 29, December 6, 13, 7pm We will have two concurrent offerings on Wednesday evenings during Advent. Episcopal 101 Why are you a Christian? Why are you an Episcopalian? What grounds you in what is important, and also what inspires you to be your best self? This class is excellent for those who are exploring St. Simon s and/or the Episcopal tradition and for the simply curious. Please join us for any or all of the sessions. Making Connections: The Gospel of Mark Sunday, December 10, 9am Every Advent we transition into a new year in our Lectionary s three-year cycle. This year, we are moving into Year B which predominately features gospel readings from the Gospel According to Mark. Folks from the St. Simon s Adult Formation Team will give a broad overview of Mark s Gospel to help give us some background for the readings we will hear throughout the lectionary year. Come learn a thing or two about what many believe to be the earliest gospel! Advent Pageant & Parish Celebration Sunday, December 17, 10am This year on Advent 3, our children will present an Advent pageant recalling salvation history from the Creation through Abraham, Moses, David, Elizabeth, Mary and Joseph complete with a burning bush, and all the stars of heaven. This pageant will end with Mary and Elizabeth awaiting the births of John the Baptist and Jesus. Following the service, we will continue the celebration with a party in the Parish Hall. Wednesdays in Advent Healing and Hope during the Holidays When we have experienced the loss of loved ones, relationships, jobs, health, or our dreams for the future, the holiday season can be a difficult time filled with tender memories and powerful feelings. Join us during Advent to learn about strategies for dealing with grief and loss during the holidays and to find healing and hope. Blue Christmas Wednesday, December 20, 7pm A community service which gives us the chance to express the grief, fears, anger, and confusion that are all a normal part of living and loving. We will ask God for healing, and become, ever-so-gently, ready to face a future sustained by hope and grace. There is space for you to sit, remain silent, weep, or even pace, as you feel the need throughout this worship service. There are people here who will sustain you with their singing, praying, and healing love. St. Simon s Seasons : Advent Christmas Epiphany : 3

4 Christmas at St. Simon s: O Come All Ye Faithful Christmas the season in which we always put the tree in that corner and always had Grandma s candied sweet potatoes, and cousin Billy s baked brie with almonds. The big challenge for us this year is that Christmas Eve falls on the 4 th Sunday of Advent. That Sunday has been the traditional time for our pageant. Our children will present an Advent pageant on the 3rd Sunday of Advent which will end with the anticipation of the birth of Jesus. On Christmas Eve at the 4pm service, the children will help pick up the story with the trip to Bethlehem: shepherds, angels, donkeys and the like. All children will be offered an opportunity to help create this most memorable scene (without a rehearsal). Christmas tradition for each of us is deeply personal and we don t want anyone the new son-in-law, or church worship committee changing that. Hopefully we can get past all the new schedules, the new family members and rest in the love that reflects the coming among us of God in Jesus. Rightly understood, it is the same coming together of you and me and crazy Uncle Harry and equally weird Aunt Jane. (How did they ever keep it together?) Perhaps it was Midnight Mass. A Invitation to Christmas May the joy, memories, and craziness of this season bring your new yeses and new nos into the unity that is our deepest desire. Sunday, December 24 The 4th Sunday of Advent 8:00am Holy Eucharist Sunday December 24 Christmas Eve 3:40pm 4:00pm String Prelude & Carol Sing Instant Pageant & Holy Eucharist It's a pageant telling of the birth of Jesus in which everyone can participate! The empty stable will be filled with the traditional figures of shepherds, sheep, the holy family and angels, angels, and more angels as children of all ages are called forth to place the figures during the Gospel. Stuffed animals will be blessed when the creche is completed, all kinds of stuffed animals are welcome. 9:30pm 10:00pm Instrumental Prelude& Carol Sing Festival Choral Eucharist (incense used) Monday, December 25 Christmas Day 10:00am Christmas Festival Eucharist Sunday, December 31 PJ Sunday 8am 10am Holy Eucharist & Fellowship Holy Eucharist & Fellowship During the twelve days of Christmas, we celebrate the gift of the Incarnation, that God becomes human in Jesus. On this Sunday, parishioners are invited to come to church in their PJ s, if they so desire, as a concrete reminder that God enters into our everyday lives, just as we are. Wanted: Angels, Shepherds and More To tell our Christmas nativity story we need characters of a wide variety of nativity sets. Do you have a set that's durable (read: not fragile) and could be shared for the 4pm Family Service? We need a Mary and Joseph and certainly Baby Jesus AND we need sheep, shepherds and townspeople (Italian nativity scenes always include towns folks). If you are willing to loan or donate figures for our Christmas Eve story telling please contact Jo Gantzer in the Parish Office. The more variety the better! 4 : St. Simon s Seasons: Advent Christmas Epiphany

5 While the focus of worship and song continues on the path set by Advent and Christmas, Epiphany reflects the presence of Jesus as his influence spread throughout the world (the Magi). And there are also the early days of his ministry choosing disciples, healing, challenging evil, feeding the hungry. Epiphany brings new light into the world and invites us to join in Jesus ministry of hope and reconciliation. Epiphany: He s Here and at Work Sundays in Epiphany Epiphany Potluck Sunday, January 7, 9am Join us for a Potluck Breakfast between the services as we celebrate our community and welcome the New Year. Please bring a dish to share. Come Hear What We Learned from the CAT Part 1 Sunday, January 14, 9am Part 2 Sunday, January 21, 9am The Church Assessment Tool or CAT covers a wide range of topics and produces a large body of findings about a parish. We are excited to learn more about our community from this substantial collection of our thoughts. Because there is so much material, we have scheduled two Sunday sessions and invited outside assistance to help us understand the opinions you have shared on where we are and where we desire to go as a community. Come join us at this unique opportunity to listen to each other and share our thoughts. Making Connections through Storytelling Sunday, January 28, 9am It s a story slam St. Simon s style. Participants in the November and December Storytelling workshops will share stories with the Growing Together class around the theme of homecoming and belonging. Come and listen, be amazed and touched. Vestry Town Hall Meeting Sunday, February 4, 9am This is an all parish preparation for our Annual Meeting on February 11 which gives us a chance to follow the vestry s pattern of listening, digesting and considering before making decisions at the next meeting. Come and meet the candidates for vestry, consider how the CAT survey results might direct our energies in the coming year and hear topics which may come forward at the Annual Meeting. Annual Parish Meeting Sunday, February 11, Following the 9:30am SINGLE Worship Service The founding fathers of our country also designed the governance of the Episcopal Church. Literally, they worked on the new United States then the Anglicans met later in the day to write the plan for a church without a government at its head. The Annual Meeting is democracy in action. We will vote, accept a budget, and propose directions for the coming year. Come and exercise your role and rights and enjoy the grace of a community of faith seeking God s direction for mission and ministry. St. Simon s Seasons : Advent Christmas Epiphany : 5

6 Wednesdays in Epiphany Welcome Bishop Lee! Wednesday, January 10, 6pm gathering St. Simon s will enjoy a visit from our Bishop, Jeffrey Lee, on the evening of January 10. Since this is not our year for a formal Sunday visit we are delighted to welcome him for a casual visit, dinner and a chat, where we can expect to be challenged and inspired by our chief pastor and teacher. Not our usual Walk In Wednesday potluck, this is a catered affair. Join us for this opportunity for fellowship, food and an out-ofpew encounter with our bishop mark your calendar now! Walk In Wednesday Wednesdays, 6-7pm Join us on Wednesday evenings for a potluck meal. Bring a side dish to share and spend some time laughing with and getting to know the wonderful people in our community. The evening ends with a brief service from Daily Prayer for All Seasons. Growing Together: Awakening to the Kingdom Wednesdays, Jan 17, 24, 31, & Feb 7, 7pm Awakening to the Kingdom Just what does that mean? Join us for a four-week series as we explore the way of life that Jesus invites us into a way of living that reveals God's work within and among us. We will use video clips, scripture, and one another s wisdom as we examine practices that will help us embrace life the way Jesus intended. Sunday St. Simon s Holy Eucharist & Fellowship 8am Experience a quieter, more intimate Eucharist in the sanctuary, followed by coffee and conversation. Nursery Care 9:30-11:30am Care for infants and toddlers in the St. Priscilla room. Making Connections Forum 9am Join us for adult formation as we gather for fellowship and opportunities to learn and grow in our faith. Worship Center 9am Bible stories heard and experienced for children of all ages in the Priscilla Room. Church School 10am Church School is offered for children and youth beginning at age three on Sunday mornings. Holy Eucharist & Fellowship 10am Lively and engaging Eucharist that includes music. Immediately following is a reception for all on the lower level in our parish hall. Children in Worship For families with creepers, crawlers and toddlers we have a soft space in the front pews. This carpeted area will be populated with soft toys (quiet) and allow the smallest Christians an opportunity to see the action of the service as they keep their hands busy. Seating for parents is provided in this front pew. Older children also benefit from a separate soft space more focused on doing quiet craft-like activities. Again, bringing the children within sight of the action at the front of the church helps them attend to the actions and words of our worship. Parents might like to sit toward the front of the church in case children want to go back and forth between soft space and family. 6 : St. Simon s Seasons: Advent Christmas Epiphany

7 Story Telling Workshop Saturday, December 2, 9am-12 noon Have you ever listened to someone tell a story amazingly well and thought I wish I could do that! We are drawn to people who can tell good stories, who seem to have just enough information that we can see the events but not wallow, their timing is perfect and they know how to end it with grace and style. Life in the Community Story telling is a craft you can learn. Rebecca Anderson, pastor and story teller, will help us learn the mechanics of this verbal craft and help us mine our experiences for stories to tell. The workshop is full of hands-on experience, tips and downright fun. Women s Craft Night Friday, January 12 Join us for a Friday Night Craft Party. Bring your scrapbooking, card making, knitting, crocheting, needlework whatever you are working on and do it with friends. Not crafty? Just come and we will have a card-making project for you. We ll meet at Amy Stomper s house. Please bring a munchie to share. Newcomers Brunch Sunday, January 28, 12noon All newcomers and new members are invided to attend a Brunch at the home of Elizabeth Jameson. We are so glad that you are here! Read and Discuss Join a Book Group Young Adult Book Group Generally meets on the second Monday of the month beginning 7pm at the home of Beth Carter. Topics will be announced at a later date. Monday, December 11 Monday, January 8 Monday, February 12 Women s Book Group Meets on the first Thursday of each month in the St. Matthew Room beginning at 7:30pm. Thursday, December 7 Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance Thursday, January 4 We ll meet at the home of Amy Stomper for a movie night. Thursday, February 1 Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly Men s Book Group Meets on the second Tuesday of each month in various homes beginning at 7pm. December No Meeting Tuesday, January 9 Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance Tuesday, February 13 Giant of the Senate by Al Franken We embody Christ in the world as we care for one another, especially in times of need. There are many ways you can share in this ministry. Helping Hands Perhaps you can offer rides to doctor appointments or make meals for those who need them. Please contact Amy Stomper at stomper261@comcast.net. Caring for Our Community Lay Eucharistic Ministers and Parish Visitors If you are seeking a way to extend Christ s love and are a good listener, you can reach out to those in our church community who are unable to attend worship by making visits and taking communion. To learn more, contact Dianne Shields at dianne@ saintsimons.org. St. Simon s Seasons : Advent Christmas Epiphany : 7

8 Focus on Youth Our Youth PADS Thursdays, December 7, January 4 & February 1 The first Thursday of every month is a chance for the St. Simon s Youth Group to set up for the PADS shelter at Congregational UCC on Kirchhoff Rd. Setup begins at 5:30pm and lasts for an hour. Contact Carl Raezer to be added to the reminder list. Youth Group Christmas Party Sunday, December 17, 5pm It s a very Youth Group Christmas! We will celebrate Christmas together at the Suprenuk household. So get ready for a night of cookies, movies and holiday cheer as we celebrate the season as together as St. Simon s Youth Group! Youth Group Lock-in & MIQRA Friday-Sunday, January The youth group is kicking off the new year with a Lock-in at St. Simon s followed by an overnight trip to St. James Cathedral in Chicago for MIQRA, a diocesan-wide youth event. Miqra is a Hebrew word, which means A public reading of scripture. As part of the event, youth take turns reading out loud for a total of 18 hours. So many fun things also happen at MIQRA! We ll play wacky games around the church, have a movie night, worship together and engage in workshops on various biblical topics and hear clergy speak about the Bible. Youth Mission Trip Date to be Annoiunced Our Youth Group is excited to return to Paintsville, Kentucky for another week of serving neighbors, sharing stories, and building lasting relationships. Our mission trip is open to youth who are rising Freshmen (current 8 th graders) in high school through graduated Seniors. Contact Carl Raezer, Associate for Music & Youth for information and deadlines if your youth is interested. Peer Ministry Leadership and Seekers Exploring Confirmation Every Sunday evening from 5-7 PM, youth grades 7-12 gather for an evening together full of meaningful conversation, sacred space, and of course, a TON of fun! Our nights together begin with a meal together followed by skits, games, breakout conversation groups, and candlelit prayer circles. Youth Group is a great place to get to know other kids, ask the big questions, and to serve others. Our Youth Group uses a program called Peer Ministry Leadership which is both a model for youth ministry as well as a curriculum that equips teens with skills for welcoming, listening, and helping their peers. These skills will help anyone in the youth group who would like to explore Confirmation through our Seeker program. This year s program will be made up of a trinity of components: Participation in Sunday evening Youth Group, serving during the liturgy, and building a relationship with a member of St. Simon s in our Mentor Program. 717 W. Kirchhoff Road Arlington Heights, Illinois stsimonoffice@gmail.com Parish Office Hours M-Th, 9am-3pm ~~~ The Rev. Elizabeth Jameson Rector elizabeth@saintsimons.org The Rev. Stephen Smith Associate Rector stephen@saintsimons.org The Rev. Larry Handwerk, Associate for Worship larry@saintsimons.org The Rev. Dianne Shields Pastoral Care Coordinator dianne@saintsimons.org Carl Raezer Associate for Music & Youth carl@saintsimons.org Jo Gantzer Associate for Parish & Family Ministry office@saintsimons.org Sara Lewandowski Church School Head sara@saintsimons.org Chelsie Coran, Accompanist ~~~ Dave Zuehlke, Senior Warden dezuehlke@outlook.com Mike Krause, Junior Warden illinijmk@aol.com Vestry Members Beth Carter Steve Hallier Lynn Jensen Cynthia Leonard Rick Lussenhop Michael Medsker Louise Retzer Kate Rickard 8 : St. Simon s Seasons: Advent Christmas Epiphany