REDEEMER NEWS. From the Pastor s Desk. Special points of interest:

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1 REDEEMER NEWS The Church of the Redeemer December 2014 From the Pastor s Desk Special points of interest: Generosity Campaign, p. 2 Advent Pageant, p. 6 Coffee Hour Sign-ups, p. 7 Poverty Simulation, p. 7 Get out the decorations, find the cookie recipes, buy the cards, make the lists. Hit the stores, order online, count the dollars, listen to Christmas Muzak. Worry about spending, yearn for what is out of reach. Struggle with family, feel alone. Pray. Worship. Listen to music that includes something about Jesus. Do whatever leads you to wonder, to joy, to connection with others, to hope. Give what you can when you can to those in need. Tell a child you know why. Trust that the God who came is still and always here, the God for whom you do not have to wait. The God who waits for you and yearns to love you. Blessings to you as you prepare to celebrate love. Shelly New Group!, p. 9 Advent Devotionals, p. 9 Inside this issue: Advent Worship 2 Christmas Eve 2 Children s Faith Formation 3 Adult Faith Formation 4 Missions Team 6 Poinsettias 10 Schedule of Events 11

2 December 7: Second Advent, Baptism of Nathan Brown, Sacrament of Holy Communion, Cookie Potluck after worship along with Alternative Gift Fair Advent Worship Events December 14: Third Advent, Lessons and Carols for Advent, Sister City Gift Fair December 21: Sunday School Advent Pageant! December 28: Guest preacher, Daniel Schlorff, Carol sing Invite a friend or family member to Redeemer! Christmas Eve Worship 2014 Redeemer s service begins with special music from Larry and others at 5:15. Lessons and Carols, Candlelighting, Completion of our crèche, and a meditation on the Star as well as more special music from our choirs and soloists and musicians will fill our service with wonder! At 10:00 p.m., join UCC folk from United, Center, Redeemer and Shalom for a quieter service of Holy Communion at United Church on the Green (the one on the right hand side as you face the three churches). Marilyn and Shelly and possibly others from Redeemer will participate. This is a new service this year as our congregations begin to work more closely together! To date, the Generosity Ministry Team has received 89 pledges for a total of $189,046. So very close to the amount pledged for We wish to thank all for their continued generosity. We once again prove we are a mighty little church seeking to live out our mission to our community be it local or global. If you have not yet made your pledge for 2015, you may still do so by contacting Debra in the church office, redeemer@snet.net or (203) The Generosity Ministry Team Generosity Campaign Update Page 2 December 2014

3 Sunday School in Advent Our Sunday School Schedule for December Expectant waiting is what Advent is all about and we have begun that process of waiting in Sunday School. On the first Sunday of Advent, November 30, we will look at Isaiah 64:1 9. This passage from ISAIAH is part of a communal lament. In it, the Hebrew people plead with God to intervene in human history to redeem those who walk in God s way. This passage embodies the central themes on which Advent is based: the sense of a need for redemption, the feeling of unworthiness, the longing for God to act, and the conviction that God will act lovingly to save us. November 30: First Sunday of Advent - Hymn of the Month, O Come, O Come Emmanuel December 7: Holy Communion Family Sunday December 14: Advent Pageant Rehearsal in Sunday School December 21: The Advent Pageant The Sunday School provides our worship message December 28: Family Sunday No Sunday School Calling All Kids Pageant Time! On Sunday, December 21, the children of Redeemer will present our annual Advent Pageant. If you know a child or teen who would like to be in the pageant, come to the rehearsal on Sunday, December 14 th during our regular Sunday School time when Shelly will prepare the actors for their roles. A full dress rehearsal will take place on Saturday, December 20 at 10 am.

4 ADULT FAITH FORMATION DECEMBER 14: ANIMATE FAITH SESSION # 2: RELIGION Spirituality is not enough Lillian Daniel What does it mean to be spiritual? Is it the same as being religious? Lillian Daniel pushes back at this question that has been stirring up the cultural conversation for a while now. She asks us to consider how the seeds of faith take root and thrive. What role does organized religion play in helping or hindering growth? If religion is the problem, why has it held fast for thousands of years? In this age of religious pluralism, is it possible or even desirable to stick with our age-old traditions? WHY CHURCH? On Sunday, November 9 th, I preached a sermon on Why Church. My one line answer was, The counter-cultural church, at its best, invites us to live in alignment with God. I asked folks in the congregation that day to write their answer to Why Church and here is what Redeemer wrote: Prayer, Peace, music, a chance that this sinner s soul might be saved A place of focus and realization that I am not alone. My language of peace and hope To please God To pause and connect with God and community To be challenged To share It takes a village Positive vibes Music 2 Praising God with song To remember to always walk in love Centering on faith Renewal For peace and music Tradition To find peace with God Renewal A way of centering and preparing for the week Faith support Gemenskap (Swedish) Karlek till livet (Swedish) Support each other community of faith Worship God with good friends and music For fellowship, peace and love It is a place where we practice being disciples Church centers me back on God Worship together Shared prayers Family Connections with Christians in other times and places Parental coercion Love of God s people Coming together as family Worship & others Try to connect with infinite (God) To be fed spiritually To meet God Relationship with God as community To praise God Open up the sacred Faith in action Community God The beauty of holiness Place of peace Strength in numbers Connect to the Divine A soul feeding place A place of belong(ing) Sacrament Because Christ is Risen! To be blessed and be a blessing to others Belonging to something outside of myself Spiritual healing Elevate us into close community with constant Christ-like consciousness The quiet moment in the week to hear God and each other Draw closer to God A long tradition of faith To receive the fellowship of the church To still a too busy mind Relief Church it gets me through the week To find meaning in spiritual life Show God your love Be reconciled to God and receive the Spirit to live as God s child

5 Seasons of the Church Year Advent Christmas Season after Pentecost Lent Season after Epiphany Easter HAPPY NEW (Church)YEAR! The Church calendar begins with the first Sunday of Advent, which this year was November 30. And so, we start once again with Advent. I think at this start of the year, it would be a good time to look at the entire church year as a whole. Advent starts on Reign of Christ Sunday 4 Sundays before Christmas November 30, this year. Advent is a time of hope and expectation. We prepare for Jesus birth and our own renewal. Christmas starts on December 25. At Christmas, we celebrate the joy of Jesus birth once again of God with us. Epiphany happens on the 12 th day after Christmas, January 6. Through the Season after Epiphany we read of Jesus Baptism, his calling of the disciples, and his ministry of teaching and healing. It is a time of growth as the good news spreads. Lent begins with Ash Wednesday, 40 days (not counting Sundays) before Easter (February 18 th ). The Season of Lent is a time of penitence and preparation a time of decision and commitment. We are reminded that many turned away from Jesus and even the disciples fled when he was arrested. We are encouraged to face those times when we have let Jesus down and fled from issues demanding our presence and support times when we may have allowed crucifixions to happen. Easter is the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox, this year April 5 th. The Season of Easter is also known as The Great Fifty Days from Easter Day to Pentecost. Pentecost is the high point of the Christian Year and occurs this year on May 24 th. It is a season to celebrate the resurrection appearances and the birth of the Christian church. We see Jesus power being passed on to the disciples. The Season after Pentecost is the longest season of the year. It extends from Pentecost Sunday ending on the first Sunday in Advent. In it, we look at what it means to be the church Christ s hands and feet carrying on his work in the world.

6 Our pageant this year is entitled Preparing for Jesus. Our children and teens will lead us on a journey (literally) to see how four groups of people prepared for the coming of Jesus: Mary and Joseph, Elizabeth and Zechariah, the Magi, and the Shepherds and their animals. Children will rehearse in Sunday School on December 14 and also on Saturday morning, December 20, at 10 AM! The congregation is needed to be the crowd in our scenes, so you are important, too! This is one you won t want to miss; invited friends and neighbors and their children to come, too! Advent Pageant 2014 Advent Pageant, Dec. 21 Many opportunities to give. Heifer Project. From the Missions Team As we move into the holiday season, the missions team has many activities including several which can use your participation: The Alternative Gift Fair is scheduled for December 7 following worship. This is your chance to buy handicrafts from third world artisans and gift cards from organizations like the The New Haven/Leon Sister City Project will once again be at Redeemer with its selection of fair trade crafts, local and statewide products and more. All of your purchases benefit the work of the Project in Leon and in New Haven. The sale will take place on December 14 after worship. Please plan to do some of your Christmas shopping that day! We are donating $700 for Thanksgiving and $700 for Christmas to Covenant for Care for Children, an organization that we ve been working with for the past several years which provides assistance and support to children in Connecticut who are neglected, abused, or at-risk. The money will buy Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners and gifts for the children. The annual mitten and hat Christmas tree will be going up in early December, ready for you to decorate with mittens, gloves, and hats to be donated to Christian Community Action. It will also have mittens for you to take paper mittens, that is, with the name, age, and requested gift for a child through Covenant to Care. Gifts should be delivered to the church by Sunday, December 14. We will be giving a donation to Citizens to Drive Out Ebola, a local committee which was formed to supply New Haven s sister city, Freetown, Sierra Leone, with vans stocked with medical supplies to serve as ambulances. The vans were requested by Sierra Leone s ambassador in a recent visit to New Haven. On the horizon: we will be participating in Abraham s Tent the last week of February. The Church of the Redeemer will house a dozen homeless men from Columbus House each night that week. As in past years, we will need people to bring dinner and breakfast, to visit with the men during the evening, and to stay overnight. Page 6 December 2014

7 It s that exciting time when you get the opportunity to sign up to help host coffee hour at Church of the Redeemer for the upcoming year! We know you ve been looking forward to this since last November, so here are the details: 1. If you are able, please sign up for two dates. You should be able to scroll down the calendar and choose practically any Sunday you want. 2. Most Sundays involve bringing food and preparing/serving drinks, along with clean up. If you are looking for something less involved, consider volunteering for summer duty when you simply prepare drinks that are already provided and clean up paper goods. 3. You will receive an from Debra in the church office a few weeks ahead of your scheduled month just to give you a long range heads up, and then an automated from signupgenius.com 6 days prior to your scheduled date. 4. Instructions are always on the signupgenius.com website and a hard copy is taped to the refrigerator in the kitchen. Thank you so much in advance for helping out! The Redeemer Hospitality Team Send questions/complaints/joys/concerns/etc. to redeemerhospitality@gmail.com. Hello, Redeemer Hospitality! Sign up to host coffee hour in 2015! Christmas Cookie Potluck! To sign up, go to: go/10c0e4faba62aaafb6-hospitality You are cordially invited to a Christmas cookie potluck following worship on December 7. Plan to bring some of your favorite cookies and we will sample the baking bounty! January Event for your Calendar The United Way invites people from faith communities in Greater New Haven to join them for an exciting event on Wednesday, January 14 from 5:30-8:30 (you can get there as late as 6:00 but no later) at the JCC, 360 Amity Road, Woodbridge, for the Poverty Simulation. Over the course of an evening, step into the shoes of a family living at or near the poverty level. This participatory event will challenge your assumptions and give you a deeper awareness of the struggles many of our neighbors face on a daily basis. Dinner and a facilitated discussion will conclude the event. Teens and adults are welcome to this event, and you need to RSVP because space is limited: krisafi@uwgnh.org. Shelly is planning to attend so if you would like to come with her, let her know. Page 7 December 2014

8 Our December meeting will be on December 9 and will take place at the home of Margaret Bixler with a potluck lunch and our annual Yankee swap. RSVP to Shelly. Beginning in January, we will continue our discussion of Elizabeth Gilbert s The Signature of All Things. If you have read the book, or are reading it now, and are available on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month at NOON (note return to usual time as Shelly s class is done), bring your lunch and join us at church. Noon Book Group Congratulations to Victor Bolden on his confirmation by the U.S. Senate as a Federal Judge! Fortunately, Victor will remain in New Haven at the Federal Court here. Congratulations to Tom Caruso who has been called to be pastor at the Elias UCC in Pennsylvania! We hope to celebrate Tom s ordination at Redeemer in early Assorted Notes Oratorio Concert at Redeemer The New Haven Oratorio Choir, formerly the Redeemer Oratorio Choir, is performing a concert Songs of Hope on Friday, December 12, at 8:00 at Redeemer. This is a program of inspirational music for choir some of which is accompanied by piano and the beautiful pipe organ. Tickets are for sale at the door; $20 adult and $15 senior. For questions, dfgh75@gmail.com. We hope to see you there! Healing Service, December 21, 2014 Christmas Healing Prayer Service On Sunday, December 21, we will expand our usual healing prayer service into what is sometimes called a Blue Christmas service. This service lifts up those who find celebrating anything difficult because of depression, addictions, grief, infertility or other illnesses, family struggles, unemployment, or for any other reason. If you or someone you know experiences these issues, please come and invite them to come. 6:30 p.m. in the chancel of the sanctuary. Redeemer News Page 8

9 Hayli Kinney and Ophelia Hu invite Redeemer s young adult crowd (ages 21-35) to join them for Stop & Go: a time of weekly fellowship and discussion. The group will meet at their home in New Haven, just a short walk from Redeemer. We ll share food, drink, conversation, and friendship in a totally relaxed setting. We know you re busy, but that s precisely why we want to step back once a week and explore topics from spirituality to skepticism to social matters. Hayli at haylikinney@gmail.com by December 7 if you d like to attend or for more information. New Group Forming! Advent Devotionals Available If you requested one of Quinn Caldwell s Advent Devotionals, they are waiting for you in the office: please pick them up soon so we know how many extra we have. We have a few for anyone else. They cost us $15, so if you d like to donate that, we would happily receive it, but if that is a problem, simply take one! Advent begins Sunday, November 30. On December 21, we will receive the UCC All Church Christmas Fund offering. This offering goes to help support clergy who have retired without adequate pensions (especially those who served small membership churches for their whole career) or who have large emergency expenses, and also those retired clergy who need help affording health insurance. Please give generously to help those who have spent a lifetime in service to God and the church. Christmas Fund Offering Christmas Fund Offering December 21, 2014 Page 9 December 2014

10 CHRISTMAS POINSETTIA PLANTS This Christmas Season we will continue our tradition of decorating our sanctuary with red poinsettias. Please help in adorning our altar with beauty and blessings of the season by ordering a plant in honor/memory of a loved one. All orders must be received no later than Monday morning, December 15, Order forms with payment may be placed in the collection plate or left in the Church Office. POINSETTIA ORDER FORM From Phone In memory of In honor of How many? I will pick up my flowers. Please have the Deacons give my flowers to a housebound church member. All plants are $ Remember to include your payment with this order form. Thank you for your generosity.

11 The Church of the Redeemer December 2014 SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 1 7:30 Leadership Council, Phillips Room :15 Staff Meeting, Phillips Room 7:45 Senior Choir Rehearsal, Sanctuary :00 Deacons decorate Sanctuary 7 9:25 Chancel/Girls' 10:00 Worship 11:15 Kids Choirs 11:30 Cookie Potluck 11:30 Alternative Gift Fair 14 Lessons & Carols 10:00 Worship/CS 11:15 Children's Choirs Rehearse 11:30 New Haven/Leon Sister Cities Project 21 Advent Pageant 10:00 Worship 11:15 Children's Choirs Rehearse 6:30 Healing Prayer Service, Sanctuary 28 10:00 Worship :00 Noontime Book Group, Home of Margaret Bixler 6:00 Eat, Drink, Divorce, Parlor 15 Poinsettia order forms due 7:00 Deacons, Upstairs Parlor :15 Staff Meeting, Phillips Room 7:45 Senior Choir Rehearsal, Sanctuary :15 Staff Meeting 3:30 Knitting Group, Phillips Room 7:45 Senior Choir Rehearsal, Sanctuary Christmas Eve 2:00 Soloists 3:00 Senior Choir 4:45 Chancel Choir 5:15 Prelude 5:30 Service 10:00 Service, United New Year's Eve :00 Advent Pageant Rehearsal 25 Christmas Day 26 27

12 The Church of the Redeemer 185 Cold Spring Street New Haven, CT (203) uccredeemer.org Rev. Dr. Rochelle A. Stackhouse, Senior Minister Rev. Marilyn Kendrix, Associate Minister for Faith Formation Cheryl Doss, Moderator of the Church Henry Sykes, Treasurer Charles McEnally, Clerk Marguerite Brooks, Director of Music Julia Blue Raspe, Chancel Choir Director Paul Berry, Boys and Men s Choir Director Larry Bishop, Organist Maeba Jonas, Youth Minister Debra Tangarone, Office Administrator and Financial Secretary Geoffrey Johnson, Security Lou and Valarie Fanelli, Sextons Several years ago, I joined a dozen other North American Christians who traveled to Nicaragua to establish a peaceful and prayerful presence in the war zones of that embattled country. Just before Christmas we visited a refugee camp near the Honduran border and met Martita, who was five days old. Her mother, Rosa, had given birth to her in a tobacco barn, under gunfire. I thought immediately of Mary, who brought Jesus into the world in a drafty stable and laid him in a feeding trough used by cattle, the only crib available. What stunning courage had been required for this woman, young and unwed and scared, when confronted with a miraculous mission by the Holy Spirit, to offer herself with these words: Here I am, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word (Luke 1:38). Back in that Nicaraguan tobacco barn, Rosa reminded me that the Spanish phrase for to give birth is dar a luz-- to give to light. In the midst of the darkest of situations, Rosa and the other mothers of Nicaragua claimed the power of life and kept offering their children to the light. They did so with fear, but also with profound hope and fervent prayers that their children would grow up in peace. On December 21st, the earth will cross an invisible cosmic plane, tilting those of us in this part of the world toward the sun. By barely noticeable increments, the days will begin growing longer. The 21st is both the darkest day of the year, and the moment when the light begins seeping back in. Before long, the day s Birthing a Promise The light shines in the darkness. small glimmers will grow into expansive radiance. In a world darkened in too many corners by hunger and war, by greed and exclusion, let us remember the many Marys who, by their courage, keep claiming life and pointing us toward the light. Let us rejoice in the One who came among us at Christmas, setting the world ablaze: the Price of Peace, the hope of the poor, the Light of the World. Ours is a promise birthed in a stable, and a tobacco barn: The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not and will not overcome it (John 1:5). Rev. Joyce Hollyday Circle of Mercy Asheville, North Carolina