Cornerstone University Baptist Church 50 West Lane Avenue Columbus, OH (614)

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1 Cornerstone University Baptist Church 50 West Lane Avenue Columbus, OH (614) Inside this issue: Pastor s Reflection: Wait. Listen. Be. Bob Turner Theology on Tap 2 Thursday Night Bible Study on Hiatus December Birthdays & Anniversaries Address Changes 2 Mitten Tree 2 Christmas Party 2 NSI Christmas Basket Donations Some Children See Him Kerry Cheesman Greif Support 4 December Scriptures and Tentative Sermon Titles Are We Doing Christmas Right? Julius Mayo Christmas Eve Worship 4 RMMO 4 Seasonal Theme Incarnation MMXVII No. 12 December 2017 Christmas Adoptions 5 December Calendar 6 Many submissions to the newsletter are voluntary contributions from individuals. The ideas expressed do not necessarily reflect the mission or views of University Baptist Church as a whole. Cover Pastor s Reflection: Wait. Listen. Be. Bob Turner One of the benefits, I think, of observing the liturgical calendar, as we do here at UBC, is that it has a beneficial disorienting effect and a countercultural edge to it. It s disorienting because the new year starts with Advent, which always falls at the end the calendar year. It s countercultural because it calls us to a time of reflection and stillness while virtually everything else around us is screaming in our ear: get up! Go shopping! Bake cookies! Decorate! Celebrate! Buy! Spend! Buy some more! Spend some more! Go! Go! Go! Advent challenges the forced and frenzied good cheer being pushed on us from so many quarters. It whispers in our ear: come away to a quiet place. Be still and experience the presence of God. Slow down. Wait. Listen. Be. Besides preparing us for Christmas and the coming of Jesus, this Advent also marks the beginning of the seasonal themes that will shape our congregational life this year. The first thematic period will stretch from the First Sunday of Advent on December 3 to Transfiguration Sunday (the last Sunday before Lent) on February 11. The notion of Incarnation will guide us for these eleven weeks. For the four weeks of Advent, our focus will be on preparation, followed on Christmas Eve and the next Sunday by incarnation itself, and then during the next six weeks we will consider the implications of incarnation for our lives and our church. Incarnation is, of course, one of the central and most distinctive doctrines of the Christian faith. It is the idea that Jesus of Nazareth was not a mere human being, but that in some mysterious way he embodied enfleshed incarnated God. The Incarnation has implications not only for Jesus but also for us. Paul called the church the body of Christ, which means we are meant to embody Christ in the world where we live the same way that Christ embodied God in the world where he lived. We are to incarnate God s love in tangible ways in the communities we inhabit. Teresa of Avila put it this way: Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which he looks compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands through which he blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes, you are his body. Christ has no body now on earth but yours. As we enter this season of Advent, let us listen to the voice of the Spirit calling us away from the noise of the world into the stillness of God s presence. In that encounter with God, may our hearts and souls find times of refreshing, and may we come away equipped and ready to live as Christ s hands and feet in this time and place. Grace and peace, bob P.S. Merry Christmas!

2 Page 2 Cornerstone Friday, December 8, 2017, 7:00pm, at The Little Bar. Come enjoy the libation of your choice as we have an informal conversation about important points in theology and ethics. Bring a friend! Thursday Night Bible Thursday night bible study will not be held for the remainder of We will resume in January. Mitten Tree! The mitten tree is up! We are collecting hats, gloves/mittens, and scarves through January 1, Hang your item(s) on the special tree in the Narthex. Thank you for helping. Birthdays Birthdays & Anniversaries 5 Maxwell Newberry 8 Carver Williams 12 Garth House 13 Bobbi Hoersdig 17 Molly McClafferty 23 Nicholas Green 27 Nancy Peto 31 Ceth Hough Anniversaries 13 Beth Short & John Besch Address Changes Marjorie Blair Ridgewood at Friendship Village Room Ponderosa Drive Columbus, Ohio Natasha Woods 1401 Whitesand Drive, Apt.B Richmond, VA Bring a dish to share and a white elephant gift (optional) and join us December 9 at 7 pm here at UBC for our annual Christmas party. NSI Christmas Basket Donations UBC has been assigned canned cranberry sauce and challenged to provide 700 cans! Please make your donations of cans of cranberry sauce or cash by December 10.

3 MMXVII No. 12 December 2017 Page 3 Some Children See HIm Kerry Cheesman We enter Advent season this year amidst the greatest political, philosophical, economic, and even religious division our country has seen in generations. Much of that division seems to be centered on skin color, and much of it seems to be created deliberately by those in power and by those wishing to be in power. I worry about the effects it is having on our children and grandchildren (who, by the way, come in several different shades of skin color). How we relate to the Advent story the preparation and birth narrative of Jesus the Christ seems at least in part to have something to do with skin color. The art that we see and use during this season of the church is largely European in design and reflects the lighter skin tones of modern Europeans. But (NEWS FLASH) Jesus was not a European. We all know that, but we so often ignore the fact and simply assume that these modern interpretations are the correct ones, or even the only ones. We see very few depictions of Christ in this country that are not Euro-centered. In the various travels that Maryann and I have done over the years we have collected more than a dozen nativity sets. They are constructed from porcelain, wood, nuts, and various plant materials. They represent the cultures of the places that produced them. Some have faces, some do not. Most wear clothing that is reflective of their culture. The skin tones are as varied as humans across the globe. Our last trip to Ecuador was somewhat frustrating in this regard; although we did find two lovely sets to bring back, we found that the preponderance of sets for sale were made with a white Jesus and a very European facial structure, certainly not what we expected from that culture or desired to bring home. If the Holy Family is not to be depicted in the brown tones of their middle-eastern origins, then at least Jesus should be depicted in the colors and tones of each individual culture, for Jesus is the Christ of ALL peoples everywhere. As I gaze upon the nativity sets displayed around our house this time of year, I am reminded of a carol that my mother (now age 91) introduced to me and my brothers more than 40 years ago (by singing the verses to us with her guitar!). It is called Some Children See Him and was written in 1951 by Alfred Burt. The words are (bold emphasis added by me): Some children see him lily white, the baby Jesus born this night. Some children see him lily white, with tresses soft and fair. Some children see him bronzed and brown, the Lord of heav'n to earth come down. Some children see him bronzed and brown, with dark and heavy hair. Some children see him almond-eyed, this Savior whom we kneel beside. Some children see him almond-eyed, with skin of yellow hue. Some children see him dark as they, sweet Mary s Son to whom we pray. Some children see him dark as they, and, ah! they love him, too! The children in each different place will see the baby Jesus' face like theirs, but bright with heavenly grace, and filled with holy light. O lay aside each earthly thing and with thy heart as offering, come worship now the infant King. Tis love that's born tonight. Soon Maryann and I will be heading west to spend Christmas with our grandchildren. In them we see various versions of the face of Christ, and each one is beautiful and precious to us and to God. I pray that as they grow we will be able to teach them that each of them looks exactly like Christ (or that Christ looks exactly like them), and each one of them is a reflection of God s amazing love. We can only do our small part to help the world become less focused on skin color and other superficial concerns, but maybe if each Christian does his/her small part our society can someday be transformed into the kind that Alfred Burt wrote about.

4 Page 4 Grief Support During the last several years, a number of our members and friends have lost loved ones. On Wednesdays, at 7 PM, we are hosting a grief support group at UBC. This is an opportunity for us to walk together supporting each other in an intentional way. Come. Feel free to invite friends who are touched by losses. Please contact Ken Watkins for more information. December Scriptures and Tentative Sermon Titles December 3 First Sunday of Advent Joel 2:10 14 Psalm 33: Corinthians 1:3 9 Mark 13:24 37 Rend Your Heart, Not Your Garments December 10 Second Sunday of Advent Amos 5:18 24 Psalm 70 Hebrews 10:19 25 Matthew 25:1 13 Got Oil? December 17 Third Sunday of Advent Isaiah 40:1 11 Psalm 85:1 2, Peter 3:8 15a Mark 1:1 8 Prepare the Way December 24 (morning worship) Fourth Sunday of Advent 2 Samuel 7:1 11, 16 Luke 1:47 55 Romans 16:25 27 Luke 1:26 38 Merciful Upheaval Are We Doing Christmas Right? Julius Mayo Something has happened in the sometimes bitter discourse related to the Christmas season. From outrage over coffee shops not including the correct holiday images on their cups to economic arguments about why adults shouldn t give gifts to other adults, something seems to have gotten lost in the message about what the celebration of the birth of the Christ should represent. A casualty of the rigid guidelines, expectations, and requirements for the right kind of Christmas celebration is the inclusion of the will of the Creator and Christ. As disciples of Christ, we should remember that Christ has promised to guide us if we are faithful and ask for what we need through prayer. When the Lord guides us in our actions, we will know the best way to recognize the incredible wonder and blessing the birth of Christ represents. We will know if a small present or a kind word is what is needed to do God s will, and there will be no buyer s remorse. As we stand amid the remnants of the last remaining items of after- Thanksgiving sales or wonder just how we are going to make it through all the stresses of the holiday season, we need to remember the reason for the season and do Christmas right in the God s eyes, not our own. Lift all praises to the Creator, Christ, and Holy Spirit. Merry Christmas from Julius and the Mayo family! December is RMMO month at UBC. Please consider contributing to our retired ministers and missionaries. Christmas Eve Worship Cornerstone 4th Sunday of Advent: 10:30 a.m. Christmas Eve: 7:00 pm Seasonal Theme Incarnation To help you prepare for the coming of the word-made-flesh at Christmas, during December we will be exploring different spiritual practices. Volunteers will describe the practice during worship and then lead us in that practice following the service. Dec. 10 Bob Turner, Lectio Devina Dec. 17 Ken Watkins, centering prayer Dec. 31 TBA Enhance your Advent experience with these spiritual practices as you prepare to welcome X at Xmas!

5 MMXVII No. 12 December 2017 Page 5 NSI Toy Drive Donations are due by December 10. Below are our children and the gifts they would like. Contact Oliva Riley if you would like to participate. Head of Household Name - Dickerson, Kierstin Recipient Name - Jones, Ja'liiyah Age- 2 Gender- F Race- Unspecified Preference 1 - baby doll or stroller Preference 2 - Barbie (purchased) Preference 3 - Barbie car (purchased) Gift Wrap- No Recipient Name - Lindsey, Ja-mear Age- 8 Gender- M Race- Unspecified Preference 1 - Avengers action figure Preference 2 - comic books Preference 3 - Hot Wheels Gift Wrap- No

6 3 December 2017 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 10:30 am Worship 10 10:30 am Worship Donations of canned Cranberry Sauce for NSI due! 17 10:30 am Worship 24 10:30 am Worship 4th Sunday of Advent 7:00 pm Christmas Eve Worship :30-11:30 am INCH 13 9:30-11:30 am INCH :30 pm Choir Practice 14 7:30 pm Choir Practice :00 pm Theology and Ethics on The Little Bar 6:30-10:30 pm CCF Newsletter Deadline 7:00 pm UBC Holiday Party! Bring a dish to share and a white elephant gift! 23 Page 6 Cornerstone

7 University Baptist Church Progressive Welcoming Inclusive Grief Support. Wednesdays at 7 pm. More information: Ken Watkins Theology on Tap. Friday, December 8, 7 pm. The Little Bar. More information: Bob Turner. UBC Christmas Party. Saturday, December 9, 7 pm. Please bring a dish to share and a wrapped white elephant gift for a fun exchange. More information: Bobbi Hoersdig NSI Christmas Basket Donations are due December 15. Our item is cranberry sauce and our goal is 700 cans! Mitten Tree. The mitten tree will be going up in the Narthex. Please remember our neighbors in need with your donations of hats, scarves, gloves, and mittens. Refreshment sign-ups for The sheet is up in the Narthex. Please consider providing snacks for fellowship after worship. University Baptist Church 50 West Lane Avenue Columbus, Ohio Phone: ubccolumbus@gmail.com Website: Return Service Requested 12/31/17 Pastor Rev. Bob Turner Moderator Barbara Bullock (2018) Choir Director David Tomasacci Pianist Mollie Rausch Office Manager Kerry Taylor Worship 10:30 a.m. Children s Sunday School 2nd and 4th Sundays 10:30 a.m. Office Hours Tues.-Fri. 9:00 a.m. 1:00 p.m.