The Messenger. December 2018 A Publication of St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia

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1 The Messenger December 2018 A Publication of St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia Church Office: Phone - (902) stjohnsmahonebay@gmail.com Pastor Adam: Phone - (902) adamgsnook@gmail.com If it happened here...as it happened there; If it happened now...as it happened then; Who would have seen the miracle? Who would have brought gifts? Who would have taken Them in? -William Kurelek Each year as the seasons of Advent and Christmas dawn upon us, I find myself drawn once more to William Kurelek's book entitled, A Northern Nativity. This book is filled with a variety of paintings that feature the Nativity story, re-told, from the normal perspectives of everyday life. (Visuals, as Kurelek explains in his introduction, which came to him as he fell asleep when he was 12 years old - and which have remained in his memory ever since). One page presents the idea of the Holy Family, where the newborn child is safely tucked away inside an igloo, while northern lights play against the deep black sky. Another page offers the possibility of Mary and Jesus resting in the hay of an open barn - while cars, trucks, and busses rush past busily hurrying from place to place. A third page shows Mary waiting, while Joseph knocks on a modest fishing hut - seeking shelter inside. The man at the door replies, 'Try that house, over there...they're better able to help.' And perhaps my personal favourite, Mary sitting with the Christ Child on her lap - while around her a group of children are filled with overwhelming excitement at such a joyous announcement! These aren't your typical nativity scenes. In fact, they are strikingly different. And that's why I have cherished them so. Because through them, we are invited to encounter the story of our Saviour's birth in a new way! A way, I would posit, that invites us into this cherished story. As December sets in, we will begin our journey into the seasons of Advent and Christmas. The traditions, music, stories, and liturgies that we will share in the days to come are cherished. Many are tried and true and invite us to recall memories of years gone by. We light candles, we watch the Christmas pageant, we sing Silent Night. We have come to expect these beloved traditions. However, and in the midst of our seasonal traditions, may we never forget just how unexpected this miracle truly is! The promise that God loved us so much, that God chose to take on the form of an innocent and vulnerable child. The promise that God loves us so much, that God chose to walk with human feet, to work with human hands, and to feel with a human heart. The promise, that even when darkness surround us, the light of God's love has come into the world. And the promise...the beautiful

2 promise...that we have been invited to kneel in wonder and awe at the side of the manger. To worship and to bow down. To bring our gifts and to open our hearts to the joy of Christmas. May the season of Advent provide us with ample opportunity to anticipate the miracle that prepares to shatter the darkness. And when those birth cries herald the new dawn, may we linger a little longer in joyful wonder! Blessed Advent! It is an honour to accompany you on this journey. - Pastor Adam Advent & Christmas Worship Schedule O Come, All Ye Faithful! Dec 2 Advent 1 11am Holy Communion Dec 2 Inter-Church Advent 7pm Calvary Crossroads Dec 9 Advent 2 11am Holy Communion Dec 16 Advent 3 11am Children's Pageant Dec 23 Advent 4 11am Lessons & Carols (St. James' Anglican) Dec 24 Christmas Eve 8pm Candlelight Service Dec 30 Christmas 1 11am Choral Eucharist + Christmas Market/ Yard Sale It's that time of year again! This year s sale will be from 8:30 am to 2:00 pm on November 24 and December 1 during the Father Christmas Festival. We would appreciate any donations of yard sale items, especially Christmas decorations. Items can be dropped off at the church during regular office hours. There will also be a bake table and a craft table. Baked goods can be brought to the church on the Friday before each sale from 9:00 am 7:00pm Volunteers are needed to help with sorting and pricing and for working on the sale days. Many hands make light work! If you are available to help in any way, please call Jane Winchcombe at or the Church Office at Budget Meeting The 2018 Congregational Budget Meeting will be held on Sunday, December 2 following the service. Thank you to the Budget Committee for their diligent work as they have prepared our budget for the upcoming year. Copies of the budget are now available! + Interchurch Advent Service The Mahone Bay Interchurch Advent Community Service will be held at Calvary Crossroads Pentecostal Church on Sunday, December 2 at 7pm. Join us for this seasonal tradition! + Gifts From The Heart (CLWR) Once again Canadian Lutheran World Relief has published a catalogue of alternative gifts which reach far beyond the recipient and into the world that God has given us. Instead of that bouquet of flowers...why not buy your loved one a pair of goats ($75) that will help support agriculture in an African village. Instead of that new pair of shoes...why not provide an art kit ($35), to children and youth at a refugee camp in Northern Jordan. And instead of that gift certificate...why not gift your friend with the joy of knowing that a child received Dialysis in the West Bank ($250), that a mother can cook for her children with a fuel efficient stove ($20), or that a teacher has been trained ($75). Catalogues are available in the Christian Education Centre. + Deck The Halls We are decorating the church for Christmas on December 8 at 10:00 a.m. This year, we will be trying to replicate a 1920's photo of St. John's which will involve the use of ample greens, stars, and lots of light! Thank you to our Worship Committee for making this vision a reality! + Advent Wreath Session On Sunday, December 2 at 12:15pm, you are invited to gather in the Christian Education Centre for a Pot-Luck and Advent Wreath Making program. Participants will make an Advent Wreath to take home to help mark these wonder-filled days of hopeful anticipation. A new at-home devotional booklet will also be made available to facilitate your time of devotion and reflection. Please register by adding your name to the sign-up sheet on the Bulletin Board in the Christian Education Centre, or call the office.

3 + Christmas Hampers If you wish to donate items for Christmas Hampers please list the donation on the signup sheets soon-to-be posted on the easel at the back of the sanctuary. The deadline is December 23. Many thanks to Linda Finigan for her continued facilitation of our Christmas Hamper program. + Grocery Card Orders Gift Cards will be available for pickup on Sunday, December 2. Thank you to everyone who so graciously have supported this project! A special thank you to Ethel Joudrey and Sandra Hill for their careful coordination! + Christmas Caroling Christmas Carolling will take place on Friday evening, December 7 beginning at 6:00. We are hoping to get a large group of people to join us as we drive or walk to homes to sing the beloved songs of the season. JOIN US!! + Senior s Christmas Party Mahone Bay Legion Wednesday, December 5, :00 pm. Refreshments, entertainment, door prizes and visit by Santa. No Admission fee. Sponsored by Mahone Bay Legion, Lions and Town of Mahone Bay. + Christmas Potluck Come join us for a potluck supper at St. John s on Sunday, December 16 at 5:00 p.m If you require transportation to this event, please contact the church office. We are very excited to welcome Manna who will be leading a Christmas Sing-A- Long after the Potluck. + Christmas Pageant There will be a Sunday School Christmas Pageant on Sunday, December 16 during our regular worship. The Sunday School invite you to bring a non perishable food bank donation in addition to your regular offering on Dec Christmas Tree Lighting Thank you and warm congratulations to members of our bell and vocal choirs, Rebecca, Gale and all those who participated in the Mahone Bay Tree Lighting on Friday, November 23. It was an incredible event that warmly invited us into the Holiday Season! + Lessons & Carols - Dec. 23 We have been invited to gather with our brothers and sisters at St. James' Anglican Church for a traditional English service of Lessons & Carols on Sunday, December 23 at 11am. The service will be followed by Ginger Cookies and Cider in the Sanctuary. This gracious invitation was received following our joint service together on Reformation Sunday. PLEASE NOTE: There will be NO regular service at St. John's on Sunday, December 23. Instead, we will gather together with our neighbouring Anglicans. + Christmas Memorials Anyone wishing to place a Christmas Memorial in memory of a loved one is asked to please contact the church office by December 18, Mother Daughter Choir St. John's Lutheran Mother & Daughter Choir is enthusiastically preparing their 14th Annual Concert and Christmas Celebration in support of local food banks! Come and join our spirited moms and daughters for their joyful presentation of "Belles & Noels! a wonderful evening of Christmas Choral music with rich harmonies and instrumentation on Friday, December 21, 2018 at 7:30pm in the beautiful candlelit atmosphere of St. John's Lutheran Church, Mahone Bay, NS. These lovely songsters, their director Leslee Barry, principle accompanist Rebecca Rock and our great lineup of instrumentalists are all very excited to offer this joyous program and, as always, we hope to fill the church with people, people's hearts with the Christmas spirit, and ultimately, the foodbanks' Christmas stocking! Tickets are available now at Kinburn Pharmasave in Mahone Bay and Shop on the Corner in Lunenburg. Adults $15.00; Students $10.00; Children under 5 admitted free! + Christmas Office Hours Please note that regular office hours will be suspended from December 21-January 3. During this time, Kelly Wentzell will be away from the office. Pastor Adam will be happy to return any calls and that arise. Should there be a pastoral emergency, please call Pastor Adam directly: (902)

4 + New Name for A New Generation For many years, Waterloo Lutheran Seminary has been the site of theological education for future pastors. Increasingly, the diverse programs that the seminary offers has attracted students from a wide variety of faith and cultural backgrounds. The seminary is no longer a place only for pastors - but now offers a world renowned Counselling and Psychotherapy program, a growing undergraduate program, and the opportunity for doctoral studies. To better reflect the wide array of students, while still speaking to our Lutheran identity, Waterloo Lutheran Seminary has been officially renamed Martin Luther University College. And with a new name, comes a new logo: The Ringing Rose! The Ringing Rose icon is the heart of Martin Luther University College s visual identity. The design, created by Janet Day of the creative firm Studio Locale, combines elements of our school s bell tower and the five-petal Luther Rose. Rendered in vibrant colours, the symbol honours our Lutheran traditions and rings hope as our school, students and alumni continue to make positive contributions in God s world. For more information about MLUC, please visit: luther.wlu.ca. + Mission Grant The congregational council, in consultation with the Worship & Music Committee, applied for a Mission Grant from the Eastern Synod Mission Committee to support an expansion of our current multimedia and social media presence. We are pleased to report that we have received a grant in the amount of $2, This will support the first phase of the project. Our next step will be to consult further with a sound technician to formulate a multi-year plan. More information will be shared as it becomes available. + Camp Edgewood Legacy The following article is taken from the November edition of the Eastern Synod Lutheran For seven decades Edgewood Camp and Conference Centre carried out a much-loved ministry in Southwestern Ontario. Even though it is no longer financially viable for the synod to continue to provide outdoor ministry in this location, it is both reassuring and exciting to know that through its legacy, Edgewood s long history of ministering to children, youth and young adults will continue in future years. As Rev. Joel Crouse, the synod s Ministry Director of Property Transformation, reported in the July/August, 2018 issue of The Eastern Synod Lutheran, Edgewood s property was sold in the early summer realizing net proceeds of approximately $775,000. An additional $115,000 remained in cash assets at the time of Edgewood s closure. Various suggestions for allocating these assets were made by the membership of Edgewood s incorporated body at its final annual meeting (May, 2017) as well as by rostered and lay delegates to Assembly 2018 (June, 2018). After reviewing these and other suggestions the synod s Youth and Young Adult (YAYA) Ministries Committee, a group comprised of six young adults, made a series of recommendations to the Synod Council. These recommendations were subsequently approved by Synod Council at its meeting in early November and included the following actions: returning $90,000 of unused Edgewood redevelopment funds to the synod; repaying the synod for a $21,000 loan that was previously made to Edgewood; providing $10,000 to each of Camp Lutherlyn and Camp Mush-a-Mush to help cover future emergency situations; making a $25,000 donation to the Restoration of Identity (ROI) Indian Residential School Survivors (IRSS) Legacy Project; placing $25,000 in a fund for future use by the YAYA Ministries Committee for Indigenous projects;

5 establishing two new funds (approximately $178,000 each), one for each of Camp Lutherlyn and Camp Mush-a-Mush to help fund future capital projects; and adding approximately $330,000 to the YAYA Endowment Fund (income earned by this fund will be used to help fund YAYA ministries in future years). The remaining $23,000 will be distributed after further investigation is completed, thus ensuring that original donor intentions and regulatory requirements are honoured. These actions ensure that Edgewood s legacy will continue to serve future generations of children, youth and young adults, helping them to grow in their faith. YAYA Ministry Director, Rev. Christie Morrow-Wolfe, referring to the recommendations made by the YAYA Committee, commented: I am super proud of this group of young people. They do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8). They live it. In its final recommendation, the Youth and Young Adult Ministries Committee challenged Synod Council to match YAYA s $25,000 allocation for future Indigenous projects, a challenge that Synod Council eagerly accepted in recognition that we are walking together with our Indigenous neighbours down a path of reconciliation. As required in the sale agreement, the new owners of Edgewood s former property intend to donate a large portion of the land to a conservation authority, making it accessible to the general public. Along with the funding allocations identified above, this land donation, a reminder of God s creation, is yet another way in which Edgewood s legacy will continue to serve our wider community for years to come. (Keith Myra, Eastern Synod Treasurer) To register for the Eastern Synod Lutheran Monthly E-News, please visit: subscribe-our-e-newsletter + Joy Journal Birthday Greetings are extended to the following: Dec 5 Amy Wamboldt Rachel Winchcombe Dec 7 Marilyn Wentzell Dec 8 Wade Ernst Dec 12 Holly Snook Dec 14 Brian Andrews Dec 16 Jason Mailman Sophie Marriott Dec 28 Nicholas Lowe Dec 31 Cheryl Nauss Anniversary wishes are also extended: December 5 Norman & Sara Whynot

6 St. John s Evangelical Lutheran Church + December 2018 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 Additions to the calendar will be printed in the bulletin. An updated calendar can be viewed on our church website. Announcements for the January / February 2019 calendar are due to the church office by December 14, :30am-2pm Yard Sale & Market 2 Advent 1 11am Worship 11am - Sunday S. 12 pm- Budget Mtg. 12:15pm- Advent Wreath Making 7pm Advent Service 9 3 6:30pm-8:30pm- Mother &Daughter Choir am 2 pm - Office :30pm - Mahone Nursing Worship am 2pm - Office 7 9am 2pm Office 6pm Christmas Caroling am- Church Decorating 15 Advent 2 11am Worship (Communion) 11am Sunday School 16 6:30pm-8:30pm Mother & Daughter Choir 17 9am-12pm Office 7pm - Council am Pageant Rehearsal 22 Advent 3 11 am Worship 11am S.S. Pageant 5pm Christmas Pot- Luck 23 6:30pm-8:30pm- Mother & Daughter Choir 24 9am-2pm Office 4pm - 3CF 25 5:30pm - VON 10am - Clergy Mtg. 7:30pm - Mother/Daughter Concert Advent 4 11am - Lessons & Anglican Church Christmas Eve 8pm Christmas Eve Candlelight Sevice Christmas Day OFFICE CLOSED January 1 January 2 January 3 January 4 January 5 Christmas 1 11 am Worship New Years Eve New Year's Day OFFICE CLOSED