Pastor s Pondering A voice cries, In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. (Isaiah 40:3) I saw you praying in front of the manger scene, the young man said. It s really nice. When I finished updating the church sign, I went to take a closer look at the lovely hand crafted crèche given to our church last year by Jim and Lorraine Peddle and Bill and Jennifer Peddle. They made it together so I was indeed giving thanks for their creativity and generosity, and for handyman Steve Morrall s putting it up on the first Sunday in Advent. The stranger walked by the church, paused, then came back to share what a clergy colleague calls a God-moment. He seemed vaguely embarrassed but continued, It was nice to see that someone remembers what this season is really about. I felt a surge of hope, then joy! Despite all the demands by an increasingly secular society to purge all religious references from our vocabulary and practices, here was someone who appreciated the rightness of proclaiming the birth of Christ from in front of our church! Seeing you standing there, the young man said, I felt.something, maybe from long ago. His eyes watered, maybe from the wind or maybe from an emotion gradually moving out of the depths of his being. It felt like believing. Nothing more needed to be said. I just nodded, and we shared the reverence of the moment. Yes, Virginia, with due respect to diversity, there are still people who believe in Jesus Christ and who celebrate His birth by saying Merry Christmas, by hanging stars on Christmas trees, by putting lights in their windows, and displaying Nativity scenes large and small. There are people who still sing Christmas carols and occasionally Advent hymns, attend performances of The Living Nativity, The Messiah or Amahl and the Night Visitors, and who light candles on their Advent wreath. I was seven months into my 40 th year when I wrote a poem about Advent. I was sitting alone in the dining room a few days before Christmas, watching the Advent candles flicker, their light being reflected in the patina of a family heirloom table. You know, one of those treasures to which generations of mothers cautioned their children to give wide berth lest they damage a vintage piece that seemed to be of more worth than their young lives. I smiled to think that I d cared for that table since I was a child. What an incredible sense of pride welled up in me the day my own mother handed me a dust rag and told me to carefully clean every inch of Aunt Harriet s table. Someday, it will be yours so you want to take very good care of it now. Spire Barre Congregational Church, UCC Welcoming & Serving the Quabbin Area Phone 978-355-4041 Email barrechurch@gmail,com website www.barre church.com Inside this Issue Pondering 1-2 Prayer Concerns/ Parish News Women s Fellowship, Giving Tree, Barre Food Pantry, Christmas Services Living nativity, Church Supper Collector s Report Calendar/Lectionary 8-9 3 4 1
Like the Christmas story and all its cherished lessons, that table is like a member of the family to me, actually, to all of our family. Even my brother pays homage when he visits each summer as if making a pilgrimage to a shrine he was not allowed to touch. This old table represents a beloved legacy handled with great care so that, even today, it looks almost as new as it did 150 years ago. So with that same sense of pride, I sat watching the candle glow reflecting off the deep sheen of the mahogany. Just after dinner, I d turned off the other house lights so I could enjoy all the Christmas lights from the Christmas tree, those in the windows, even the ones outlining the house reflected back by the snow. The house was unusually quiet that evening, Arthur and our 3 kids were either out or somewhere else in the house, so I took off my glasses, rubbed my eyes, and rested in the peacefulness. Everything was just a bit blurry, I mused in the poem, maybe because at 40 our eyesight begins to dim but maybe because by that age we realize that life can be unpredictable. There are vagaries to be considered, unexpected complications, inexplicable behaviors, events beyond our control, and there are few simple answers. Joseph and Mary, Elizabeth and Zechariah certainly learned that. Sometimes it s good just to sit and reflect just to let the effect of candle glow warm the spirit and take us to long-ago places stored away in memory. Sometimes it s good to leave the world outside the circle of light cast by candles in an Advent wreath. Sometimes it s good just to leave the world to its maddening pace. Sometimes it s good to pause for a while to get in touch with something that calls to us from an uncharted wilderness like the words at John Harty s cross: God s Wisdom Cries Out Come Back To Me. I don t know where the poem is anymore nor do I recall much of the contents. I do, however, remember sitting in the candle light and being aware of the blurred beauty that inspired me to write that in all of life s confusion, the one true conviction I know I can count on is that God will make a way where there seems to be no way IF I will trust and believe the promises God fulfilled in Jesus, the Way-shower, Messiah, Prince of Peace, Light of the World;; IF I will make time to recognize God pausing beside me;; and IF I will prepare a way for God moments. Advent is the first season of the church year and is often filled with God moments as we wait for Christ to be born in us again, or maybe for the very first time. If your life is a blur or just feeling blurry, come to the manger, pause, and I pray you will see The Light. I am about to do a new thing;; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:10 Wishing you peace and plenty throughout December! Merry Christmas! With love, 2
A Frosty Christmas Fair Saturday, December, 2014 10:00 a.m. 2:00 p.m. Tea, Country Kitchen, Baked Goods & Candy, Greens, Crafts, Jewelry, Raffles and Come bring the kids to see Santa!!! Yankee Candles Support Women s Fellowship fundraiser: purchase Yankee Candles on line and share the information so your friends and family can help us, too, now through January 9, 2015. Log onto to Yankeecandlefundraising.com;; go to home page. Fill in Group#/customer # 990073997, then choose from the drop down categories candles, accessories, etc. and order to your heart s content! In the place for the Seller s name (ignore request for ID#), please type in Debbie Noel Wetherbee. When placing your final order, the window will tell you how much you have donated to Barre Congregational Church through this Women s Fellowship fundraiser. Thank you, God bless you, and Merry Christmas!! Gordon Cooley Giving Tree The Gordon Cooley Giving Tree is located in the Narthex. Please take an angel off the tree and help make a local child s Christmas wish come true. The Giving Tree is done by the Cooley Family in memory of Gordon Cooley Barre Food Pantry News Our next distribution is Wednesday, December 10th with preparation the day and evening before on Tuesday the 9th. For our upcoming December distribution, the last one before the Christmas holidays, we have need of additional Peanut Butter Canned chicken & tuna Macaroni & cheese Canned green beans Canned peas Canned carrots Canned potatoes Canned beans Fruit juices Rice dry spaghetti and or pasta Pafrmalat milk Pasta sauce Beef stew Volunteers are welcome!!!if you would like to volunteer please call Sonja, 978-355-921 or Chuck 978-355-43. Community Friendship Supper Thursday, December 18, 2014 5:30 pm If you would like more information please call Janice Handrahan 1-508-882-3159 Christmas Services Christmas Sunday Sunday, December 21, 2014 9:30 am Family Christmas Eve Service Wednesday, December 24th at 7:00 pm (If you would like to have your children participate please see or call Sue Musnicki, 978-355-2743.) Candlelight Christmas Eve Service Wednesday, December 24th at 11:00 pm 4
Baked Stuffed Chicken Saturday, January 17, 2015 5:30 pm $10.00 for adults $5.00 for children under 12 For reservations please call Sue Fullam 9789-355-2248 Collector s Monthly Report November Loose Offering 552.2 Missions 487.00 Current pledges 5,857.00 Rengo Music 120.00 Grapevine AA 35.00 Tue Hope Fens NA 20.00 Cont. Church Needs 0.00 PIF AA 100.00 Esther Bacon Memorial Fund 995.00 Alice Allen Memorial Fund 185.00 Total for November $8,4002 Its Annual Report Time!!! It is hard to believe the end of the year is quickly approaching, that means that it is Annual Report time. Holiday Greetings I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your help throughout this past year, for your visits to the office and for all you do to make the Barre Congregational Church a church community. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! Wendy Isgro Please, Please get your reports for the Annual Report into the office no later than January 5, 2015. Save the Date The Annual Meeting is Monday, January 2, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. It is important that every member attend. A Christmas Cantata The Heart of Christmas Oakham Congregational Church Sunday, December 21st at 7:00 pm. 5
D E C E M B E R Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 10 2 Frosty Christmas Fair & Tea 5 Fair set-up all day 9-2 Wendy s hours 2:30- Music Lessons 7:30 AA & Alanon 3 2:30-:00 Music Lessons -8 Maplewinds Orch. 7:00 Boy Scouts 2 2:30-:00 Music Lessons :00 Bell Choir -7 Girl Scouts 7-8 Girl Scouts 1-8 Girl Scouts 12 13 11 9-2 Wendy s hours 2:30- Music Lessons -8 Circle of Song rehearsal chapel 7:30 AA & Alanon 10 9:00 Food Pantry -8 Maplewinds Orch. 7:00 Boy Scouts 9 9:00 Food Pantry set-up 2:30-:00 Music Lessons :00 Food Pantry set-up :00 Bell Choir 8-8 Girl Scouts 7 8:30 Choir warm-up 9:30 Service / Communion 19 20 18 9-2 Wendy s hours 2:30- Music Lessons 5:30 Friendship Community Supper 7:30 AA & alanon 17-8 Maplewinds Orch. 7:00 Boy Scouts 1 2:30-:00 Music Lessons :00 Bell Choir -7 Girl Scouts 7-8 Girl Scouts 15-8 Girl Scouts 14 9:30 Service 11:15 1 Confirmation 2 27 25 24 Christmas Day Christmas Eve 7:00 Family Christmas Eve Service 11:00 Candlelight Christmas Eve Service 22 23 12:45 Senior Center Christmas Luncheon Senior Center :00 Bell Choir 21 8:30 Choir warm up 9:30 Service 7:00 Cantata Oakham Congregational Church 31 New Years Eve 29 30 28 9:30 Service
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Barre Congregational Church P.O. Box 93 Barre, MA 01005 The world needs the distinct values, vision and voice of the United Church of Christ Continuing Testament. Extravagant Welcome. Changing Lives. 8