Tri-Jo Parish United Church of ChristHighlights from the latest issue of
our parish newsletter, The Living Word
From Pastor Moira's Study...
I love getting Christmas cards. Some of it, I’m sure, has to do with standing next to the mail box in the cold and the dark of Wisconsin’s Decembers and taking out something that isn’t a bill or an ad for a credit card or a catalogue or some other junk mail. There in my mailbox are envelopes, many brightly colored, and full of messages of the season. Some are personally addressed while others have computer generated labels. Some of them have handwritten messages, some a Christmas letter about a family’s adventures during the year, and some of them simply bear the signature of the sender. Still all of the cards carry with them the promise of the season, a prayer for peace and the hope for a bright and beautiful new year.
We come to this Christmas a world struggling to find a reason to hope. In this last year we have known great tragedy. We had the tsunami last December in Southeast Asia, nearly too many hurricanes to count that brought such destruction to the U.S. Gulf Coast, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America, and the terrible earthquake in Pakistan. Much of the globe struggles with famine, hunger and contaminated water. We are this year still a nation and a world at war. Families are separated with loved ones serving in conflicts or simply unable to travel. And there is plenty of heartache here in our own communities as well. People struggle to provide for the basics of life, they face loosing their job, they struggle to heat their homes and fill the car with gas, they live with health problems, they grieve the loss of someone they love.
But into these places of pain and uncertainty we stand during this season as Christians, as beacons of hope shining into the darkness. The Christmas story is one of incredible hope. Mary and Joseph trusted God enough to embark on a life together, bringing into the world the messenger of hope. The shepherds left their flocks in the field and went into Bethlehem to glimpse the one who had been promised to them, the one who would restore peace and bring justice. Far away in the East, wise men traveled by the light of a star to bring gifts to a king the likes of which the world had never seen, a king who would restore people to their communities, break down barriers and live a life of love.
As I write this, on the day after Thanksgiving, many people have been up for hours, braving the cold winter winds to get their early bird shopping specials. They’re preparing for the commercial Christmas, getting the tree trimmed and piling present after present underneath. I invite you to a different sort of preparation this year. Put down the bows and the sparkling tinsel and the glittering lights. Put down the glossy ads showing all you could buy. Put down the commerce of Christmas and look towards Bethlehem. Look for the one who is coming to bring us hope, to show us the ways in which we are called to work for peace. Look deep inside and find the true meaning of Christmas, the miracle of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem and the abundant love and grace of God that surrounds us all. May this Christmas season renew us all that we might show the world, through our lives and our actions, that we have reason to hope, that God has not abandoned us, that despite the darkness there is a light shining brightly. May the spirit of Christmas fill all our hearts and minds and lives with the presence of Emmanuel, God truly and always with us.
Yours in hope and peace, Pastor Moira
Church Directory Update...
We made our last parish directory when I first arrived in 2002. Since then, we have grown and changed. We have welcomed new friends into our parish and others have gone into eternal life. This means that it is time to update our directory.
Beginning in January you will find a draft of the directory at each church. Please check your listing to see if it is correct and everything is listed as you would like. When you’ve checked your listing, making any updates or corrections, please initial it so we know you have approved it.
At the end of January we will check with anyone who hasn’t approved their listing. Directories will then be available for pick up at both churches in mid-February or early March. (There will be information in the next issue of The Living Word about getting your directory mailed to you.)
It is my hope that when the new directory is finished, you will put it with your 2002 picture directory and use them together (if you don’t have a picture directory, let me know and I’ll get you one).
If you have any questions, or would like to help with the directory project, please let me know.
~ Pastor Moira
St. John’s Cookie Baskets
The St. John’s Women’s Group has decided to prepare baskets of cookies for some of our members who are unable to get out, do their own baking, or who are alone this holiday season. Everyone is invited to participate.
All you have to do is bake a batch of your favorite cookies.
Bring them to church on or before Tuesday December 13th at 1pm.
We’ll put together the baskets of cookies (and enjoy a few ourselves) on December 13th and then we’ll deliver them on Wednesday December 14th.
If you have questions or if you’d like to know who is on our list or to receive a basket, please talk with Pastor Moira
“When the star in the sky is gone, when the Kings and Princes are home, when the shepherds are back with their flocks, the work of Christmas begins. To find the lost, to heal the broken, to feed the hungry, to release the prisoner, to teach the nations, to bring Christ to all, to make music in the heart.”
~ Howard Thurman
Remember…
There is no worship on Sunday December 25th. This means that your last dates to make contributions to the church for 2005 will be Sunday December 18th and Christmas Eve!
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