As we enter the month of December, actually beginning on
November 30, we find ourselves in the church season of Advent. This is the time
of preparation before the Christmas holiday. Slowly, but surely we are seeing decorations
being set up in front of houses and storefronts reminding us of the coming of
the holiday. Songs of the season are starting and will
continue to echo through malls, offices, and churches. Sometimes I think we would have to close both our eyes and our ears in
order to miss this season of the year.
But in the same way we would have to
close our eyes and ears to the evening news and the daily newspaper, not to
know that we are desperately in need of a savior. War and injustice, crime and
violence of many types were not part of God’s original plan for humanity and
our world, but sin brought a lot of bad things into
the world.
So it is that we Christians believe
that in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus all of the horrors in this
world are overcome, including death, and so the way was opened for us to share
life with God forever.
But in the meantime, until the final
victory, the struggle between good and evil goes on in this frail world of
ours. So, we need Advent to remind us that we have a choice.
We are called by God to prepare for the coming of
Ultimate Good, born in a manger to be the Savior of the world. This Advent we
need to choose good. As we look and listen to the
sounds of the season we are called to wake up and walk
in the light of our Lord.
So, let us choose this day, and in all the days of this
Advent season, to follow the Lord and to open our hearts to his love that never
ends!
Blessings to you in December!
Wanda
Teaching the
Word...
DECEMBER LECTIONARY TEXTS
Here are the Lectionary
texts for the month of December. Rev. Mello’s
preaching texts are in Bold print.
You are invited to read the texts ahead of each Sunday
service as you prepare to hear God’s word.
December 7, 2008
WORSHIP
READERS NEEDED…
We are in need of our worship readers for the months of January and February. If you are interested in serving as a worship reader please sign up on the sheets in the Social Hall or speak to Rev. Mello. May you be blessed as you read God’s word in worship.
WEEKLY BIBLE STUDY
You are invited to attend our
weekly Bible Study on Friday mornings at
9:30 AM. At these studies we take a look at the scriptures for our Sunday
worship service and ponder their deeper meanings for our lives. Everyone is invited to attend.
Patti will be playing three Holiday Organ Recitals during the lunch hours on Tuesdays in December. The time of each concert is 11:30 AM – Noon in the sanctuary. The concerts will be held on Tuesday, December 2, December 9, and December 16. The public is invited to the concerts and people are encouraged to bring a sack lunch to eat while the listen to sounds of the season.
ADULT ADVENT STUDY
Rev. Mello will lead an Advent study for adults on three Thursday evenings in December beginning on December 4 and continuing on December 11 and December 18. Each study begins at 7:00 PM in the lounge. The topic of discussion this year will be “Signs – ADVENTures In Isaiah”. Come and join us for a time of study in preparation of the coming of our Lord.
CHRISTMAS EVE WORSHIP
We will host our annual worship service of Carols and Candlelight on Wednesday, December 24 at 5:00 PM in the church sanctuary. Everyone is invited to join us as we welcome the baby Jesus into the world and into our hearts at this special service or worship.
Touching the World...
You are invited to give a gift for mission to our Assistance
Fund. We have been utilizing the money from this fund to help several people with
their rent and utility costs in the past few weeks; and we have used some to
purchase food vouchers from the Ranch Market for people in need. Thanks so much
for your continued support of this fund! Your gifts to this fund do indeed help
those in our community who are in need!
In these stressful
economic times we have seen the numbers of people in need coming to us increase
dramatically, so if you are looking for a place to give an extra gift this
holiday season, our Assistance Fund is a great place to give.
We have eleven angels on our tree this year as we once again
undertake our mission to Arvin area children of people who are
incarcerated in various prisons in
Our next monthly Church Cabinet meeting will be on Wednesday, December 10, 2008 at 7:00 PM in the lounge. All Cabinet members are urged to attend.
UPCOMING
DATES FOR YOUR CALENDAR IN 2009
We
have set the date of our Annual Congregational Meeting for Sunday, January 25,
immediately after worship. This meeting of the congregation is very important
for all of us to attend. There will be a potluck lunch following the meeting.
Also, our church cabinet will welcome our Interim
Conference Minister, Rev. Jane Fisler-Hoffman to meet
with us at our annual Breakfast Retreat Meeting on February 7, 2009. Jane will
be with us to discuss our concerns and hopes for our covenantal relationship in
the UCC. You are invited to attend this meeting even
if you are not a member of the Church Cabinet. Please speak to Judy Chase if
you wish to attend and are not a Cabinet member.
ANNUAL
REPORTS ARE DUE
Annual
Reports by the heads of all church boards and committees are due in the church
office NO LATER than JANUARY 16, 2009. If you can get your
report written and in to the church office earlier, all the better!
REMEMBER YOU CAN FIND ALL OF
OUR NEWS ON OUR WEBSITE: www.arvinucc.org
Check it out!
Church Family
News…
As our world remains in a time of war, we ask that you
continue to remember in your prayers all of our young people serving our
country all over the world. Especially pray for Jason Brand, John & David
Phillips, Isaac Philips, Dylan Wakeland, and Tracey
Farris.
Please keep our homebound, and
nursing home members in your thoughts and prayers. They are Mildred Holbert in the nursing home; and
Lucille Barkley at home.
CONGRATULATIONS
Congratulations to Sierra and Wil Coupland on the birth of their first baby, Serenity Ann,
who was born on October 25, 2008 in
GOOD NEWS
The Mellos received news that the
REV. MELLO ON VACATION
Rev. Mello will take
the week of December 26 – January 2 as vacation time. Rev. Dr. Bruce Jones will
be our guest preacher on December 28.
THANK-YOU
The Women’s Fellowship would
like to thank everyone who helped to make their Holiday Luncheon and Bazaar a
success this year. The cooks and servers outdid themselves and the creators of
the crafts, and money and ticket takers were amazing. And
we could never thank the set up and clean up crews enough. THANKS
AND BLESSINGS TO YOU ALL!
THOUGHTS TO PONDER THIS ADVENT SEASON…
It is so easy to get
confused into thinking that faith is something we do, rather than something
that God gives. It is easy to forget that worship is not so much
what we give to God, but rather what God gives to us.
The incarnation –
Christmas – should be a yearly reminder that our salvation is something that
God devises, not something that we achieve. What else does God have to do to
tell us, “This is not about you. This is not about
something you are supposed to think or feel or do.
This is about ME, something that I give you!”
We could not climb up
and lay hold of the greatest of God, so God climbed down and laid hold of us as
we are. Thanks be to God!