12/11 Goode Thoughts - Advent, Intentions, Snow, and More

Friends, I woke up this morning thinking about Advent and realizing that we are pretty much right in the middle of it right now. Feels like we have been Advent-ing for a while but there's still a lot ahead. I guess that's what waiting is often like. We see some things that have been realized but we also know there is still much that is still ahead. There's a thing in Christian theology that simply calls this the "Already but not yet." And we're right in that in so many ways.

In fact, that's something going on today. We have the already of Greenhills moving their things over to RJC and today Pleasant Run is doing that. There's an already-ness to this but there's still the not yet as we are living into this new thing. I know I share that a lot but it is a reality. There's a lot of "already" over the last few months but there's still a lot of "not yet" still ahead.

But in the Advent story, even in the "not yet," God is present. God is with us. God was present with Zechariah and Elizabeth. God was present with Mary. God was present with Joseph. God was present in the time in Bethlehem. God was present in the journey to Egypt.

Grace, Peace, Love, Hope, and Joy,
Pastor Ed

This Sunday is going to be a unique Sunday in that it is very music centric as we will be celebrating the third Sunday of Advent with selections from Howard Helvey's Christmas cantata, Sing We Now of Christmas. We will be intermixing some contemporary and historical reflections and prayers around Advent and Christmas as well. It is going to be a beautiful Sunday!

In addition, this Sunday and also on the 21st we will be having a special collection for the PCUSA Christmas Joy offering. This is one of the special offerings of the denomination and it focuses on providing emergency resources for pastors as well as for leadership development for communities of color. As one who has received assistance from Christmas Joy funds, I am grateful for the support that we can share.

On December 21, the focus of the sermon will be on a recipe, of sorts. So I was thinking... could you plan to bring a copy or two of your favorite Christmas recipe (dessert, main, side, etc) to share with others? We'll have a table out in the gathering area and we can just put them out there and if one looks good, take it. One of those share one, take one kind of things.

Both Lori and I will be participating in the community Christmas service with several other congregations this Sunday, December 14 at 4:00pm. The service will be held at St Paul's Community of Faith Church (5312 Old Blue Rock Rd) and will be a service of lessons and carols. Hope Lutheran, St Paul's, Grosebeck, and RJC will have different participants as a part of the service. All are welcome!

Thank you to each of you who has already submitted your giving intention for 2026. If you have not, could you please plan to do so as soon as possible? The Session will be meeting next Wednesday and part of our meeting will be to work on finalizing the annual budget for 2026 and our estimates of giving are a big part of that. The form and information are linked below or you can fill out the online form at the link just below
2026 Giving Intentions

Right now there's some decent snow forecasted for Saturday into Sunday at this point. If the need arises for a cancelation, we will send out information early on Sunday morning via email and will also communicate via text message (we haven't yet tested that capability yet in our membership system) to try to reach as many people as possible if a closure is necessary. If you are aware of people who might not have access to email or text messaging, please also directly call them on Sunday AM to let them know. Thanks!