11/30/11

Dear Family of faith,
"Thirty days have September, April, June, and November..." That's the little jingle I learned as a child. Can you believe that we are already at the last day of the month? The year is fast ending and with it comes the darkness of winter. I can't believe that the sun sets at 4:30 p.m. these days-- not good for someone who loves the light like I do.
Speaking of light, have you noticed the lack of it these days? I'm talking about the "darkness" I've seen in people as of late. There are so many people who are struggling with health issues, struggling to keep their homes, struggling to pay insurance bills or get coverage, struggling to keep kids from poor choices, struggling to make ends meet in every conceivable way that it is making many lose hope. Both young and old talk to me about their fears and lack of confidence that anything is ever going to change. This sense of resignation troubles me greatly, and yet I understand it. Maybe I'm hanging with the wrong crowd, but I don't know a single person who would say that they are "better off today" than they were ten years ago. That's where this season of Advent comes in-- this season of waiting for the coming of the Light of the world, for the Hope of the world, namely, Jesus. The church is the one place where the light still shines in the darkness because the gospel is good news-- that God's love will stick with us whatever happens, that God's family is a place where we can share our burdens, that God's Holy Spirit prays for us when we don't even know what to say. Rather than getting stuck in a mire of desperation, we can trust God to guide us on to better days. That's what Sunday worship is about-- believing in promises, experiencing God's power, and feeling the love of people who care.
Last Sunday's worship with communion was a wonderful way to begin our journey towards Christ's birth--- and that is the reason for Christmas. [I was discussing the whole "Happy Holidays!" greeting with a friend today. There are some Christians who are put out by the store policies that forbid their employees to say "Merry Christmas." I think we make too much of it. The word holiday comes from "holy day. Whether they know it or not, those who wish us "Happy Holy Days!" are being religious! The joke's on them! Besides, if someone wishes you "Happy Holidays!", you can just say back, "Thanks, and Merry Christmas to you, too!"] Back to last Sunday-- we sang familiar Christmas choruses and lit the first Advent Candle. Linda Bixby introduced the Giving Tree project where we have the opportunity to buy presents for needy children in our county (it is set up in the narthex), and Sue Mattson reminded us of the need for cookies for the Bazaar's Cookie Walk, as well as baked goods of all kinds. The season has begun, and I thank God that Christ's birth is celebrated in the middle of the darkest season of the year to bring us the gifts of joy and expectation.

11/23/11

Dear Family of Faith,
Happy Thanksgiving to all of you! I have been back and forth today over to the Fellowship Hall where preparations are being made for 48 people to share the meal tomorrow. Sue and Dick Mattson, Sherri and Wayne Raymond, and Jill have been busy cooking up a storm. They have made homemade noodles, homemade sweetpotato casserole, homemade dressing, and will bake multiple homemade pies tomorrow. (Martha Stewart, eat your heart out!). They are even making homemade bouillon from the turkey carcasses. They probably would have come up with a homemade turkey, too, if that had been possible! I'll have to get my Pilgrim costume out and wear it! One man told me this week, "I'm so glad to be able to eat Thanksgiving Dinner with my family. The church is my family."
What are you thankful for in this season of Thanksgiving? I'm thankful that I'm such a popular guy! The reason I know this that I've been getting so many emails from adoring fans. When I checked out my spam box a couple of days ago, I found an email from Iri, one from Irka, one from Irena, two from Irinka, one from Irishka, and two from Irinochka! I didn't bother reading them all, but the first line always started with "I would like to get ot know you" or some variation of such. I don't know if the emails were sent from some Eastern European woman who was trying to beat my spam blocker or a local lady who didn't know how to spell her name!! At any rate, it's nice to be wanted and I hope all of you are appreciated by somebody.

11-16-11

Dear Family of faith,
Thank you, thank you, for all the blankets that you have been bringing! You can stop for now; I have quite a supply of them (but we now know that some warm stocking caps and gloves would be appreciated). Last Friday night I made my first trip down to the streets of Tampa to distribute them to the people sleeping on the street. Ray Gomez and Ben Shinn went along. We passed out 11 blankets, 1 to a woman and the rest to men. For the most part we unrolled them and covered the guys. They were appreciative. It was one of the coldest nights of this season, so the timing was good. One man had even built a cardboard barricade between two trash containers to protect himself from the wind. I couldn't but help think about how little those people lived with in this world-- only what they could carry around with them. I wondered what it would be like to have so little and yet still have the will to go on. I have known a lot of people who have so much more and find life difficult. In this season of Thanksgiving, it gives us a reason to pause and be grateful for what we have. What's ultimately important is not the things of life, but life itself. If you are reading this, you are alive-- what a wonderful gift!

11-9-11

Dear Family of faith,
Congratulations to you! The response to our Mission 1 Project during the first 11 days of November has been fantastic! Our goal was for the congregation to send 111 letters to Congress regarding proposed cuts in hunger aid, and as of today you sent 145! We also wanted to collect 2 carloads of groceries last Sunday to give to the Salvation Army, and you came up with three car loads (trunks and back seats) for a total of 139 bags which was approximately 1,579 food items! You want to know what really meant so much about this? When those delivering the food arrived at the Salvation Army, there was a sign on the door that said the Food Pantry was closed because they were out of food! The only area where we didn't, as of yet, reach our goal was in the special offering. We were aiming for $666 but took in only $415 ( $251 short). If anyone still wants to contribute to this by Friday, please send it in and call us to let us know that it is coming. Thanks for all your generosity. One of the people who helped bring the food items to the pantry emailed me saying, "I felt proud to be in a church of Givers and we all spoke about what a great church we go to. I feel so honored to be part of a church that participates in so many programs to help those around us who may not be as fortunate." I feel honored, too, and I hope that all of you do.

11-2-11

Dear Family of faith,
Tonight at Bible Study we learned again how gracious and loving God has been to us extending us forgiveness and welcoming us back after every failure of our lives. God's grace brings us such peace and joy, such lack of fear and delight in life that we are changed people. I shared this definition of these twin blessings of the Gospel: "Peace is joy resting; joy is peace dancing." When our hearts are filled with gratitude and life seems right, we have an inner calm that refreshes our spirit. And when we have an inner assurance of God's love we can rise up and express our delight and love of life in winsome and captivating ways. My wish for all of you is that you know that kind of peace and joy in your lives-- enough so that you sleep well and dance with gusto.