I’m planning on preaching on Matthew 2.1-12 this coming Sunday. I don’t think I’m going to spend a lot of time talking about exactly what the star was, but the United Methodist Church has a good solid article on it.
Link: http://bit.ly/1UfqGHf
Map of Entrances
We do our best to be a friendly church that welcomes everyone who walks in the door, but we’ve recently learned that new people sometimes aren’t sure which door to walk in. To address this problem I’ve added the map below to the church’s website. Take a look at it and let me know if you think anything needs to be changed, added, or removed.
A Brass Quintet for Lessons and Carols
We had a wonderful Service of Lessons and Carols yesterday. The service included an excellent brass quintet featuring: Chuck Brussow, Karyn Schafer, Sara Buller, Jim Brown, and David Carlson. A special thank you to the 8:15 service for helping me to realize that the presentation of our tithes and offerings needed to be moved to the beginning of the service.
Joy to the World Isn’t a Christmas Song
The Atlantic ran a headline asserting that “‘Joy to the World’ isn’t a Christmas Song.” That intrigued me such that I took the time to read the article. The article’s main assertion is this:
“Isaac Watts didn’t intend it [ “Joy to the World” ]to be a Christmas song at all. … When you read his words to “Joy to the World” closely, you start to notice that there’s nothing about Jesus’s birth—they all refer to his second coming.”
I ran through the lyrics in my head, and I couldn’t think of a counterfactual to that argument. Still certain the article was wrong, I opened up a hymnal, but that only confirmed that they were correct. There is no mention of a baby Jesus, a manger, etc. in ‘Joy to the World’ despite the fact that it is firmly ensconced in the hymnal’s Christmas section. Before I read the article, we were planning on singing Joy to the World on Christmas Eve. We’ll still be singing it on Christmas Eve, but it serves as a reminder (at least to me) that in what is officially the season of Advent we’re not just waiting to celebrate the first coming of Jesus in flesh and blood, but his second coming in power and glory. Celebrating the first coming is one of the ways we can prepare ourselves for the second.
Note: Jenny has pointed out to me that singing “Joy to the World” for Christmas is much like Mary’s singing in Luke 1:46-55. We sing of what will be in the past tense because of our faith that God will bring it to pass.
Link: http://theatln.tc/1QJRnGb (Warning: this particular article is non-partisan, but the same cannot be said of everything The Atlantic publishes).
Church Office Closed on Christmas
Hopefully this goes without saying, but the church office will be closed on Christmas Day. It will also close at 12 p.m. on Christmas Eve.
Christmas Play Cast
We had a great Christmas Play last Wednesday. If you missed this one, you’ll want to catch next year’s, it’s a great way to support our children and youth. Below is a cast photo, courtesy of Stacy Gonzales.
This Sunday’s Sermon
This Sunday I’ll be preaching on Matthew 1.18-25. This is the fourth sermon in our Advent series, so I’ll be focusing on Joseph and what we can learn from him.
Serrv Sale a Success
We had a great response to our sale of Serrv fairly-traded goods this Advent. We had total sales of $1,613.77. This is a great thing in and of itself because it helps provide a decent living to small farmers and artisans around the world. This was our goal, and it was accomplished. But in the process of preparing for the sale, we learned that roughly 25% of the total sales would go to the church (our local church, Abilene First United Methodist). The church’s share was $405.61. We never intended this sale to be a fundraiser, we meant for it to be a mission project, so the Mission and Outreach Team has decided to use the money to help purchase of fairly-traded coffee. In that way, we’re plowing it back into mission.
Christmas Eve Services
This year Abilene First United Methodist Church will have three Christmas Eve services. They will be at 2 pm, 7 pm, and 11 pm. The 2 pm service will be in the Chapel (which has no exterior windows) so that we can pretend it is Christmas Eve instead of Christmas Eve afternoon. The 7 and 11 pm services will be in the Sanctuary. All three services will feature special music, communion, and Silent Night sung by candlelight. We hope to see yo there!
Funeral Services for Margaret Brown
A Service of Death and Resurrection for Margaret Marie Brown will be held today, Friday, December 11, 2015, at 10:30 am in the Sanctuary of First United Methodist Church. Margaret will be buried at Abilene Cemetery following the service.
Note: My sincere apologies for not getting this up earlier, I thought it was already posted.
Caroling Party
There will be a caroling party this coming Sunday, December 13, 2015. We’ll meet at the church parking lot at 3 pm. Our first stop will be the Brookdale Assisted Living Facility, followed by stops at other locations. There is a sign-up sheet in the Narthex, or you can contact Clark Williamston directly by phone (785-263-2623) or email (clark@abilenefirstumc.org).
The Shepherd’s Run
The following was received from Kristy Engle and lightly edited:
Our Shepherd’s Run is First UMC’s way of expressing appreciation to those who work on Christmas Eve. Following our 11 pm Christmas Eve service we deliver plates of Christmas goodies to those who are working at nursing homes, the hospital, the police and fire stations, convenience stores, etc.
Please have all cookies, bread, candies to the church before the 7 pm service. They can be placed in the kitchenette off of the narthex. The plates are assembled at this time and placed on tables in the narthex for delivery after the 11 pm service. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me (Kristy Engle).
Thank you for being a part of this “gift of love” to our community.