When we decorated for Advent and Christmas this past Sunday, I realized that I had not taken the Advent Candles down to Cypress Bridge to be recast. I have now done that. They can be picked up on Friday. Cypress Bridge is closed on Saturday (because it’s the Sabbath). I really need someone or someones to remind me to pick them up on Friday so that we can have them for Sunday. A little help, please.
Advent-Christmas-Epiphany Hymn Schedule
Here’s the Advent-Christmas-Epiphany Hymn Schedule for 2019-2020.
December 1, 2019 — First Sunday of Advent
202 People Look East
3047 God Almighty, We Are Waiting
211 O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (Vss 1-4)
196 Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus
December 8, 2019 — Second Sunday of Advent
206 I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light
234 O Come, All Ye Faithful
211 O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (Vss 1, 5-6)
203 Hail to the Lord’s Anointed
December 15, 2019 — Third Sunday of Advent
238 Angels We Have Heard on High
249 There’s a Song in the Air
2095 Star Child (Vss 1-4)
216 Lo, How a Rose Er Blooming
December 22, 2019 – Fourth Sunday of Advent
229 Infant Holy, Infant Lowly
220 Angels From the Realms of Glory
198 My Soul Gives Glory to My God
219 What Child is This
December 24, 2019 — Christmas Eve
240 Hark! the Herald Angels Sing
246 Joy to the World
217 Away in a Manger
239 Silent Night
December 28, 2019 — First Sunday after Christmas Day
196 Come Thou Long-Expected Jesus*
227 The Friendly Beasts
230 O Little Town of Bethlehem
221 In the Bleak Midwinter
3052 God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen
228 He is Born, the Holy Child
218 It Came Upon the Midnight Clear
219 What Child is This*
251 Go Tell it on the Mountain
January 5, 2020 — Epiphany of the Lord
220 Angels From the Realms of Glory*
237 Sing We Now of Christmas, vss 1, 3, 4, 5
254 We Three Kings
245 The First Noel
*Indicates a repeat hymn.
Hanging of the Greens
Tomorrow, Sunday, November 24, 2019, we will be hanging the greens (decorating the church for Christmas) right after the 10:30 a.m. service. You are invited to stay for this intergenerational activity.
Emmanuel is Disaffiliating
As you may have already heard, Emmanuel Church here in Abilene is in the process of disaffiliating from the United Methodist Church. The Great Plains Conference has an article on their website that explains what’s going on.
Link: https://bit.ly/2QEmOHE
Funeral Service for Shirley Ayre
A service of Death and Resurrection for Shirley Ann-Bethe Ayre will be held this Saturday, November 23, 2019, at 2:30 p.m. in the sanctuary. Pie and Coffee will follow in Wright Fellowship Hall and after that burial at Abilene Cemetery.
Church Conference Correction
Yesterday from the pulpit, I explained that attending church conference is about as exciting as registering to vote or serving jury duty, but that just as those things are essential to a functioning democracy, so attending church conference is important to a functioning church. Yesterday afternoon, at the District Superintendents’ request, Jenny and I set in on a church conference in Chapman, and I stand by what I said, it was not exciting. But there was one exception, Dee Williamston, our District Superintendent, gave an excellent meditation/mini-sermon that made it worth the trip and the time. She’ll be sharing the same message tonight. I encourage you to attend. We’ll meet at 7:00 p.m. in the Sanctuary.
Voices: God’s Love Overwhelmed Our Violence
I’m working my way through The Character of Virtue by Stanley Hauerwas. While doing so, I came across something that I know in my heart to be true, but something I can’t fully wrap my head (at least not yet).
We [Christians] believe that in the crucifixion of Jesus, God refused to defeat our rebellion by crushing us. Instead, the Father’s love of the Son overwhelmed our violence by refusing to end our violence violently. [1]
[1] Stanley Hauerwas, “Patience” in The Character of Virtue (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co, 2018), Kindle Edition.
A Little Help Please
This Sunday, I’ll be preaching on Isaiah 65:17-25. The passage was addressed to Israel at a time when things had not turned out quite the way they had hoped. I’m looking for examples of times in your life when things did not go the way you had hoped/expected/planned. Drop me a line at john@revcollins.com.
Christianity is a Group Project, a Team Sport
I saw a statistic on Twitter and double checked it myself. In his letters, Paul uses the term “our Lord” fifty-three times but the term “my Lord” only once. Christianity is not an individual undertaking. It is a group project, a team sport. It is something we do together.
Jars for Christmas Crafts — Update
Wendy Robinson, our intrepid Director of Children and Youth Ministries, has requested glass jars for an upcoming crafts project. There will be a box in the Narthex (lobby). Wendy is looking for jars that are jelly/pickle sized or larger.
Voices: Evil’s Days Are Numbered
“Evil is our doing, not God’s. We should not, therefore, seek to explain evil by including it in God’s plan. God does not will evil. God does not cause evil. God allows it, temporarily, while God is wooing us toward God’s self. On the cross the death toll for evil was rung, its ending begun. In this time between the times, then, evil roams about like a raging lion, chaotically spilling over the brim, causing destruction, mayhem, and death wherever possible. It does so because it knows its days are numbered. We must endure. We must hope. We must love. We must worship the one who is light and in whom there is no darkness.” — Rustin E. Brian [1]
[1] Rustin E. Brian, Jacob Arminius: the Man from Oudewater (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2015), 109.
“This Holy Mystery” Schedule — Corrected
Below is the schedule for our “This Holy Mystery” (Communion) Study. I would encourage you to read one extra session ahead in case we move faster than expected.
November 17, 2019 — Pages 2 – 6
9:35 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. in room 206
OR 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in room 200.
November 24, 2019 — Pages 6 – 11
9:35 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. in room 206
OR 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in room 200.
December 8, 2019 — Pages 11 – 18
9:35 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. in room 206
OR 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in room 200.
December 15, 2019 — Pages 18 – 25
9:35 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. in room 206
OR 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in room 200.
January 5, 2020 — Pages 25 – 28
9:35 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. in room 206
OR 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in room 200.
January 12, 2020 — Pages 28 – 33
9:35 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. in room 206
OR 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in room 200.
January 19, 2020 — Pages 33 – 39
9:35 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. in room 206
OR 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in room 200.