Happy New Year! You may well be used to writing 2017 on your checks and notes by now, but since I was away last week fulfilling my duties for the Board of Ordained Ministry, I want to wish you Happy New Year. I wonder if you have thought about resolutions and goals for this year. Last year as I prayed about the…
Thank you for joining us this morning in worship. Thank you to all who came in their pajamas as well as the rest of us! Thank you for leaving the tree and the stockings, the breakfast table and the collection of family to be together in worship. Our Bishop wrote back in November as she began to get inquiries about Christmas on…
Twas the night before Christmas, when all thro’ the house Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse; The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there; The children were nestled all snug in their beds, While visions of sugar plums danced in their heads[1] These are the familiar words of Christmas…
Have you seen the so-called ugly Christmas sweaters? Have you ever been to an ugly Christmas sweater party? Did you wonder where this trend from? Maybe we could point to Dr. Huxtable or National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation for the appearance of the first ugly Christmas sweater. It was in 2002 that the first recorded ugly Christmas sweater affair was held in Vancouver,…
Ever since the wise ones, we have wondered and struggled over the quest of the perfect gift. Like our children helped us illustrate, the perfect gift is heaven-given. However, this does not keep us from searching for the perfect gift for our family and friends: the toy guide for Toy R Us, the latest and greatest electronic gadgets, or maybe stylish attire. …
A long time ago in a place far away, God came to earth to be with us. I want to tell you the story of Jesus’ Away in Manager – but it was no silent night. (noise makers) Our story begins with Mary. Mary, a young girl, has heard from an angel that she was going to have a baby. When the…
I can imagine that you have received some letters recently that begin like this: “Our year in review” “2016 was a great year!” “2016 was a year full of unexpected twists and turns” “As I sit down to write this annual letter, I remember all of the ups and downs of the last year.” Maybe you even wrote one yourself. The writer…
Car games are the gift of any driver with children. This time of year, I am reminded of when Alisabeth first really saw “yights”. That is Christmas lights. We would be driving around in the evening when she was two years old, and she would holler out – “yights!” pointing right or left for us to look. Each time we would look…
Piles of Prophets and Presents Is your Christmas shopping done yet? Are the presents piling higher and higher for your loved ones? There is no doubt the doing of Christmas keeps us busy. How are we listening to the call of the prophets and not just hearing the call to piles of presents which is loud. Marketing is effective. We can often…