Hello church,
I hope that you are all doing well on this unseasonably warm Tuesday in November! I didn’t think I would be able to have my office windows open again until the spring. It doesn’t quite feel like fall outside, but I know in a few weeks I will wish that it is this warm again.
I hope you are able to take some time today and go outside and enjoy the warm weather and if not, I hope you have your windows open!
Plans are starting to be made for Advent and Christmas. Hard to believe in two weeks we will be celebrating the first Sunday of Advent! I know things will be very different this year because of the pandemic, but my hope is that we can have as normal of an Advent and Christmas over Zoom. That being said, I need some help, we will be lighting the Advent wreath each week and while I will be lighting the one in the sanctuary, I would like to have some families that will light a wreath at their homes and lead the church in the liturgy for the lighting of the Advent Wreath. Please email me if you and your family would like to participate in this.
In December we will also be starting our Advent Study. I am looking forward to meeting with some of you during this time and to walk through Advent together. I am hoping to order books on Wednesday so they have time to get to the church and then out to those that need them. Since this email is being sent later in the day, I am extending the deadline to tomorrow morning at 9:30am letting me know if you would like to participate. We will meet every Wednesday in December at 10am over Zoom to discuss the book “Almost Christmas”.
Thursday is our long awaited Charge Conference. We will be meeting at 7pm over Zoom, while everyone is invited to attend, only those that are on the Leadership Board will be allowed to vote. This meeting will hopefully be a half hour long and will only be used to vote on the areas of the Omnibus report that need to be voted on. Please note that the only ones that are required to be there are those on the Leadership Board. Next week once the Omnibus has been voted on I will share who is on all of our committees and who our chairs of those committees are.
I want to share this news from Zara Gennert, several weeks ago she took a donation of snacks and drinks from our church to Fairfax Elementary school for the staff. The treats were very well received by all at the school and they were very thankful! Please see the attached photo for the Thank You note. Zara would also like you all to know about GirlTrek, it is an organization that helps to organize Black Women to become their best selves. Please visit their website for more information or if you are interested in learning more, I will be happy to share the email with you.
On Sunday November 29th, we will be having a guest speaker from NEOCH talk to us during worship. Angelo will be sharing his story and talking about NEOCH, he will also be selling the Street Chronicle, if you would like one of them, please email Charlie Stehlik and let him know how many you would like, they cost $2.
Our scriptures for this week are: 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11, Psalm 123, and Matthew 25:14-30
Our prayer for the week comes from the Book of Common Prayers for November 10th:
May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you: wherever he may send you; may he guide you through the wilderness: protect you through the storm; may he bring you home rejoicing: at the wonders he has shown you; may he bring you home rejoicing: once again at our doors. Amen.Â
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May this week land gently on you all.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Megan