Hello Church,
I am writing to you all today from the comfort of my den in Berea. I did not make the trek to church today, I am hoping to be able to come into the church office tomorrow. I knew we were to get snow, I don’t think I expected all of this! Mom had someone come and plow our driveway and you can barely tell! If I was little I would have needed to be convinced to come back inside by now. This is the perfect packing snow! But instead of playing in the snow, I have sat in my den and watched it fall and cover the earth instead. I have still had some visitors to my bird feeder that I put up this spring, a cardinal has come several times today and looked so beautiful with the snow falling around him.
I hope you have been able to sit inside with a cup of tea or coffee or hot chocolate and enjoy the snow as well. When I haven’t been doing things for church I have been cozied up with President Barack Obama’s memoir and one of the many Advent devotions I have picked up for this season. I will share links to the books below.
Since I am not in church today, Communion pick up will start tomorrow, if you would like it delivered to your home, please let me know and we will arrange to have it brought to you. Poinsettia Orders are due next Tuesday 12/8. I have attached the order form again. You are welcome to email it back and then send it your check or you can drop it off to the office when you come in to pick up communion.
The Advent Book Study begins tomorrow at 10am, those that are participating, an email went out earlier with the Zoom link to the meeting for tomorrow morning.
News from the Missions Committee: This year’s Advent Offering will once again go to support the Missions we have embraced at COR. You may contribute specifically to one of the following missions or more generally to the Missions Fund. We will divide the general Advent offering up into even distributions and add in specific donations to accurately reflect how people would like their funds to be donated. We support the Luke 311 Mission, making lunches, feeding the homeless and providing them with needed supplies. We are members and contribute 1 % of our operating budget to Greater Cleveland Congregations to support their grass roots organizing to address systemic injustice around issues related to our Justice System, how we treat our mentally ill, education and our healthcare system. Finally, we contribute food and money to Hts. Emergency Food Center. This year, due to COVID-19, they are only accepting money. Thank you for your prayerful consideration and generous support of our Missions. Charlie will be sharing a Missions Moment on Luke 3:11.
Scripture for this week: Isaiah 40:1-11, 2 Peter 3:8-15a, Mark 1:1-8
Our prayer for the week is from Every Moment Holy Volume 1
A Liturgy for the First Snow
O Christ, King of Snow,
we bless you for bidding this blanket
of white to cover us in holy hush,
that our hearts might be quieted at the sight,
that we might sense
the emptiness of canvas
over which your Spirit broods,
and upon which you would
create
and recreate
our hearts in the image of the one
whose word first spoke snow into existence.
Amen.
May this week land gently on you all.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Megan
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