News & Notes 12/18/08
A blessed day to you my Friends,
I’m thankful on behalf of all who have had their power turned back on after last Thursday/Friday’s ice storm! What a horrible event that turned out to be for so many. And I’m thankful that so many were willing to share their homes, and their generators, and their food, and their showers, and their . . . May the storms that are heading our way this weekend be harmless, by comparison.
At the recent Katrina Mission Team supper we served and entertained 110 guests and cleared $550 for the Katrina Mission Team and the people of St. Bernard Parish. We have closed the team, at 28 members … the biggest ever! This includes 8 teenagers, and members hailing from Everett, MA to Belmont and Guilford, NH.
As you may have guessed, the benefit for Deb Kelly was postponed from last Saturday, due to the results of the storm It’s been rescheduled for January 10th, at the Dover Elks once again. And it will take place from 4 till 11 PM. I’ll send more reminders as the date draws closer, but please keep this in mind, so we can be supportive of Deb and her husband, John.
It was mentioned in the December “Bell-Wether,” that the offering received on Christmas Eve - unless otherwise designated by the donor - would be given to local charities. The Church Council decided this past Monday evening to divide the offering four ways - in hopes of touching people in as many communities in this area as possible. The recipients will be: The Dover SHARE Fund; the Rochester SHARE Fund; the Dover Cooperative Ministries Food Pantry (which assists Rollinsford and Madbury as well); and the Food Cupboard in Somersworth (which assists Berwick and Rollinsford, too). If you will not be at one of the Christmas Eve services, and wish to make a gift for this special offering you can mail it to the church, or bring it this Sunday - and clearly mark it as the Christmas Eve offering.
The schedule for Christmas Eve at St. John’s looks like this:
6:30 PM Family Christmas Service with a telling of “Have You Seen Christmas,” by Vicki Howie - as well as carols and communion
8:15 PM Our traditional Carillon program presented by Guy Eaton and Andy Galt
9 PM A service entitled “Light for our Darkness: Love for our World,” with hymns, liturgy and candlelighting.
11 PM Our Christmas Eve Candlelight Communion Service
And of course we know that the snow will hold off so we can hold all three of these services!! That’s our prayer!!
Music and reflections about the meaning of the birth of Jesus Christ are highlights of a Christmas Eve television special from the National Council of Churches. “Voices of Christmas,” which will air at 11:35 p.m. EST on Christmas Eve on the CBS television network (check local listings), also celebrates 100 years of Christian ecumenism in the United States by spotlighting some of the NCC’s 35 member denominations, including the UMC. The Rev. Michael Kinnamon, the NCC’s top executive and program host, declares that Jesus is more than just a child in a manger. “He is also the one who gives us hope for the future, calls us to care for the weak and the outcast, asks us to speak truth to power when it veers out of control, and gives us a creation that requires delicate care and evokes our wonder.” UM Bishop Sharon Zimmerman Rader is one of the speakers during the program. A music segment features the Christmas Eve choir at First UMC in Dallas. - Linda Bloom (UMNS)
In the spirit of a joyful, Christ-centered Christmas, the staff of Sojourner’s magazine have written a carol for a subversive sing-along. Who said doing justice had to be boring or serious?! So, clear your throat and join them in a rousing chorus of: “Have Yourself a Peace and Justice Christmas” (to the tune of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”).
Have Yourself a Peace and Justice Christmas
Have yourself a peace and justice Christmas,
Set your heart a-right.
Flee the malls and focus on Christ’s guiding light.
Have yourself a peace and justice Christmas,
Give your time a way.
Share God’s love, And serve “the least of these” today.
Here we are, as we pray for peace,
We’ll live simply and give more.
We care for those far and near to us,
Which brings cheer to us, once more.
God brings down
The haughty from high places,
And lifts up the low.
God cares for the hungry and the humble, so -
Forget the stress and let the peace and justice flow!
Finally, this: A young man named John received a parrot as an early Christmas gift. The parrot had a bad attitude and an even worse vocabulary. Every word out of the bird’s mouth was rude, obnoxious and laced with profanity. John tried and tried to change the bird’s attitude by consistently saying only polite words, playing soft music and anything else he could think of to “clean up” the bird’s vocabulary. Finally, after weeks, John was fed up and he yelled at the parrot. The parrot yelled back. John shook the parrot and the parrot got angrier and even ruder. In desperation, he threw up his hands, grabbed the bird and shoved him in the freezer. For a few minutes the parrot squawked and kicked and screamed. Then suddenly there was total quiet. Not a peep was heard for over a minute. Fearing that he’d hurt the parrot, John quickly opened the door to the freezer. The parrot calmly stepped out onto John’s outstretched arms and said, “I believe I may have offended you with my rude language and actions. I’m sincerely remorseful for my inappropriate transgressions and I fully intend to do everything I can to correct my rude and unforgivable behavior.” John was stunned at the change in the bird’s attitude. As he was about to ask the parrot what had made such a dramatic change in his behavior, the bird continued…. “May I inquire as to what the turkey did?”
See you in church!! Peace, Mark