Newsletter Dec 18/Jan 19 Issue

Congregational Connections

The First Congregational Church of Leicester

Dec 2018/Jan 2019 Issue

Christmas Cantata
Saturday, December 15 at 7 p.m.
The Christian Community Choir, under the direction of Kathleen Hosterman, will perform the cantata Everlasting Light: A Christmas Carol for a Dark World by Claire Cloninger and Mark Hayes. This ecumenical effort of dozens of people from several area churches is sure to get you into the true Spirit of the season.
In addition to the performance at FCC, you can catch it on Sunday, Dec. 23 at 5 p.m. at the East Brookfield Baptist Church; on Sunday, December 30 at 3 p.m. at the Overlook Masonic Health Center in Charlton. A January date at John the Baptist Catholic Church in E. Brookfield to be announced soon

All is Calm, All is Bright
Come worship with us throughout the Christmas Season. This Advent and Christmas, we will focus on the Christmas Carol, Silent Night, which was written two hundred years ago.

Each Sunday in Advent, we light candles on the Advent Wreath and talk about the light that entered the world through Jesus Christ.

We celebrate anew each year the miracle that God came to us as one of us to bring God’s peace and love.If you have friends or family members who do not have a church, Christmas is a wonderful time to invite them to experience worship at First Congregational. On December 24, there will be a 5:00 p.m. Christmas Eve service with lessons and Christmas carols, beautiful music, and candlelight. Readers and candle lighters are needed at the 5 p.m. service, so please contact Pastor Doreen if you would like to participate.

Advent Offering
Enclosed in the newsletter is an envelope addressed to the church. This is for those who are interested in making an offering to the church in honor of Advent and Christmas. Blessings to all.

A Note from the Pastor

Grace and peace and Merry Christmas to you all. As I write this at 4:30 in the afternoon, it is pitch dark outside. We turned the clocks back an hour for daylight savings, and the days will shorten even more in the weeks to come, reaching the shortest point on December 21, when the light starts to increase once again. I am grateful to have just finished reading the book, Learning to Walk in the Dark, by Barbara Brown Taylor. She talks about how when she was a youth, the church she attended focused on the “full solar” version of Christianity, trying to keep young people out of as many dark places as possible. She acknowledges that while the bible, especially the New Testament, makes much of the light – i.e., light stands for life, darkness for death. When God is angry with people, they are plunged into darkness. Or light

stands for knowledge and insight while darkness for ignorance – “if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness” (Mt 6:23). The Gospel of John says that when the true light came into the world, the world did not know him, and they loved the darkness more than light. When Jesus dies on the cross, darkness descends on the land. Add to the scriptures our cultural fears about the things that go bump in the night, the rise in depression as daylight decreases, worries about tripping and falling, and we can understand why darkness can make us uncomfortable. But Rev. Taylor writes persuasively that darkness is necessary for our bodies, minds and souls, and that our faith lives are enriched by “learning to walk in the dark.” This is consistent with my own belief that God is a God of both/and rather than either/or. God blesses us with night and day, mystery and knowledge, confusion and clarity. They are all gifts, and they all have a place in our lives and in our faith.
Our worship theme for Advent and Christmas is from the Christmas carol Silent Night, especially the line “all is calm, all is bright.” It strikes me that I often associate a feeling of calm not with brightness, but with a soft, warm glow – dim lights. And don’t our Christmas candles shine more warmly, more comfortingly, when the lights are low rather than in a brightly-lit Sanctuary? The mystery of the incarnation can be one that we, like Mary, may ponder in our hearts without shining a flashlight of investigation seeking clear answers. We can enter into the shadows of grief as we think of the loved ones who won’t be with us this holiday season, knowing that Jesus has walked in these shadows and will walk them with us again. The cycles of light and life in nature can prompt us to tune into our own cycles. We may feel safer and more secure when we avoid the darkness and shadows, but that is not the Way of Jesus. He comes to offer not safety and security, but fullness of life here and in the hereafter. So if you haven’t gone out after dark in awhile, you might make it a point to do so. Gaze at the stars, follow the waxing and waning of the moon. Take an hour at twilight and notice the changes in the colors of the sky, especially if you can get away from artificial lights. Find someone to share with about the emotional darkness you may be experiencing (I am available!). Attend a Blue Christmas service (I can help you find one). Find a way to receive the gifts the darkness has to offer before wishing it away as we wait for the Light. The light shines in the darkness, and we are blessed. I wish you great tidings of joy at Christmas and in the New Year.
Blessings,
Pastor Doreen

Worcester Fellowship
December 30
What a timely opportunity to embody the giving spirit of the Christmas season by participating again in the lunch assembly on the Sunday after Christmas. There will be a sign-up sheet for food donations on December 16. We accept donations of socks, mittens, gloves, hats, scarves, and rain ponchos at any time. As always, people are most welcome to join the lunch and worship behind Worcester City Hall at 1:00 p.m.

Women’s Association Holiday Gathering
December 12 at noon at the church. Come enjoy lunch, desserts and a Yankee Swap.

ONA Church Wide Meeting
December 2
We will gather in Russell Hall from 11:30-1 to review a draft covenant, and consider how we might convey our ONA (Open and Affirming) status should the vote pass. THIS IS NOT THE VOTING MEETING, but we value the participation of as many people as possible, so please try to attend.

Stewardship Envelopes
If you make regular contributions to the church and usually put them in the offering plate, you may find it helpful to use pledge envelopes.
This way we can be sure to attribute cash contributions to you (helpful for taxes and records), and you have another way to track your contributions. Boxes of envelopes are available in Russell Hall.

Stormy Weather
We’re all hoping for a mild and gentle winter, but just in case it doesn’t go that way, you can check for church cancellations on radio stations WSRS and WTAG, or by calling the church. Cancellations announcement will be on the outgoing voicemail by 8:30 a.m.