December 2016 Newsletter

The Reason for the Season

Come worship with us throughout the Christmas Season. Each Sunday in Advent, we light candles on the Advent Wreath and talk about the promises inherent in the incarnation, celebrating anew each year the miracle that God came to us as one of us to bring reconciliation and peace. 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 Congregation. In addition to our usual Sunday morning worship, there will be an 11:00 p.m. service on Christmas Eve –with lessons and Christmas carols, beautiful music, and candlelight. On Christmas morning we will have a family-friendly service at the usual Sunday worship time of 10 a.m. Readers and candle lighters are needed at both services, so please contact Pastor Doreen if you would like to participate in one or both of the services. Good readers of all ages are welcome.

Christmas Cantata, Dec. 3, 7 pm

The Christian Community Choir presents, for FREE, Christmas Is Forever.

This ecumenical choir includes members from over a dozen area churches and is directed by Kathy Hoestermann of East Brookfield Baptist Church. Help needed with collation that will follow the performance – speak to Cindy LaPointe if you can contribute. Please invite family and friends to this wonderful event. This is one of four free performances. The Cantata will also be performed at the East Brookfield Baptist Church on 12/18 at 3 p.m., at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in East Brookfield on January 8 at 2 p.m., and at The Overlook in Charlton on January 15 (time TBD).
A Note from the Pastor

As we enter into this very busy season of the church year, it is easy to get caught up in the excitement of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We make our lists, and plan and decorate and shop. We wrap and bake, listen to Christmas carols and visit with friends – all focused on the anticipated arrival of the Christ child. But as the body of Christ, churches are asked not to give the short shrift to the waiting period we call Advent. I was struck by this quote: “Life is a constant Advent season: we are continually waiting to become, to discover, to complete, to fulfill. Hope, struggle, fear, expectation and fulfillment are all part of our Advent experience. The world is not as just, not as loving, not as whole as we know it can and should be. But the coming of Christ and his presence among us – as one of us – give us reason to live in hope: that light will shatter the darkness, that we can be liberated from our fears and prejudices, that we are never alone or abandoned. May this Advent season be a time for bringing hope, transformation and fulfillment into the Advent of our lives.”

The scripture readings through Advent, at least the first three Sundays, seem foreboding – watching out for the rapture, or John the Baptist chopping down trees with the axe of God’s judgement – but waiting and watching don’t have to be full of angst and fear. As with Lent, the waiting time can be used to clear our hearts and souls to receive the spiritual gifts God offers. We can approach it like resistant children being forced to clean their rooms before going out to play; or like the insecure host with the knot of pressure growing to get things just right. Or we can take on an attitude of happy preparation – time that can remind us that God is as eager to be with us as we are to be with God, maybe more so. I also appreciated the following:

WARNING……WARNING: ADVENT VIRUS

Be on the alert for symptoms of inner Hope, Peace, Joy and Love. The hearts of a great many have already been exposed to this virus and it is possible that people everywhere could come down with it in epidemic proportions. This could pose a serious threat to what has, up to now, been a fairly stable condition of conflict in the world.

Some signs and symptoms of The Advent Virus:
• A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than on fears based on past experiences.
• An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment.
• A loss of interest in judging other people.
• A loss of interest in conflict.
• A loss of the ability to worry. (This is a very serious symptom.)
• Frequent, overwhelming episodes of appreciation.
• Contented feelings of connectedness with others and nature.
• An increasing tendency to let things happen rather than make them happen.

Please send this warning out to all your friends. This virus can and has affected many systems. Some systems have been completely cleaned out because of it.

May the Peace of Christ rest on you and yours.
Love, Pastor Doreen

Blue Christmas Service at Hadwen Park Church: Dec. 8 at 7 pm

For those suffering grief or loss, the holidays can make us feel very alone. Constant reminders about the happiness of the season remind some of us what we no longer have or, perhaps, never had. Our sadness can be heightened by the joy we see in others, and by the decreasing light. It can be a comfort to know we are not alone at such times. There is a place to acknowledge sadness and concern and be assured that God’s presence is for those who mourn and struggle as well as for those who rejoice. Join others in prayer, meditation, scripture and music and the rites of laying on of hands, anointing with oil and the sacrament of Communion at a “Blue Christmas” service. God’s Word comes to shine light into our darkness. Everyone is welcome, regardless of church affiliation or none at having none at all. The sanctuary is handicapped accessible. At 6 Clover St., Worcester.

Women’s Association

Outing to Tower Hill: Dec. 7

We will be going to see the holiday display, leaving the church at 3:00 p.m. The cost should be under $7 per person for admission. The outing will include dinner out for those who wish to go. There is no meeting in January.

Worcester Fellowship:

December 18

What a timely opportunity to embody the giving spirit of the Christmas season by participating again in the lunch assembly on the Sunday before Christmas. There will be a signup sheet for food donations on December 4. 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.

Thanksgiving Goal Shattered!

You were challenged to collect 150 cans of cream of mushroom soup to help fill the Thanksgiving baskets at the Leicester Food Pantry. In less than 4 weeks, over 200 cans were already waiting in Russell Hall to be delivered to the Food Pantry.