Pastor's Letter - December

Pastor’s Letter

Grace, Peace, and Mercy to you from our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!

This time of year I dread checking my email inbox in the morning. It's the secular "Christmas season", which means marketing emails abound!

As I look now, I see that the Phillies have extended their Black Friday sale to Sunday (doesn't that make it Black Weekend?), Target has a deal on Christmas decorations, and if I use my Target card, I can save $25 on any order I would make. Shutterfly wants me to make Christmas cards, and if I do it now, I get 10 cards free! Even the church is included in this, as Gaspard, a church supplier of things like candles and robes and altar paraments is offering 30% off select items.

I can also get guitar strings for very cheap from a website I have used before called Strings and Beyond. I might actually take advantage of that one, so I'll keep that from the trash for a day or two. The email even has a code that will get me an extra 20% off my order.

The funny thing is, I started the brianthepastor email everyone uses because in my old email, I was getting too much junk. Now, if I'm being honest, it's migrated to that email as well.

I wonder about this time of year. All of the images we have thrown in our face, some that show us the work of the Christ we anticipate breaking into this world, some of other "holiday" fare like snowmen and reindeer, the marketing that fills our television screens and, yes, our email inboxes. There is a lot of good we see as we march along the Advent road that leads to Christmas. But as in all things, there's some sorting we all have to do to separate the meaningful stuff from the junk.

I hope you join us this month for some meaningful community building. Our Christmas Covered Dish is always a good fellowship experience, and this year it is on December 10th at 6:00 PM. Our Community meal is on the 13th at 5:30. Our Children's Program during worship is on December 17th at 10:30. This of course leads to Christmas Eve, where you can join us for the family service at 6:00 or the Candlelight Service with music beginning at 9:30.

The root of this is the fact that God chose to break into this world to save us from ourselves. He came in the form of a vulnerable baby who needed caring and nurturing, and that baby would grow to save us all. This is the core of who we are as Christians, and it begins at Christmas, only to continue to Easter next year.

There are things that can add to the experience, but ultimately we are Jesus people, centered around the Christ Child, given to us by a God that chooses ultimately to love us. So spend some time in the realization of that love, and share that love with someone who needs it.
See you along the way, Pastor Brian

Pastor Brian