Call To worship

One: This is the fourth Sunday of Advent. Are you ready?

All: We are ready to welcome hope into out lives. We are ready to live in peace.

One: We are invited to dance with joy. 

All We are called to live in love. 

One We are ready to welcome the Christ Child Let us open our hearts and our lives. 

They are a window into the past. Beyond watching how the style changed over the years, what is written.  “To my dearest friend” “I am home from the west and I didn’t see any gophers. Happy Christmas and a pleasant New Year.”  The card sentiment is “with Kind remembrances and hearty greetings for a merry Xmas” Yet another more of a post card with a note were the writer confess to not a very good friend for not getting to coming for a visit.  You do need to know how to read cursive to be able to read these cards. 

Is not money better spent on boxes of cards and postage which will all end up stuffed in a drawer for 10 years then thrown away? 

I am not a Card sender, but I do understand the “Card” They are an expression of love.  They are an expression of caring. 

It is hard to know what to say in this new politically correct society in which we live.  So one person drafted this.  I did find this in my files.  I wanted to send you a Christmas greeting, but it is so difficult in 

today's world to know exactly what to say without offending someone. 

So I met with the a Legal Team yesterday, and on their advice 

I wish to say the following: Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, no addictive, gender neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced with the most enjoyable traditions of religious persuasion or secular practices of your choice with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. 

I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and 

medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2025, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make our country great and without regard to the race, creed, colour, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee.

By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms:

This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for her/himself or others and is void where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher.

Disclaimer: No trees were harmed in the sending of this message, however, a significant number of electrons were slightly inconvenienced.

How far is it to Bethlehem. It’s a good question, it is easy to say “why bother” to become jaded. 

On the journey to Bethlehem we find we need to look for those sign posts that we are travelling the right direction. 

They are the signs of hope, peace, and joy of God in our lives but most of all it is about remembering the Love of God. 

I think part of what we have lost is that gift of God’s Love for us. 

We struggle to get God’s message of love out there and it is lost in “Attention |Wall Mart shoppers. 

I heard a story about a news paper reporter going to a church for an interview with the clergy person. Reporter wanted to  take a photo of one of the stain glass windows. He wanted to move that you know big wreath thing over by the window and replace the three blue and one pink with red and green candles.  He was doing a story about the Christian perspective on Christmas. 

Love did not come to the world during black Friday and Cyber Monday

God’s love is found like flowers in the wilderness. Little moments of beauty. 

One of my learnings this year has been the need to seek out the quiet. I know I have said this a lot lately, to seek out the moments to be.  The world we find ourselves in can be very heavy. So many demands. I have gotten to the list making to keep it all straight. The whole season rushes at us like a great wave.  We need those moments to be.  To breath. To let go. 

To sit and let our mind find those moments that we have known that love that says you cared for, that love that says you are valued. A love that has all the social implications stripped off it. That true love that is experienced on those touch stones on the road to Bethlehem.   

Bethlehem is closer than we think. The promise of new beginning held in that small child at the beginning of his amazing life is closer than we think .  It is as close as God’s great promise of love.  Love made real in the world in his son.   

Offering

We give thee but thy own.   The work of the Church continues and there are three ways you can continue to support that work.   Consider using PAR, use the donate button on our Web Site or drop your gift at the Manse.   Let us make our offering and give thanks.       

  One: Praise God who from all Blessing flow

   Prayer   In the name of the one who comes to save and show us your love O God we give with open hearts and ask that you receive our offerings as an expression of our faith and hope that we have found in you May they be used to proclaim your love in the world 

Sending Forth and Blessing.

One: Among the poor 

All: Among the proud 

One among the persecuted 

All Among the privileged 

One Christ is coming 

All Christ is coming to make all things new. 

One With us 

All without us 

One among us 

All before us 

One in this place 

All in every place 

One for this time 

All for all time 

One Christ is coming 

All Christ is coming to make all things new. 

Blessing

One:  May God the one who brings us comfort surround you, May Christ our Joy walk with you. May the Continued presence of The Holy Spirit illuminate our path and keep us safe until we can gather again in community. Amen 

VU 4

God of all places present unseen

Voice in our silence song in our mist

Send us your people knowing and sure

Called to spread the word.

amen amen amen