NewsFlash fromEast Liberty Presbyterian Church
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Almighty God, Light of the World, you continually open to us the ways we are to prepare for your coming.
December Reaching Out
Read the December Reaching Out newsletter on the web. Rev. Bush’s pastoral message is included in this Flash (see below.)
December 6 Worship Services
8:00 am: Good Samaritan Worship; the Rev. Dr. Randall K. Bush preaching.- 8:45 am: Journey Worship; the Rev. Heather T. Schoenewolf preaching.
- 11:00 am: Sanctuary Worship; the Rev. Bush preaching the second in his four-part Advent sermon series, “The Advent Quartet.” The sermon for December 6 is “John’s Promise,” John 1:10-18.
December 6 Christian Education
- Contemporaries: “The Inspiration of Youth,” led by Tim and Maria Engelhardt.The young people who participate in our ministries provide inspiration to enrich our purpose and destiny as a congregation. Tim and Maria are ready to share their observations and insights regarding our youth becoming a positive barometer and reflection of our collective well-being as a church.
- Journey with Scripture: Malachi 3:1–4; Luke 1:68–79; Philippians 1:3–11; Luke 3: 1–6, facilitated by Jan Irvin.
- Parenting Circle: Join us as we finish reading the “Pray” section of “Eat, Pray, Love,” by Elizabeth Gilbert (sections 69-72 / pages 203-211). We’ll draw out themes that relate to our spiritual and family life. Facilitated by Frances Irvin.
- Seekers: “Advent,” led by the Rev. Christiane Dutton. Join us for an exploration of the seriousness and meaning of Advent.
Additional worship, classes, and prayer opportunities during the week
- Taizé prayer service: Every Wednesday, 7:00 pm in the Chapel. Childcare available from 6:45 pm to 8:15 pm. December 2 Taizé service will be followed at 8:15 with a class on Stress: the Writing Response; led by Laurie Arnold. We’ll use writing to reflect on the ways we are “enough” and the beliefs that distort our creative response to life.
- Labyrinth Prayer Walk: Mondays, 10:00 am - 3:00 pm, and Wednesdays, 10:00 am - 9:00 pm.
- Centering Prayer: Tuesdays, 7:00 pm, room 250.
- Wednesday Connections for Adults: Join Wednesday December 2 from 5:00 - 5:45 for Bible study with the Revs. Bush and Schoenewolf; stay for a simple supper at 6:00 in the McKelvey Room.
Youth and Young Adults
- Young adults “First Sundays at ELPC,” Sunday December 6, 5pm. Join us in the Second Floor Parlor for a follow-up to our recycling service project.
- Club One Sixteen: Club One Sixteen meets on December 2 at its usual time; 3:30 - 8:00 pm.
- Youth Basketball: Open to young men in grades 9-12; Saturday nights from 5:00 - 8:00 pm.
ELPC weekly news highlights
Christmas Giving Tree, November 29 and December 6
Each year, the Deacons organize the Christmas Giving Tree to benefit children and families from EECM, our ELPC Mission Ministry and the Christian Education Ministry. On December 6, the Giving Tree will be set up near the Highland Ave entrance from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm, and on Wednesdays, Dec 2 and 9 following Taizé. Stop by the Giving Tree, select a tag, and leave your name and phone number on the donor tag. Wrapped gifts, with tags, are due back to the church office no later than noon on Sunday, December 13. If you’d like to make a monetary donation, checks may be made payable to “ELPC Giving Tree,” and dropped off at the church office.
Advent Crafts and Santa Shop, Saturday December 5
The craft workshop will be set up in rooms 224 and 240 from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm. Join us as we prepare our hearts and homes to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Children (ages 4–grade 5) may shop for gifts (from 50¢ $4) and visit with Santa! (Pictures cost 50¢.) Parents and older children are not permitted in the Santa Shop. Shoppers must be old enough to shop without a parent. Santa’s Helpers will help choose and wrap gifts. Please send a list of the people for whom your child needs to purchase gifts.
Structures of the Holy: From Romanesque to Gothic, December 6
Join us in the second floor Parlor at 12:30 pm on Sunday, December 6 as Ron and Rebecca Cole–Turner discuss how the buildings that surround us shape the spiritual life within us. View the beauty of Romanesque and Gothic churches as we contemplate the architecture that calms and inspires. We’ll look at and discuss photos from the Burgundy region of France, from Cluny to Vezelay. Call Kate Carlson for more info, (412) 441-3800 x17.
Hope Academy Winter Concert, December 6
Hope Academy presents its Winter Concert on Sunday, Dec 6 at 3 pm in the Sanctuary. Performers include students from Musical Theater, HAT Co, Voices of Hope ensembles, EL CEO (our community orchestra) and select instrumentalists, vocalists, and other performers. The concert is FREE, so please join us and invite your friends!
ELPC in the Community
East End Cooperative Ministries Men’s Shelter
The Deacons are collecting socks, gloves, and hats for EECM’s Men's Shelter. Donations may be left in the hallway baskets. Thank you for your support!
East End Cooperative Ministries Food Pantry
December’s “Food of the Month” is Macaroni and Cheese.
Pastoral Message, December 2009
by The Rev. Dr. Randall K. Bush
Who wrote one of the most widely read Christian books in the first half of the twentieth century? Some suggest the answer is Evelyn Underhill, who wrote a book entitled “Mysticism.” Evelyn Underhill (1875–1941) lived in England, and studied history and botany in school. In 1907, she converted to Christianity, and four years later completed her book on mysticism. Within a few years, she was a widely sought-out lecturer and teacher, especially on matters related to the spiritual life. She used to say, “It is those who have a deep and real inner life who are best able to deal with the irritating details of outer life.”
Underhill is remembered as a woman with a lively personality and a caring concern for others. She would spend her mornings writing and then use her afternoons to visit the poor and offer spiritual direction. She was fond of quoting St. Teresa of Avila, who had said “to give Our Lord a perfect service Martha and Mary must combine.” (Read Luke 10:38-42) One scholar noted that she had a love of souls coupled with the determination to help them to grow at God’s pace and not at their own or her own--a trait that won her the love and trust of all who went to her for guidance.
I mention Evelyn Underhill because I recently ran across a charming quote of hers. In her volume of published letters, she wrote to a friend these words: “I do hope your Christmas has had a little touch of Eternity in among the rush and pitter patter and all. It always seems such a mixture of this world and the next--but that after all is the idea!” As I think about the Advent and Christmas seasons now upon us, I know Ms. Underhill is exactly right. This time of year is meant to be a mixture of “this world and the next.”
The language of Advent is saturated with images of “incarnation”: God becoming flesh in the infant Christ child; people sharing gifts in the spirit of the season; Christmas as a time of good deeds done for others. But what exactly is being “incarnated”? In a real way, it is something more than a moral idea to be nice to others or a vague spirit of goodwill that prompts acts of kindness. It is what Underhill has said it is--a mixture of this world and the next; a little touch of Eternity in the here and now.
We should not dismiss this idea as mere poetic language. The nature of an incarnate God means that God’s eternal realm also is mixed up in this temporal realm. It means that we can glimpse eternity even though we live in the present age. Skeptical psychologists may tell us that we do good deeds for Christmas just because it makes us feel good. Critical biologists may argue that altruistic behavior is simply another desirable trait in the evolutionary equation of “survival of the fittest.” But Christian faith insists that just as God dwelt in Christ, the eternal is incarnate in us through God’s loving, redeeming grace.
We are “mixed up” people--flesh and spirit, a little lower than angels, children of God. Pay close attention to what you see and feel and experience this Advent and Christmas season. Eternity has never been closer at hand!
Randy Bush