December 3rd, 2006 – First Sunday in Advent and Consecration Sunday

Pastor Mark started us all off before the service in prayer. There are many prayers we make in worship but this one was important as well. It stayed with me throughout the morning. Part of it was recognition of the day and the people who were gathered together and another part was requesting God’s help in our morning worship.

At the first service Diane offered the Creator challenge and at the second service it was Janice, who took the thermometer charting Creator’s goal in meeting of 2006 goal of 2006 pounds of donated food (most going to the Oregon Food Bank). Janice calculated that if each family could donate eight one pound cans we would meet our goal. It was a day for understanding our part towards helping hungry people with the talk the Hunger Awareness group gave between services, but more on that later.

Pastor Mark began, before the service, with a teaching moment about the Advent wreath. There have been different colored candles from the blue we know use. Purple symbolized royalty and penitence. Blue is used to symbolize the night sky, the anticipation of the impending announcement of the King’s coming (royalty as well), and to symbolize the waters of Genesis 1, the beginning of a new creation.

The wreath signifies continuing life. The circle of the wreath, which has no beginning or end, symbolizes the eternity of God, the immortality of the soul, and the everlasting life found in Christ is remembered in the evergreens that make up the wreath.

For the Children’s time Pastor Mark talked a bit about Advent, and waiting for on the second reading and how love was repeated in this passage from Thessalonians. He gave the children “love letters” he wrote from Jesus.

The first part of the sermon was about taking time during this season of activity to think about God and each other; to take time to pray and not to get anxious about events we have no control over. Pastor Mark tied this to the gospel reading from Luke, describing the drunkenness that is discussed in Luke 21:25-36 is of the heart, staggered by worries of the day. The dissipation was the feeling of nausea and morning after effects of this drunkenness of the heart.

It was a sermon that warned us from becoming faint with fear. Pastor Mark stressed that when we wait we maintain prayer and not look for the astronomical signs or the catastrophes spokenof in Luke.

During the Adult Education hour David and the other members of the Hunger Awareness team gave a presentation on the importance of contributing towards solutions to hunger. The committee’s presentation involved opening discussions regarding our biases and assumptions as far as who is hungry in our community and why.

David opened up after a brief review of what the Hunger Awareness group had done with a question about our thoughts and feelings on the Matthew 26:11 passage when Jesus explains that the woman who anointed him with expensive perfume (rather than giving to the poor) has done a beautiful thing, for "the poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me."

It made me once again admire this congregation's ability to tackle the difficult passages in the gospel and understand the Christian calling. Paraphrasing Kelly from another part of the discussion he thought this calling is all about seeing Christ in one another. How quickly and easily that can be forgotten. There are people in the congregation that remind me how important it is to see this in others.

The discussion also went into reasons we may hesitate to help. Diane talked about one reason presented, namely “I don’t feel right or good when I help”, by saying that the point was not necessarily the point for us to feel good so much as to help.

Kelly deals with members of the community that are poor in his role as principal. He noticed their parents tried to make sure they had new shoes, more expensive jackets and clothes than you might expect. This is to try to keep others from knowing about their poverty to maintain their respect. This challenged some assumptions and opinions we might hold on how the finances in these households should be maintained. David reaffirmed what Kelly said talking about his own family as he was growing up.

Larry was interested in the last reason in the slide show about why we hesitate to help, which was basically the fear there is not enough. He talked about how man continues to try to address that question and is not sure of the answer. There will be two more Sundays where we continue these discussions between services.

Finally there was a consecration Sunday lunch. During both services there was an opportunity to offer our yearly pledges. We ate delicious salads, chicken (perfectly spiced, Larry has a great recipe), rice krispie squares and cake. After Larry gave us the total of the pledges so far, many went off to Matt's rehearsal with the young instrumentalists for the Christmas program.

A nice start to the Advent season.