Northminster Family,
Here we are again, reaching for hope in this first week of Advent. Year after year, we return to these four Sundays of hope, peace, joy and love - and year after year we find ourselves in a place of tension. We lift up and celebrate the places we have found hope and peace, the ways we have known joy and love. And at the same time we are painfully aware that in so much of our lives we are a long way from hopeful, a long way from the fulfillment of peace and joy and love. And so we lament and long for a day when they will be found in all their fullness among us, though that day has not yet come.
Maybe it's something about this paradoxical place we find ourselves during Advent, or maybe it's something about the mystery of Christmas for which we are preparing in this season, but invariably I find that in this cold, warm season full of equal parts cheeriness and dreariness, my heart is drawn toward poetry and art, toward that which captures something beyond our reason. Two places I've found that this week I wanted to share with you. One is in the words of Jan Richardson, who wrote the "
Blessing for Waiting" Zach offered as a prayer on Sunday. She writes about hope in her poem "Rough Translations," below.
The other place I've found that is in the floral display for the first Sunday of Advent, lovingly arranged (over many hours) by Peggy Caskey, Marilyn Decker, Robert Crawford and Richard Decker. Aside from simply creating a beautiful space and helping us to ponder the transcendent, the arrangements this Sunday with their long, beautiful arcs spread like fingers communicated to me something of the way we spend this season of Advent "reaching" - for hope, for peace, for joy, for love - and for the longings of each of our hearts. (And Marilyn made a point to acknowledge the reference to Isaiah 11:1 with the "stump of Jesse" in the centerpiece!) I'm grateful for the time this team of floral artists put into this work. May we each continue to prepare our hearts in this season to receive the inconceivable, the gift of God made flesh.
In hope,
Claire
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Rough Translations
Par’ elpida ep’ elpidi.
—Romans 4.18, Greek New Testament
(Literally, “Against hope with hope.”)
Hope nonetheless.
Hope despite.
Hope regardless.
Hope still.
Hope where we had ceased to hope.
Hope amid what threatens hope.
Hope with those who feed our hope.
Hope beyond what we had hoped.
Hope that draws us past our limits.
Hope that defies expectations.
Hope that questions what we have known.
Hope that makes a way where there is none.
Hope that takes us past our fear.
Hope that calls us into life.
Hope that holds us beyond death.
Hope that blesses those to come.
—Jan Richardson
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Prayers of the People
An opportunity to celebrate and pray alongside siblings in our community.
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We pray alongside...
Richard Decker
who had two seizures on Wednesday night and is in the ICU at LSU-Monroe.
John Gray who has been diagnosed with lung cancer.
Jim Files who was in the hospital a couple of days but is doing much better now.
We celebrate alongside...
James Helton(10th) and
Cayce Roberts (12th),
as they celebrate their birthdays.
If you have concerns and celebrations you would like us to add to the newsletter, please call the church office or email
office@northmin.org.
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The Work of the People
How we are responding to the Spirit of Love
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Mission Trunk: Alliance of Baptists Offering
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The Alliance of Baptists is committed to theological home, pursuit of God’s justice, and partnership in mission. As our denominational affiliation, the Alliance is our way of connecting with likeminded Christians outside of our church and our community. This month our mission emphasis is our support of this larger body of faith. To contribute, make checks payable to Northminster and note in the memo line it is for the Alliance offering.
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Daughters of Eve Workshop
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Wednesday, December 11 from 5:30-7:00 pm
Writers for Daughters of Eve, as well as those who don't want to write but are interested in helping with this production on the creative end, we hope you'll join us on Wednesday evening 12/11 at 5:30 to move this creative act of restorative justice one step closer to fruition. (We'll go until 7pm if we need it but of course choir members can slip out early.)
And we hope the whole congregation has already marked your calendars for the final production on the evenings of March 13-14, 2020! More info to come in the spring.
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Northminster Night at the Food Bank
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Thursday, December 12 at 6pm
Northminster members will gather at the Food Bank of Northeast Louisiana (400 Central Ave., Monroe) to help pack food boxes. At least 15-20 folks are needed and a sign-up sheet is on the "Missions" board in the hallway. Children ages 9 and up are welcome with adult supervision. Please wear closed toed shoes and comfortable clothing.
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Join us for the first meeting of the newly formed Northminster Book Club - a place to build community by reading good books together with no other agenda.
The first meeting will be
Thursday, Dec. 12
at 6pm.
All are welcome! The first book will be
Where the Crawdads Sing
by Delia Owens and everyone will need to find their own copy. We hope you'll come join us for good conversation and a potluck supper at Debi Chandler's house, 205 Stuart. Happy reading!
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The Longest Night: A Service for Those Who Grieve
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The holidays are not necessarily a joyful time for everyone. For some it can be a particularly difficult season of grief and depression as the hours of darkness grow longer and memories of those we've lost come to the surface.
On
December 15th at 5pm,
we'll gather for a Longest Night service. Sometimes called a "Blue Christmas" service or a "Service of Light in the Darkness," this will be a service designed to honor grief in a safe place that won't try to push it away. You don't have to move through this season alone.
Whoever needs this space is welcome.
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When telling the story of the incarnation, there is a point at which words come up short, and the only thing thing we can do is sing the story in all of its intensity and beauty.
December 17th at 7pm
will be the Northminster Choir's annual performance of Handel's Messiah at 7pm. Be sure to get there early to find a seat!
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December 22nd at 5:30pm
will be Northminster's annual Christmas Chili Supper. This year we will celebrate at the home of Craig and DH. Their address is in the directory, or you can call the office.
Come for a night of good food, fellowship, and, in all likelihood, spirited music!
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Christmas Eve Candlelight Service
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Advent is a season of waiting for the light to come into the darkness, and when it does, we want to celebrate. At
6pm on December 24th
we'll have our Candlelight Christmas Eve service. Come to enter into the story and carry your piece of the light out into the world.
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Holy Ideas
How might we respond to the Spirit of Love?
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The following are currently on the Holy Ideas board in the hallway. If you'd like to support an idea and help it become reality, be sure to stop by and sign your name to it. If you have questions, email the sponsor of the idea.
If the idea gets the support it needs (3 signatures) by the expiration date, the supporters will meet with the appropriate commission to clarify and refine the idea into a specific, time-limited plan.
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No submissions at this time.
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No submissions at this time.
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Title: Northminster Advocates for Immigrant Detainees
Description: Create & develop multi-faceted programs to minister to immigrant detainees
Date posted: 11/17/19
Date post expires: 12/8/19
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No submissions at this time.
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For more opportunities to get involved, check the hallway table and bulletin boards.
If you'd like information on getting involved in leadership commissions or Sunday School groups, you can
click here
.
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To support Northminster financially, you can
click here.
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Around Town
How can we be present in our community?
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The Wellspring Open House
Please join the Wellspring for their Holiday Open House on
Thursday, December 5, 2019 from 11am to 1pm
at 1515 Jackson Street in Monroe. For more information, please call 651-9314
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Wine, Friends, and Shopping!
Barbara Thompson invites you to her home at 804 Eason Place in Monroe for a trunk show of handmade Jewelry, Shabby chic, Holiday Decor and other items from four local artists:
Ravenworks Jewelry by Mara Loeb,
Shabby Chic by Lori Rawls,
Calyco Artisan by Cally Hyams
and Hippie Heart by Mickie Bunn-Smith.
Join her on
Friday, December 6 from 5pm to 7pm
for wine, cheese, conversation and temptation!
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Sunday 12/8
9am - Choir rehearsal
10am - Sunday School
10:45am - Musical Preludes
11am - Call to Worship
2pm - Coordinating Council
5pm - Youth
Wednesday 12/11
6:30pm - Choir rehearsal;
Messiah
rehearsal at 7pm
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Worship This Week
The texts for this week are:
- Isaiah 11:1-10
- Matthew 3:1-12
Sunday's sermon will be preached by
Zachary Helton.
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December
6th Parent Dinner at 5:30pm
8th Coordinating Council
12th Northminster Book Club and Potluck at Debi Chandler's 6pm.
12th Northminster's night at the Food Bank.
15th The Longest Night: A Service of Grief at 5pm
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16th Choir Dress Rehearsal for Messiah
17th Choir presents Handel's Messiah at 7pm
22nd Chili Supper at 5:30pm at DH & Craig's
24th Christmas Eve Candlelight Service 6pm
25th Christmas Day
29th 5th Sunday Lunch at Catfish Charlies
31st New Year's Eve
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