Beginning Again

An Advent Prayer

Loving God,

 Thank-you for the gift

 Of beginning again

 When all seems lost

 Or weariness wears down

 The last inch of hope.

Yes, turn the page

 Of over-rehearsed despair

 Or dread of dullness

 Formed by too much

 Of just about everything.

Form instead Your promise

 When night’s weight

 Seems too heavy for 

 Dawn’s readiness to rise 

 In surprises unlikely

 To be noticed by the world

 Yet formed by You 

 As the beginning place

 Of Your grand renewal,

 Starting as one small baby

 Still in formation

 Not yet ready to be born

 But quickening the senses

 With miraculous movement.

Yes, form this advent

 Of Your grand reversal

 In me as I wait in wonder

 At what You will readily reveal

 In this long season 

 Of late dawn and early dusk.

Let me savor the beauty

 Of what I do not know

 Urging me to wait

 When all around me

 The world rushes 

 In frenzy of the overfull,

 The too much and the too soon.

Still me into the gift

 You so yearn to give,

 Of silence rising 

 From deep within 

 Touching everything 

 With Your cosmic creation

 Daring to form a new world

 Unknown by the old one

 Satisfied with a hypnosis

 Of over-rehearsed hopelessness.

Yes, grant me 

 An Advent awakening

 Muting every resistance 

 And releasing a new song

 Of thanks for Your grand gift 

 Of beginning again…

 Here…now…yes…thank-you.

-November 2022, DMLH

On Giving Tuesday, November 29, 

the Heartland Conference invites you

to indulge in Giving Twos-Day!

This Giving Tuesday, and every day that you share your treasure with us and our partners, is a wonderful time to give thanks for the reciprocal gift of Christian generosity.

REGISTER TODAY!

Led by Revs. Kelly Brill, Luke Lindon, and Brian Shields

Begins noon on Monday, January 23, end at noon on Tuesday, January 24.

Costs are $150 for a single room (includes 3 meals). If you'd like to share a room, the cost is $125 per person (includes three meals.)

Give yourself a gift at the beginning of the new year - 24 hours away with clergy friends, new and old. Rekindle your enthusiasm for ministry through prayer, poetry, music, nature, chef-prepared food. Group sessions will give us the opportunity to talk about the challenges of ministry in this moment and recommit ourselves to healthy spiritual practices. We will offer plenty of free time for options including visiting the farm animals, yoga, conversation and games. Spend time alone or spend time in conversation - do what your spirit needs!

All authorized ministers invited, welcome, and thoroughly encouraged to attend! If you are interested in spending a day on your own at Bellwether, either before or after the retreat – contact Kelly Brill to discuss at pastor@avonlakeucc.org.

Space is limited to 40 people.

Looking for a Devotional Guide

for your Advent Journey?

This resource " O Come, Dawning Love" is given as a gift by Rev. Susanna M. Kawolics. Please click on the link below for a PDF of the Devotional.

Blue Christmas Service Resource from the Conference Mental Health and Accessibility Network:

The holiday season often brings about both joy and sadness. The sights, sounds, and smells of the season can often bring back memories evoking powerful emotions and even grief. Because so much history is tied to it, it can be a time needing extra support. One way congregations can tend to this reality is by offering a Blue Christmas Service. A liturgy for such a service from the national setting of the UCC can be found by clicking on this link.

Please join us on Monday, Dec 5, 3pm ET for a virtual Blue Christmas worship service with Team Global HOPE at UCC National Ministries. Blue Christmas services traditionally provide space for those who don’t feel so “merry and bright” during the holiday season. This service seeks to recognize and stand in solidarity with the experiences of those aggrieved or displaced by disaster or forced migration in 2022, from Kentucky, to Ukraine, and beyond. 

We remember that we are called to stand in solidarity with the captive and the oppressed, and work together with God’s guidance to create a just world for all. UCC Clergy and choirs engaged in humanitarian ministries across the denomination will be providing reflective liturgy, music, and preaching during this event. This event will be recorded for later availability or use in local Blue Christmas events.

MFVI Applications for 2023 Are Now Open!

Deadline is December 31, 2022!

Since 2017, the Ministers’ Financial Vitality Initiative (MFVI) has worked to increase and improve financial wellness for more than 210 UCC authorized ministers who are overburdened with debt. 

Each year, we engage a selection of 60 UCC authorized ministers to commit to a three-year personal finance education that encourages participants to draw upon the expertise of a trusted and experienced Ernst and Young (EY) financial planner to help meet their financial goals, as well as obtain unlimited access to tools and educational resources – available at no cost to the participant.  

The program provides a yearly financial incentive of $3,000 for three years, which participants can use to alleviate their debt, or seed an Annuity Plan account to secure lifetime income. 

Active UCC authorized ministers who are interested in joining the MFVI program for the 2023 cohort beginning in January 2023, can send an email to MFVI@pbucc.org for instructions on how to apply. The application deadline is December 31, 2022. Applications will be processed on a first come, first served basis.