Dear Friends,

Many of us at Ark and Dove were looking forward to an in-person worship service on Christmas Eve. We had entitled it 'Lanterns and Luminaries' and many planning meetings were held and a bulletin created. And then the weather failed to cooperate. In fact, the weather looks to be pretty nasty tomorrow--not at all conducive to outdoor worship. After soul-searching and analyzing the calendars of staff, tech teams and worship and facilities leaders, we do not have the bandwidth to host the service this week. This is disappointing, I know. I am personally disappointed, but sometimes you just need to know when to say no. We are actively working on three other (livestream) services for this week; a children’s service at 4:00 pm, with some exciting surprises; a 7:00 pm service, with all kinds of wonderful music on Christmas Eve; and our First Sunday of Christmas service on the 27th at 10:00 am.

Pastors Jon Nelson and Caroline and Stephen Price-Gibson prepared wonderful thirty second homilies for our Lanterns and Luminaries service. They are provided for your meditation below.

One of the chief messages of Christmas is that Christ comes again and again into our lives with hope. 2020 has been a very difficult year, and each of you has shared something about the isolation and the stress. I see Christ’s light and great hope in the development and distribution of vaccines. I find great comfort in traveling through these trying days with such a committed congregation. The Shepherds brought the gifts of worship and adoration to Jesus. You have brought the gift of community and support to each other.

We are setting our eyes on the possibility of an April 4 outdoor Easter Service, maybe at 11:30, after the livestream.  Hopefully the pandemic numbers will be heading down soon, as the days grow lighter and brighter. Speaking of light, be sure to have a white Christ candle ready to place in the center of your Advent Wreath tomorrow, as the Devers and the Stavelys will lead us in candle lighting. 

Also please remember the Christmas Joy and Samaritans Today special offerings.

Wishing you a joyful Christmas.  May Christ’s light and peace soothe your hearts.

Peace of Christ,

tstern@arkanddove.org

Dear Friends and Members of Ark and Dove,

As several of you are, I am disappointed we had to cancel Lanterns and Luminaries tomorrow evening. This cancellation is one of many this year. It is good to feel some grief over these losses. Grief has a way of reminding us what is truly important to us. It is important for us to worship together on Christmas Eve. We will again.

Still, the cancellations this year and this week do create some space and opportunity. There might be some time and space to do something different this Christmas, maybe make a new tradition. For instance, you could calculate the time it takes to drive to church and back (something you typically would do tomorrow evening). Use that time to read Luke 2:1-20, ponder the words you read, and prayerfully prepare for livestream worship at 4 and 7 pm. Or, take some extra time with family at your dinner table and talk about your favorite Christmas stories. If you have children, ask them who they would be in the manger scene. (Are you like angels and shepherds praising, donkeys braying, or Mary praying?) Or take the time to journal, discuss, and contemplate how Jesus is a gift unlike any other. Maybe you could light some of your own luminaries, listen to your favorite carols, and relax in some heavenly peace.

We are keeping tradition as best we can this week, with services full of uplifting song and sermon. But in the spaces in between, those ordinarily occupied with bustling about, create a new tradition this Christmas. We just might find meaning in the holy days we had not found before.

Speaking of potential new traditions, stay tuned to see how we are going to use all those luminaries we bagged to light up the new year.

Merry Christmas friends!

jnelson@arkanddove.org

PRAYERS OF HEALING AND SUPPORT for Patty Plander; Krista Klohr; Gary Myers; Wren Suggs; Merlin Berry; Dick Paronto; Bob Johns; Camille Dubois; John Mikeska; Richard and Edie Budd; Vaughn Brown; Frances Keyes; Brooks Emrick and her sister, Susan; Dotty Kaufman, her son, Bill, daughter-in-law, Carol, granddaughter, Sarah, and grandson Nathan; Lewis Shorter and Lewis Shorter’s niece, Jennifer Schwandt-Gayle; Bob Fuller’s brother, Joe Fuller; Dot Forloines’ family and her great-grandson Luke; Quentin Crose; Amanda Crose's grandmother, Betty Davis; Donna Anderson's brother-in-law, Tom Brown; Debbie and Bruce Arey’s family in Connecticut and daughter, Allison; Linda Taylor’s mother, Izola; Grant Kirby’s mother, Caroline, and Julia Kirby's mother, Margaret Floyd; Clarke Beaudry’s mother, Judy LaMarque; Kennon Bauman’s uncle, Dan Johnston; Amy Goldberg’s grandmother, Ruth Cooper; Christy Yeager’s mother, Linda Jordan; Michelle Schoonmaker's Auntie Bernice; Diane Johnson's Uncle Ed, Aunt Janet, and cousin Richard; Shelley Franklin's father; Hollis Butterworth’s daughter, Rachel Mershont and brother-in-law, Brian Smith; Amanda Wehage’s mother, sister and father, Dave; Laurie Barrow’s nephew, Gunther Kurtz; Sabonna Keeney’s mother; Bernabe and Griselda Solano, and Griselda's sister, Irma; Laura Doughty’s brother-in-law, Carl Hahn, and Paul Doughty’s uncle, Wes; Cindy Knott’s mother, Madeline; Laura Willoughby's father, Norman; Bill Ruble’s mother, Mary Jane Weathers; Ann Hirschy’s aunt, Cindy, and brother; Christina Nelson’s grandmother, Pat Dole; Kelly Burnett’s nephew, Justin; Patriceo Green’s cousin, Philip Brown; Lou Kareha’s aunt, Judy Kochis, and cousin, Thomas; Cheryl Walcutt’s mother, nephew, and sisters; Erika Sealing's son, Trip, and grandmother, Margaret Schade; Kathy Miller’s friend, Sandee Dickson; Sue Hanburger's friends, Barb, Phyllis, Martha and Craig; Linnie Girdner and Jan Hof’s friend, Grace Ligon; Ylonda Fauntleroy's friend Tanya; Rob Yeager’s friends, Lisa and Kearston; Amy Hagemann’s friend, Marie Canaday’s mother; and Kathy Emmert's friend, Patty.

PRAYERS OF HEALING for those with COVID-19 including: Rob Yeager’s friends, David Palombo, and Jeff and Ana Siegel; Paul Doughty’s uncle, Dan, and cousin, Elizabeth; Emily Crose's grandmother, Lois Echhorn; Doug Walcutt’s father, Chuck Walcutt, and stepmother, Linda Walcutt; Diane Johnson’s grandson, Avery Woods; Ed Barrett's friend, Joe Bogner; Julia Kirby’s great niece, nephew, his wife, and  friends, the Speer family, the Coffey family, and April and Sam; Robert and Marissa Lyle; Lisa Marino, Jay Mulholland, and their 4-month-old daughter Lily; Ylonda Fauntleroy's family, Annette and Leah Turner, and friends, Sandra and Elijah Williams; Margaret’s neighbor, Wayne; Michelle Schoonmaker's colleague, Ajita Robinson and friend Rusty; Stephanie; Andrew; Yeni, her husband and their six children; and Jennifer Roman's aunt, Laura Clay, and grandmother, Louise Nothdurft.

PRAYERS OF LOVE, SUPPORT AND PROTECTION for all essential workers workers around the world, including: Bill Gaurin; Tricia Gray’s mother; Becca Distad; Jack Burnett; Caitlyn Bussey; Emily Sanders; Audrey Miller; Linda Jordan’s nephew, Russell; the Ralston’s family members and friends; Simone Stiegler’s friend, Jean Marie; Mike Stiegler; Amy Grimm’s mother; Jeff Grimm; Amy Goldberg’s brother, Joseph Alexander, and parents, Michael and Maryann Cooper; Judy Cooper’s daughter; John Mikeska’s son, Jonathan; and Hollis Butterworth’s sister-in-law, Cyndie.