Reflections from our Pastors:

Gaudete Sunday

December 14, 2023

The third Sunday of Advent is Gaudete Sunday. Its name comes from the Latin word Gaudete which means “Rejoice!” Gaudete is all about joy, yet war is raging in several countries throughout our world. With the backdrop of heart-wrenching news from Gaza, Israel, Ukraine, Africa, India, and many other locations, it’s extremely difficult to experience a guilt-free joyous day. Our hearts are aching from the nearly 18,000 killed in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and so many thousands still missing in the rubble of the streets of Gaza.

St. Paul in his letter to the Philippians, which he wrote from his jail cell tells

us, "Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I say, rejoice." But joy and sorrow

are unusual bedfellows. Catholic theologian Henri Nouwen speaks to this

conundrum: “We are inclined to think that when we are sad we cannot be

glad, but in the life of a God-centered person, sorrow and joy can exist

together. That isn't easy to understand, but when we think about some of

our deepest life experiences, such as being present at the birth of a child or

the death of a friend, great sorrow and great joy are often seen to be parts

of the same experience. Often, we discover the joy in the midst of the

sorrow.” (The Heart of Henri Nouwen)

This coming Sunday, the third Sunday of Advent, is all about joy in the

midst of darkness. We are joyful as the day nears when Christ is born into

the world. Our celebration this week is a countercultural declaration that

even in sadness, we rejoice because our hope is in the One who is

stronger than death. Let us rejoice in knowing that we are unconditionally

loved by God and that nothing -- sickness, failure, emotional distress,

oppression, war, or even death -- can take that love away. And let us

always hold in our hearts, prayers of safety, protection, perseverance and

love for all our siblings in Christ who are living with the terror of war. In

Jesus’ name we pray.

Amen,

Mother Rosean

Image used with permission from Stuck in Indiana.

Upcoming at Mary of Magdala

Celebration of Life Luncheon for Joanne Gallagher 

Mary of Magdala's Hospitality Ministry is coordinating the Celebration of Life luncheon immediately following her mass on December 16th.  

Meat and cheese trays, buns, and chips will be provided.  We need the help of our Mary of Magdala Community to provide side dishes for the luncheon.  

We would appreciate volunteers to bring one of the following: fruit salad, vegetable salad (that can be served with a spoon. No lettuce salad, please), or cut-up veggies.

If you are attending the Celebration of Life, please bring your side dish to the Fellowship Hall, or you can drop it off at Trinity between 9:30 and 10:30 AM on Saturday, the 16th.

We also need some extra hands to help with setting up more tables and chairs in the Fellowship Hall. If you can volunteer, please come to Trinity at 10:00 (30 minutes before mass) on the 16th.

You can join the Zoom for the service here.

You can call Joan at 970 224-0297 or email jcs1320@gmail.com.

Thank you in advance for being the giving, caring, and loving community of Mary of Magdala.

Pastor Rick Reiten's Pondering from December Tidings

The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. - John 1:5

Waiting. This is a common theme for Advent, but this year it has a different feel – for me and my family. Many of you know that the genetic Huntington’s Disease (HD) runs in my family. We have known since 2008 that I am gene positive for HD and that my mom, aunt, and grandma all died from HD. You also may remember our joy/struggle story of bearing HD negative kids, which produced one ‘perfect’ child named Anya. We have done a lot of waiting, but the hardest waiting is not knowing when symptoms will begin.

That waiting is over. My neurologist at Rocky Mountain Movement Center, with whom I have done clinical observation research, recently identified that I am no longer pre-symptomatic. I am showing very subtle yet visible signs of HD. However, this diagnosis has not effected my ability to be or continue to be a pastor, and it won’t for awhile. The disease has a slow progression - taking 15 years or longer to fully develop. Instead of waiting around, for the inevitable, we have been presented with a hopeful opportunity. And ironically, a new waiting period has begun. I have been selected to take part in a gene therapy clinical trial.

This opportunity requires brain surgery**, a week of medical leave in December, and 5 years of follow up with the researchers. In brief, the hope is that this drug will block the HD protein from replicating, and halt symptoms from developing any further. The risk for me is minimal (except for the vulnerability of my shaved head!). I want the congregation to know because I won’t be able to hide the surgery and also want to advocate for HD research. While this gene therapy may or may not directly benefit me, it will give HD experts more knowledge with which to work at finding a treatment for this disease.

However, I didn’t want this information to blindside the congregation(s) during the Advent season more than it will already. After the New Year, I will schedule an informal conversation/presentation during fellowship hours on Saturday and Sunday, so that I can share more details with the Trinity community.

This is hopeful news! Like waiting for the Christmas child, we don’t know when it will happen or what it completely will mean for us. As we wait, we are expecting the unexpected – trusting that God will continue to surprise us all along the way. Thank you for celebrating the waiting with us and hearing what God is doing in our lives.

Happy Advent,

Pastor Rick

**The surgery was on Dec. 12 and went as expected. Pastor Rick is now at home recovering. He and his family appreciate the outpouring of support, their needs are all met at this time. 

Mary of Magdala celebrates Christmas 2023!

Each year, we like to salute our Mary of Magdala family’s Christmas celebrations at home. To do this, we need high resolution jpg photos of household members as well as scenes of your crèche, Christmas tree, or any decorations that capture the season for you.

As an example, here is the video for Christmas 2022:

We especially invite new members of our Mary of Magdala community to participate by e-mailing high resolution images (phone pictures and “selfies” are OK if they are sent in original size) to Tom Moos (tjmoos@aol.com) by Dec 17, 2023. If you were in the 2022 slide show and are OK with reusing your slide as it was, you don’t need to do anything; otherwise, please send updated images and suggested changes/corrections to Tom.

Blue Christmas worship service

Maybe it's seasonal sadness, maybe it's the suffering going on in the world, maybe it's the loss of a loved one or the failures of love within a relationship or a family, but for whatever reason, many people find Christmas difficult. Not being able to be happy-clappy during this time can be further isolating. It is for this reason that St. Paul's is offering a Blue Christmas worship service for people for whom the holidays are hard. Enjoy prayers and Taize chant in an intimate setting.

Join us at 7 pm on THURSDAY, December 14, in Room 2 of St. Paul's for a celebration that will speak to all our hearts.

The Season of Advent and Christmas – 2023

Our theme: ‘God's Gift of Hope--and Ours’

Advent Sunday Masses -

12:30 pm

Third Sunday                     Dec 17

Fourth Sunday                  Dec 24

Christmas Services -

On Christmas Eve

3:00 pm and 5:00 pm  

Trinity’s worship services

7:00 pm  

St. Paul’s worship service

Christmas Day Mass

10:30 am - Mary of Magdala

No 12:30 Mass

Share and Inspire

Reflecting on the week’s readings in our Advent Booklet – Waiting in Joyful Hope. Join Mother Rosean and Reverend Jane via Zoom

Tuesdays – Dec 12, 19 at 7:30 pm

   With Reverend Jane

   Zoom Link HERE

   Meeting ID: 848 5409 9634

   Passcode: Advent

Thursdays – Dec 14, 21 at 10:00 am

   With Mother Rosean

   Zoom Link; HERE

   Meeting ID: 870 8960 1942

   Passcode: Advent

Simple Supper and Prayer

All three churches are participating in this ‘Taize’ like prayer and song.

Wednesdays - December 20

Soup suppers                               5:45 pm

Holden Evening Prayer              6:30 pm

Mary of Magdala will be hosting the simple supper of soup and bread. We need volunteers to bring a 'crockpot' of soup and help for clean-up. Please call Joan at- 970- 224-0297

Giving opportunities during the Season of Advent

Mary of Magdala Social Justice Project

• The Social Justice committee will be collecting grocery gift cards to King Soopers in $25 denominations for our pastors to respond to emergency and individual requests for help with gas or groceries. Just drop them in the offertory basket!

301 Faith Partners

• Alternate Giving Fair. Sun Dec 3, 8:30 – 12:30 in the Fellowship Hall. Various charities supported by the 301 Partner communities will be represented to take donations.  Please consider stopping by before our Dec 3 Mass and give a gift on behalf or in memory of someone dear to you.

• Reverse Advent calendar: Food donations go to our Lil Pantry on Stuart street. Non-perishables, low or non-liquid canned or packaged food items are preferred. Click here for information and food suggestions. Donation box in Fellowship Hall

Praying for peace, health and well-being through challenging times.

+Cache and Courtney, family of Jean

+David Devlin, member

+Joanne Kresl, friend of Suzanne King, member

+Jim Carroll, husband of member Dori Carroll

+Kolten Weitzel, grandson of Kerrie Anderson, member

+Sabrina and her two children, currently homeless

+Grandneice of Father Michael Nicosia

+Linda Browell, member

+Sandra Carter, friend of Mary Vogel

+Kris Jenkins, wife of Father Scott Jenkins

+Jen Banks, friend of Mary of Magdala

+Francisco Cruz Antonio, friend of Rev. Jane

+Yvonne Keefe, member

+Jo Anne, friend of Sandra Life, member

+Grace Robinson, member

+Jerry Padilla, father of member Lisa Jones

+Janessa and Hayden, sister and niece of Jen Banks

+Rachel, daughter of Mary Lou Devlin, member.

~~~~~~~~~~~

A blessed and peaceful repose of souls for those who've passed and comfort for the friends and families.

+Joanne Gallagher, member

+Daniel, cousin of Pedro Engel

+Juanita Newbre, aunt of MaryLou Devlin, member

+Jeanette Marian Banks (Brown) mother of Jen Banks

+Flavian Reising Jr., Father of Steve Reising, member

+Marge Gruber, friend of Michael Six, member

+Betty Jones, mother-in-law of Lisa Jones, member

+Jean Preslan, friend of Mother Rosean and Yvonne Wootten, member

+Josy Moos, Godmother of Tom Moos

+Fr. Fred Ball, OFR, ECC priest

+Bob Colhour, father of member Mark Colhour.

+Candy Palmer, friend of Mary Lou Devlin, member

+Johnny Berlyn Thomas, friend and benefactor out of his own poverty, of Pastor Jane

+Fr Don Willet, from John XXIII

+Linn Zink, friend of MoM, Social Justice advocate

+Bishop McGrath - RC diocese of San Jose, Friend of Suzanne King

+James Ryan cousin of Mary Lyons, member

+ Rosemary - Fr Michael's mother

+ Mother Sheila Dierks, ECC priest in Boulder

Please send prayer requests to marymagdalafc@gmail.com. Prayers will be listed for one month unless requested for longer. Prayers for the repose of souls will be listed for six months unless requested for a longer time.

Celebrating with the 2nd Sunday of Advent

Celebrate with Mother Rosean Amaral presiding on December 10th. The video of the homily and readings is available here.

Mass Schedule

Sunday Dec 17 at 12:30 pm

• F. Michael Nicosia is presiding. In-person and with Zoom.

Weekly Mass Wednesday, Dec 20 at

11:00 am

• Weekly mass in the Fireside Room
• No Zoom available

Sunday Dec 24 at 12:30 pm

• Rev. Jane Reina is presiding. In-person and with Zoom.

Weekly Mass Wednesday, Dec 27 at

11:00 am

• Canceled for this holiday week

Christmas Day, Dec 25 at 10:30 AM

• Mother Rosean Amaral is presiding. In-person and with Zoom.

Did you miss an article or announcement?

Past e-bulletins posted here

• To read the ECC Council of Bishops' statement on the War in Gaza and Israel, click here.
• Ongoing Giving Opportunities in Fellowship hall; see list here
• Dedicating Altar Flowers? Contact Joan Stepleton at JoanStepleton@gmail.com or 864-650-2816. A $25 dollar donation is kindly requested.
• The purpose of the Mary Magdalene Society is to financially support aspiring and current priests and encourage the development of youth in their spiritual journeys. Read more here.

Mary of Magdala Parish Community

Members: Need to view, update information or download a copy of the member directory? Just click here.

If you would like to contribute to Mary of Magdala, here are ways to schedule a single or recurring Sunday offertory.

All are invited and ALL are welcome to join our parish community. Here is the webpage with more information on membership



The ECC Regional Website - View here.

Newsletters of Trinity Lutheran Church and the St. Paul's Episcopal  

Click here for the Trinity Lutheran Church monthly newsletter, "Tidings". And here is St Paul's weekly bulletin.