Greetings in the name of Christ. In this season of Advent, I continue to be amazed at the way God works in our lives, showing up in the stillness. I attended a play on Sunday afternoon at the Stage West Theatre in Fort Worth. The play, “Poor Clare,” is a brilliant social commentary set against the backdrop of the friendship between Saint Francis of Assisi and Chiara Offreduccio (aka Saint Clare of Assisi).

The play is described as, “what happens when your eyes are opened to the injustice of the world around you, and you cannot look away.” I can verify that the play had exactly this impact upon the audience, at least this member of the audience. Having just preached a sermon on a “just peace,” my heart was already diligently seeking a place for words to become action. The play, set in ancient times but using modern dialogue, is incredibly accurate in its portrayal of the awakening of a soul to the plight of others.

It was a lovely and spiritual experience, and I am grateful for the talent and for the message. My eyes see the world more deeply after seeing the play. If you have an opportunity, it is worth the time and money to see this play.

Advent is moving quickly along. I urge you to spend time every day acknowledging the hope you have in your heart and seeking justice and peace in this world gone mad. We do not have to change the entire world; just a few just things done by people living the gospel is all the world needs.

I look forward to seeing you on Saturday night at the Christmas Show and the dinner afterward. It promises to be a fun evening. Bring a friend, bring a stranger, bring both!

Blessings, Mary

This week, we looked at Jesus’ birth from Joseph’s perspective as we continue our celebration of Advent. Like Mary, Joseph heard about Jesus’ coming from an angel. Joseph had learned that his wife-to-be was expecting. Joseph was thinking of quietly calling off their marriage because he didn’t want to embarrass Mary. Then an angel came to Joseph in a dream and told him that the child Mary was going to have come from the Holy Spirit, and that Joseph should not be afraid to marry her. The angel even told Joseph that the child would be a son and that the child’s name would be Jesus. When Joseph woke up from this dream, he did just as the angel told him and married Mary.

By naming Jesus, Joseph was officially accepting Jesus as his son. He willingly raised and cared for Jesus. Joseph listened and did as God asked and, because he obeyed, he was filled with the joy of having a son and celebrating, with Mary, the birth of Jesus.

We need you all to be like Joseph and come to our Christmas program at church Saturday, December 16. We will have a wonderful evening filled with wonderful music, a wonderful dinner and if we are lucky, a visit from Santa. Please help us make sure our little ones are all in church that evening to visit with this jolly ole elf!! We will see you in church!

Blessings

Eastside Dinner

If you missed it last year—you don’t have to miss it again. Ronnie Sullivan’s family is cooking a big enchilada dinner for us as a fundraiser for Eastside Ministries.

This is a great event.

Unfortunately—I will NOT be there.

Still recovering from my intestinal virus.

I am still at the Jello stage.

Second Sunday of Advent

This Sunday.

Second of four Sundays.

And this is the way it falls every few years—Advent Four is on Christmas Eve.

Pomp and Circumstance Got Delayed

The additional pomp and circumstance of Advent begins THIS week.

My sermon Sunday: “Jesus Got It Right”

Keep this in mind: Both The Christmas Show on Saturday, Dec. 16th and the Christmas Eve Service on Sunday the 24th are at 6:00 p.m.

Service for Eloise

Friday—11:00 a.m.

Laurel Land on Crowley Rd.

And God bless—

MB

Good morning, folks!

I have quite a bit to share today. Most important is to share with you how very grateful I am for all of you and how important you are to me.

Memorial for Eloise Rhodes: Viewing is Thursday Dec. 7 from 5p-7p; Funeral is Friday Dec. 8 at 11am. Laurel Land Funeral Home 7100 Crowley Road, 76134.

Ongoing fundraiser for Eastside Ministries due to the devastating fire they experienced that completely destroyed the food service building. If you would like to make a tax-deductible gift to this ministry, please make the donation to Eastside Community Assistance or Eastside Ministries (eastsidecommunityassistance.org). You may also bring your donations to the church, and we will deliver to the organization. Our next Christmas concert is December 16^th at 6pm. Santa tells me that Bill and Cindy Wheeler will be feeding us pulled pork sandwiches with all the trimmings. If you would like to bring a dessert, please feel free. Finally, St. Matthew will be collecting lunch items for those folks living without adequate shelter. Items to be collected are:

• Packaged tuna or chicken salad (not canned)
• Individually packaged crackers
• Individually packaged candy bars, chewy granola bars, or cookies
• Fruit cups
• Gatorade or water bottle (can be reused/recycled)

We will assemble 30-35 lunches per week. The church purchased the items this week. The total to purchase all of these items was $161. If you prefer, you may give money to St. Matthew designated for this project. You may also bring the listed items, no more than 36 of each please. We will have to store these things until they can be packaged and distributed, and we do not have a large space for storage. Please let me know if you have any questions. We are looking for volunteers to help assemble lunches. Give your name to Bill Parker if you can help with this. 

Blessings to all of you! Mary

We have spent quite a bit of time studying the twins- Esau and Jacob. Even though they were twins, they were quite different in many ways. We may revisit them in the future, but now it is time to meet Mary. She was young and poor. The last person you would think would be the mother of the son of God. The message that called her to fulfil this task was delivered by the angel Gabriel, who declared that nothing is impossible for God. Though she was frightened and confused, Mary accepted the call with joy and sang God praises. This must have been difficult news for Mary to process. You might wonder how Mary, then a teenager, could have such joy in the midst of so much chaos and confusion. Mary was able to accept that although her life is drastically altered, there is joy to be found.

Joy does not always have to be big smiles or ecstatic jumping; it can be an attitude of gratefulness and it can be quite tears. While it is sometimes hard to find joy in the unexpected, our Bible story teaches us to find gratitude even in the most unanticipated moments of life. This is the beginning of the wonderful story of Jesus’ birth. Be with us as we explore this miracle.

We had some illness in our class this week. We made Get Well cards for Miss Vickie and for Eliza Koenig, who broke her leg badly and is confined to bed rest for at least 3 months. The kids all made cards are taking books and games for her to play while she is confined to bed. And some painting projects so she will feel our love for her as she mends. Praying that they both feel 100% soon.

We are getting into a really busy time at church, will you help us by being with us as we celebrate this beautiful season?

Blessings