As we continue to clean up from the storm, I know that a few of our congregation members along with our great community members still did not have their electricity restored as of yesterday. Please continue to check on neighbors and others until all are back to normalcy. Also tomorrow is election day so please plan on voting tomorrow for your town selectmen, school board and other local positions. I'm sure we can all agree that this past week we have learned a little more about the importance of local government.
A Few Announcements
- Confirmation is Tuesday night at 6pm at the parsonage
- Due to scheduling conflicts Senior Lunch has been postponed a week to November 16.
- Sunday is Ingathering Day, please bring any non-perishable food items which will be donated to Redding Social Services. Last year my car was nearly full, this year our goal is to fill it to the brim.
- Also this coming Sunday is Bob MC's last Sunday with us before he departs to France so we will be having a farewell and godspeed for him at the end of the worship service.
- Sunday November 20 we will be making meals with Outreach Inc/Kids Care. Our goal is to package 1002 meals before and after worship so please come ready to learn a little about this great ministry. It cost $0.25 per serving, and the first 100 meals are being paid for out of our education budget so bring your quarters to help pay for the meals.
Book of Faith Puzzler
The question from two weeks ago: We are already at the 19th Sunday after Pentecost. How many “Sundays after Pentecost” are there this year: A) 20 B) 21 C) 22 D) 23 E) 24
This year there are 23 Sundays after Pentecost, with the last one on Sunday November 20. That day is also known as Christ the King Sunday, the last Sunday of the church year. Congratulations to Frank C for winning this week's puzzler.
If you know the answer, or think you do, let me know by noon on Wednesday to be entered into this week's drawing.
Yesterday's Sermon
I really enjoyed yesterday's sermon and the conversational dialogue we had about being a saint now. If you missed it, you can read the written portion here. What did you think about the sermon? Both content and style. Have you thought of other ways you are living into your sainthood now? Or have other thoughts come to mind after our conversation ended? Did you enjoy the dialogue that occurred or did it make you uncomfortable? Do you wish there was more time or was it too long of a conversation? Any feedback you have is helpful as I craft sermons as I try to think of what will connect with you.
Serving this week
The following people have signed up to serve in worship for this coming Sunday:
Worship Assistant: Ellen G
Reader: _________
Communion Assistant: ____________
Bread baker/bringer: ____________ (any bread leftover from the previous weeks was thrown out after the power outage)
Communion set-up/cleanup:___________
Ushers: ___________ & _________
Offering Counter:
Coffee Hour Host: Mark & Heloisa H
Please let me know if you are willing to serve in a way that is currently not filled.
Sunday Text
The first lesson is Zephaniah 1:7,12-18. Zephaniah is one the minor prophets at the end of the Old Testament and he wrote shortly after the end of a reign of a tyrant king and his overall message was that the day of the Lord is coming and it will be filled with judgement and wrath. Has the day of the Lord already coming? Is it still to be? Is it full of judgement and wrath or is God more just and kind?
The second lesson is 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11. The author tells us that the day of the Lord is coming and it will be like a thief in the night. But "God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ." How has Jesus saved us and the world from God's wrath? Do you think one needs to be threaten to believe or that belief can come out of love?
The gospel is Matthew 25:14-30, the parable of the talents. The first two servants take the money that we given to them and doubled the amount. Yet the third only gave back what he was given. Who does God call us to be? And how does this parable fit with conversations in our greater society such as the Occupy Wall Street movement and the the top 1% or earner having made much gains in wealth while the other 99% have not. Or various tax plans that have been throw around by politicians about how much different people should pay to support the greater society? Are we suppose to be like the first two servants who double what was given to them, though we are not told how? Or like the landowner who is harsh and reaps where his does not sow and gather where he does not gather seed? Or the 3rd servant who buries what is given to him and is therefore thrown into the darkness? Or are we to be like none of these people?
Hope you all have a great week, that the power (and more importantly heat) is back on soon for those still without and to see many of you at Mark & Heloisa's wedding on Friday
Blessing
~Pastor Becca
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