St. John's CALL November 30, 2011
From the Pastor
[2] The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness on them has light shined.
“In the beginning was the Word (logos), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
So begins the Gospel of John. John skips the birth narrative and goes all the way back to the beginning of everything. This is where he finds the beginning of the Word who is the Christ. Whitehead, the great Process theologian, spoke of the Logos as the “Primordial Nature of God.” This Word is present in everything, in all life and every occasion. The Logos is not static or fixed, but is the spiritual energy of creative transformation.
At Christmas, we recognize the embodiment of the divine logos in the person of Christ Jesus. We do not have to escape the material world to be with God, God comes to us, and lives as one of us. Jesus becomes a reflection of our divine nature, of the creative transforming power alive and available in the world from the beginning.
As Christians we hold this story, this vision of scripture as the vessel of wisdom. Yet as followers of Christ, the Prince of Peace, the vision guides us to find the Spirit of transformation wherever we may. That is, we are free to affirm the revelation and indwelling of the light of God in other peoples and other traditions. Grace and peace and love and hope come from the same source, the logos, regardless of how this source is described or named. We have the great story of the birth of the Christ child, the coming of the Son of God, yet beyond his birth into his earthly body, he was and is and is to come.
So we celebrate this time of year, giving thanks for the hope that just in those moments when darkness seems overwhelming, the light of God slips into the story simply yet definitively. In a small corner of the planet, in a small village, in a small barn, in a small child, the divine spark shines forth and invites us to participate in creative transformation.
See you on Sunday,
Pastor Max
Pledges are in! Thank you to all who have submitted a financial pledge for St. John’s for 2012. We have received 27 pledges totaling $125,000 as of 11/27. This is a good result! It’s not too late if you haven’t submitted a pledge yet. You can send it by mail to the church office to the attention of Elisay or drop it in the offering plate on Sunday. Based on prior years pledging and giving trends, we are budgeting $150,000 in pledge income for 2012.
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Christmas Wreaths! Boy Scout Troop 6 will be selling them in the Narthex for the next two Sundays. Also, it’s our privilege to congratulate Bosky Frederick for an amazing 40 years of service leading this troop, which continues to meet at St. John’s. The troop was founded in 1929 by St. John's, and our Christian Education minister Williston Wirt was its first Scoutmaster. The troop has had many Scoutmasters over the years, but none for such a long tenure as its current Scoutmaster Bosky Frederick. Bosky took on the job in November of 1971, and as he passed the forty-year mark he is still going strong. On Saturday, November 26, a large group of current and former Scouts and their parents came together at St. John's to celebrate Bosky's forty years, to present proclamations from the City of Berkeley and President Obama, and to share photos and stories about Bosky's leadership.
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Christmas Pageant December 11, Dress Rehearsal and Cast Party December 9
Everyone planning to participate in St. John's 2011 Christmas Pageant should plan to be in the sanctuary Friday evening, December 9 at 6:00pm for our rehearsal on stage with microphones. We will not serve dinner so remember to eat before you come, but plan to stay after the rehearsal for our cast party with snacks and games. We will be done by 8:30. We can still use more cast members to fill out our ranks of shepherds, wise persons, angels, and sheep so invite friends and neighbors. On pageant Sunday December 11 please come to the sanctuary at 8:45 AM for final rehearsal and costumes.
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Mission and Justice will be selling Palestinian olive oil after church on December 11 and 18th. It's delicious, helps support Palestinian farmers, and makes wonderful Christmas gifts! For questions or information, call Glenda Pausey, 528-6238.
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Special Choral Event in Church This Sunday
Be sure to come to our worship service and hear Francis Poulenc's "Gloria," a beautiful setting of a portion of the ordinary of the mass. Written in 1959, the "Gloria" was dedicated to the memory of Serge and Nathalie Koussevitsky. We will be presenting the piece with considerably fewer singers and players than its first hearing in 1961 by the Boston Symphony and Pro Musica Chorus, but the harmonies are glorious nonetheless, and it is always a pleasure to hear our fine chamber orchestra. Jennifer Paulino will delight us with the soprano solos, and an expanded chorus will fill the sanctuary. Don't be late for worship!
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From Karen Thistlethwaite, our Minister of Education:
Two Ways to Pray: first introduced by Pastor Karen at Sunday Form
(1) Palms Down, Palms Up, Palms Together:
Adapted by SHP from Patricia D. Brown, Paths to Prayer.
(San Francisco; Jossey-Bass, 2003) 235-236.
(2) When praying, direct your prayers into the following four categories:
Adoration: “The prayer of adoration exists on a kind of boarder land between silence and word. Adoration is the spontaneous yearning of the heart to worship, honor, magnify, and bless God.” “God you are wonderful…”—Steven Chase
Confession: “In the prayer of confession, we acknowledge who God is before us and who we are before God.” —Steven Chase. “Therefore, I shall confess what I know of myself, I shall confess also what I do not know of myself.” —Augustine of Hippo: “God you are merciful beyond compare and yet I often find it to truly forgive others…”
Thanksgiving: “Thanksgiving is the human response to the abundance given by God; it is gratitude for gifts given out of God’s bountiful love. Prayers of thanksgiving are given for God’s deeds in the history of redemption and salvation.” —Steven Chase “God, thank you that I might breathe this fresh air in the freedom of your love…”
Supplication: Intercession and Petition
Supplication is “a humble and sincere appeal to somebody who has the power to grant a request.” –Dictionary “Intercession is prayer for or on behalf of a community, event, person, or group. Intercessory prayer means that we go between, or intervene on behalf of another. Intercession draws us out of ourselves, transforming self-absorption into attention to others and isolation into community. In prayers of petition we boldly ask God to tend to ourselves. Yet, in a real sense, when we pray for our needs, we pray for the needs of the world, and when we pray for the needs of the world, we also pray for ourselves. —Steven Chase. “God please help…”
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Flick Flak will meet for a potluck at 6:30pm on Friday, Dec. 2, in the Campbell Reception Room. The films we’ll discuss are "The Women on the 6th Floor" now playing at the Shattuck, and "Oranges and Sunshine" (which has moved on).
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Women at the Well will meet again the last Saturday in January.
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The Literature Club's next meeting will be on Thursday, Dec. 22, at 2:30pm in the Fireside Room. We will discuss the first half of "Angle of Repose" by Wallace Stegner. All are welcome to join us.
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