Loading...Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation, that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a mansion prepared for himself; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. Collect for Advent IV, Book of Common Prayer, pg. 212
One of my favorite pieces in The Messiah is Who may abide about how God is like a refiner's fire. A refiner's fire is VERY HOT and the impurities of the metal will be released and what remains is the beautiful gold.
In our Collect for the 4th Sunday in Advent, we ask that God bring this refiner's fire to our conscience. We ask God to rid us of all of the impurities, or I'd say, distractions, that clog our thinking, our spirit and our actions.
Our conscience needs cleared so there can be a place for God to reside.
Just knowing about a refiner's fire, helps us understand that the process will not be easy and could be painful. But without it, there's no place for God.
Many blessings as you finish your week!
Love, Rebecca+
Welcoming the Stranger - Diocesan Advent/epiphany Opportunity
Refugees settling in our Diocese need pots, pans (new or gently used with NO non-stick surfaces), new pillows and small items for children. Bring your donations to church and we'll get them delivered.
There is an Amazon Wish List that could assist you in your purchases if you desire: //www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/3JIQUQEFODK3U/ref=topnav_lists_4
Greening of the Church, December 20 Join us for the greening of the church, followed by a potluck lunch.
Join us for our celebration of Christ’s birth:
Thursday, December 24, Candlelight Eucharist services
4pm – St. Stephen’s - Family Service
10:30pm – Church of the Nativity; hymn sing at 10:30; service at 11:00pm.
Friday, December 25, Eucharist
9:30am – Church of the Nativity
Sunday, December 27, Eucharist
9:30am - Christmas Lessons and Carols
Honor or remember a loved one at Christmas with flowers. Donations are being accepted for flowers to decorate our churches during the Christmas holidays. Put your donation in the envelopes provided.
Baptisms on January 10. We will be celebrating baptisms. Let Rebecca know if you or someone you know would like to be baptized on that Sunday.
Choir Practice The choir practices every Sunday at 8:30am prior to the service. The choir will also practice some Wednesdays. Upcoming Wednesday practices are January 13 and 27 at 10:30am. The choir will sing two selections at the 10:30pm Christmas Eve Service. They will gather at 9:45 that evening.
Godly Play will be December 27.
Parlor People
Parlor People will resume January 3, with five sessions on how we can undo racism, led by Rebecca and Joanne Pinaire.
Report from December 13 - Dick Price - Art of medieval, cloistered monks.
Dick Price closed out our Fall Parlor People season with one of his popular art history talks. This one referenced monastic influence on art in the early Renaissance. We first looked at Filippo Lippi, better known as Fra Angelico. He used the egg tempera paints and stylized perspective and figures common in frescos. We saw two works, the Annunciation and the Madonna and Child with two Angels. For the latter, he used live people as models. You can see a video on his work at https://www.khanacademy.org/ humanities/renaissance- reformation/early- renaissance1/painting-in- florence/v/fra-angelico-the- annunciation-c-1438-47
The second painter was Guido Reni who made even more use of live models with more accurate perspective. You can see his version of the Annunciation here. //arthousereproductions. com/annunciation-1621-guido- reni The two were quite different personalities as well, yet they both were closely tied to the monastic practices of their day.
Upcoming Meetings
January 3, Noon, Welcome Committee
January 6, 1:30pm, Property Committee
Join Us For Breakfast!
Men's breakfast - Every Wednesday, 9am, Espresso Yourself Cafe.
Women's breakfast – 2nd and 4th Wednesdays in January, 9am, May's Railside Grill. Upcoming breakfast dates are January 13 and 27.
Rebecca’s schedule. Rebecca is available Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Her Sabbath days will be Monday and Friday. You can reach Rebecca at nativityrector@pa.net or 717-433-1556 (cell) or 717-567-0404 (home). Please note the change in my home phone number, effective December 22.
Godspell Sunday, February 21, 2:00pm, Hershey Playhouse. Miguel Gonzales will be performing. If you'd like to attend, please let Rebecca know. We're trying to purchase tickets together.
Schedule a time for Rebecca to come visit you! I'm enjoying visiting. If you haven't scheduled a visit, yet, plan to sign up this week! I'll come to your home or another location you suggest. This helps me to know you better and hopefully you will also know me a little better. Let me know your availability on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday days or evenings and I'll be in touch to arrange a time for us to get together. You can send an email to me at nativityrector@pa.net or leave a message at the church at 717-567-6514.
Pictorial Directory Marion Fluchere is putting together a pictorial directory for us. She will be asking to take photos of each family for the directory. A draft with contact information is available. Please review the information, make any corrections and initial the entry.
Stitchers meet in Undercroft on January 28, 10am. Knit and crochet prayer shawls and other items. The prayer shawls go to Perry Village and baby items go to families with Join Hands. See Edna Baker, Sue Beamer or Wendy Day if you'd like more information and don't worry about not knowing how to knit or crochet, because I bet this would be a great place to learn!
Join Hands items of the month are gift cards for stores such as Walmart, Target, Old Navy, etc., to be used for older children in the Christmas program. Or grocery store cards (Karns, Giant, Mutzabaugh’s or Weis).
Help People in Need when you buy your Groceries! See Gail Shull or Pat Szabo to purchase cards in various amounts to use at Giant, Mutzabaugh's, or Weis Stores. 5% of the cost of each card stays with the church and is used for outreach and mission projects.
Help people in need around the world! A Thankoffering box is available by the coffee pots in the kitchen if you'd like to make donations that way. United Thankoffering is a project of the Episcopal Church Women of The Episcopal Church. Boxes are available to collect your offering, which is brought to church twice a year. A wonderful spiritual practice is to put something in the box each time you are thankful to God.
Connect with us on social media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheEpiscopalChurchOfTheNativityStStephen
Twitter: @ChnatssChurch
Instagram: https://instagram.com/chnatss/
You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMdhiksmcXv0kyz9M2uio6Q
Food Bank Donations are needed! Peanut Butter is especially needed now. For a list of the items needed by the Food Bank, go to their website at //www.perrycountyfoodbank.org/ and click on their wish list.
