Dear Friends in Christ,
And when God had me wander from my father’s household, I said to her, ‘This is how you can show your love to me: Everywhere we go, say of me, “He is my brother.” ~Genesis 20:13
One of the most pressing issues that we see in our world today is the need for kindness and compassion. It seems with every news cycle, these traits become more and more unattainable. Human interaction towards each other in the public sphere has become full of vitriol and self-righteous attitudes. But in scripture, we are reminded that our calling is to treat everyone we encounter as if they were our brother or sister. Everyone we meet is a sibling in Christ.
There are many ways we come together as brothers and sisters in Christ at St. Paul’s, including our many outreach activities. Here are some of the upcoming opportunities for you the join together in the family:
-Join us tomorrow, Saturday November 24th for the annual UCW Christmas Bazaar, from 11am to 1 pm. Lunch is $10: Chicken-a-la-King and Lemon sauce on Angel food cake. Mincemeat pies can be picked up at that time. For more information Donna Chauvin 458-5885
-Monday, November 26th is the final Spirit Sisters gathering for 2018, and the theme is Prayer. Pastor Sarah is bringing some of the material she’s learned through the Church Renewal mentoring program she’s been engaged in for the last year, and it promises to be a fun evening to spiritually “recharge” before the holidays.
-Also on Monday, November 26th is the first session of Rev. Richard’s Lectio Divina Bible Study, and this first session is the online version. In order to access the online session, you have to access the Zoom meeting, by entering this link in your web browser: https://zoom.us/j/981400235
-November 30th Carols by Glow Stick, 6-7 pm. Please make sure to purchase your tickets ahead of this event, so we can ensure there are enough glow sticks! Ticket information can be found on St. Paul’s Facebook page.
-December 5th Vocal Collective/Sharon Pond 12:10-12:50 for our Advent Recital series.
-Also December 5th is our annual Advent Carol Festival at 7:30 pm.
CHRISTMAS WISH TREE! Every year the people of St. Paul’s share their Christmas spirit and generosity by buying gifts for children. The Children’s Wish Tree has gift tags bearing Santa wishes from 30 children whose families are being looked after by the Fredericton Food Bank. Please select a tag, buy a gift and return it to the Church by December 9th. Many of you look forward to sharing in this tradition; we hope we can count on your support again this year.
In order for us to be brought to compassion for another, we must be vividly and at times, uncomfortably reminded of the compassion God has already given us. Our compassion for our neighbour begins in the honesty of our need for God’s grace in our own lives. In short; we all need God’s Grace! Rev. Richard put it so well in last week’s sermon, that we are all united. We are one. We are one with God. We are one with our neighbours. We are one in this church. We feel that so profoundly here. We love each other so well. Our love is one of the best gifts God has given us. One of the best gifts we can give God in return is to leave our church and love the people we meet. To be the kindness, the compassion, and the love of God for the world. What better way to get into the spirit of Christmas?
Blessings,
Pastor Sarah, Rev. Richard, & Rev. Michelle
The bulletin for Sunday is available for download here.