Greta McDonald's blog

Our weather hasn't been too difficult yet this December, but I'm still looking forward to "the promise" - our weather forecasters promise that by Sunday we will be having temperatures in the high 40's. We'll see if they are right!

Whatever the weather, I am looking forward to another kind of "promise" - the promise of "God with Us" that we celebrate this season and that we will receive in special ways this Sunday, December 14.

This Sunday marks the second week in Advent, when we lift up the gift of Peace for which we long, and which is given to the world through the birth of Jesus.

The scriptures read at the Advent Candle lighting time at the start of Sunday's worship services, and those read later in the service, may make you want to sing! You will probably recognize the verses from Isaiah 40 as lyrics in Handel's famous Messiah. "Every valley will be lifted up..." and "He shall feed his flock like a Shepherd," are among the lines from this great scripture passage of hope and peace.

Jim and I are especially looking forward to this Sunday's worship services - because both of us will get to really listen to, and ponder, the message that is given by our Lay Leaders, Ray and Ina Osborn.

The Laity Sunday worship services and sermon are based on Jesus' teaching in Luke 13:18-21, about the significance in something as small as a mustard seed, or a bit of yeast. Like many of Jesus' teachings, the seemingly simple words challenge us to see things in new ways, and to keep asking questions of ourselves.

You may have noticed that at the end of this month our congregation will be a part of two opportunities to join together in Thanksgiving observances.

A heart filled with love always has something to give.

I have a little cross-stitch of this quote in my house - and like being reminded of it now and then. Whether I feel short on time, or short on funds, or short on energy, those words encourage to me to see beyond what I think I'm lacking, and imagine what could be possible with what I have.

Those of you who have been part of a United Methodist Church for longer than six years remember when our membership vows included four areas of commitment - "presence, prayers, gifts, and service." If you're like me, you repeated those four words often enough that they became second nature.

This Sunday, October 5, we will share in communion as part of our morning worship services - and it is World Communion Sunday, so we'll be breaking the bread and sharing the cup with an awareness that Christians all around the world are doing the same - and thinking about and praying for each other as they do.

In addition, we'll be dedicating the beautiful new Communion and Fellowship stained glass window, which depicts the chalice and bread of the Lord's Supper.

Two grade-school aged brothers brought their Imagine No Malaria (INM) can to me last Sunday, Rally Day. It was filled to the top with coins they had collected over the summer, and they were eager to turn their money in so it could begin to do the life-saving work for which it was intended.

There are many other children, teens, and adults in our congregation who share that eagerness of pooling our saved incidental money for INM. This Sunday, September 14, we'll do just that!

I still remember it - don't you? - the smell of new gym shoes, the fragrance of a fresh box of crayons - these were the unmistakable marks of a new school year about to begin. As a grade school child, those purchases, waiting to be carried to school on the first day of class, were a a sign that something was expected of me. Those supplies, as ordinary as they were, took some budgeting for my family, and they were given for a purpose - to help me learn so that I could become more and more competent, more independent and responsible, more able to give back as I grew up.

I hope that by the time you read this sure signs of spring – a bit of warmth in the air, perhaps, or some patches of ground appearing under melting snow, or noticeably earlier sunrises.

But I am writing this on January 27, when the high is going to be -3, and those signs of spring seem far away. This, of course, has been one of those more intense winters that makes us, on some days, think twice about going outside; that makes us all too familiar with our snowblowers and shovels, and that may lead us to declare (as I have!) – "Okay, now I’ve really had enough" (and it’s possible that now and then we’ve worded it much more strongly!).

You may have found yourself daydreaming about what you knew was waiting to emerge, what would certainly green, your yard and neighborhood transformed by new life. All the potential for that transformed reality, for that new life, was already there – it was simply waiting for the warmth to bring it forward.