Member's Page

Sunday, December 13, 2015

All Church Work Day - Please plan to pitch in with our upcoming work day on Saturday, Dec. 19th, between 8:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. Please see Al for details!
Save the Date for Caroling - Join in this seasonal ministry of hospitality by visiting and bringing the blessed music to our home-bound and frail members on Monday, Dec. 21st. You will be blessed, guaranteed! Please see Charlie and Becky to sign up!
Prayer Invite - Please remember this month's Adventure in Faith chapel on Dec. 16th and the outreach Christmas Sunday worship on Dec. 20th in prayer. We pray that families will be moved by the Christmas story and the welcome of this community.
Christmas Outreach Sunday, Dec. 20th - Our CM brothers and sisters will be hosting the Homework Club families for worship next Sunday at 9:30 a.m. Twenty-nine children have been practicing sharing carols! They will be invited to remain for refreshments afterwards. You are invited to bring something for this time of hospitality!
Christmas Eve Worship, Dec. 24th - You are invited to join in the beauty and the mystery at 7:00 p.m. Invite friends! Bring refreshments to share!
Please Note: The church office will be open on the 24th, and closed the 25th through the 29th for Christmas break
Christmas Eve Worship, Dec. 24th - You are invited to join in the beauty and the mystery at 7:00 p.m. Invite friends! Bring refreshments to share!

Prepare the Way, Rev. Steve Garnaas-Holmes

Prepare the way of the Lord,

make a straight path for God.

Every valley shall be filled,

and every mountain and hill shall be made low,

and the crooked shall be made straight,

and the rough ways made smooth;

and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

—Luke 3.4-6

God of love, take my heart and change it.

Take what is rough in me and let it become gentle.

Take my fear and let it become wonder.

Take my anger and let it become sorrow.

Take my grief and let it become compassion.

Take my discouragement and let it become acceptance.

Take my doubt and let it become courage.

Take my hurt and let it become forgiveness.

Take my not knowing and let it become faith.

Take my self-centeredness and let it become love.

Take my broken heart and let it become my strength.

Take my life and let it become yours.

Sunday, December 6, 2015

2015-12-6 Worship Videos

Chinese Choir

Chinese Sermon

Baptism

English Sermon

English Ministry News and Notes 2015-12-6

We Welcome Feng Xin into Membership - you are encouraged to meet, greet, and introduce yourself to our newest member, Feng Xin, from our 9:30 a.m. congregation. Brother Feng is a fluent Spanish speaker from living in Costa Rica for 20+ years and an avid handyman.
Start your holiday shopping at CCUMC and help support our school in Uganda at the same time. On Dec. 5-6 we will be selling goods from our YCVM benefit at reduced prices. Find jewelry, art goods, toys, and unique items. Sale runs from 11-3 on Sat. And noon - 2 on Sunday. Volunteers who can help at the tables should sign up with Peggy or Becky
All Church Work Day - Please plan to pitch in with our upcoming work day on Saturday, Dec. 19th, between 8:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. Please see Al for details!
Save the Date for Caroling - Join in this seasonal ministry of hospitality by visiting and bringing the blessed music to our home-bound and frail members on Monday, Dec. 21st. You will be blessed, guaranteed! Please see Charlie and Becky to sign up!
Prayer Invite - Please remember this month's Adventure in Faith chapel on Dec. 16th and the outreach Christmas Sunday worship on Dec. 20th in prayer. We pray that families will be moved by the Christmas story and the welcome of this community.
Please Note: Pastor Emily will be out of the office this coming week. She can be reached via email. Please call for emergencies.
Christmas Eve Worship, Dec. 24th - You are invited to join in the beauty and the mystery at 7:00 p.m. Invite friends! Bring refreshments to share!
Please Note: The church office will be open on the 24th, and closed the 25th through the 29th for Christmas break.

And it was sufficient, Kyle Childress

I love the way Luke and Matthew begin their Gospels. Both tell us of these plain, ordinary people, Mary and Joseph, who obeyed God, and through whom God begins the extraordinary work of salvation for all people.

Traditionally, the church has called Mary the first disciple. She was the first to believe and obey. And even though Luke tells her story with a bit more drama than Matthew’s telling of Joseph’s, we still get the message that here was an ordinary young woman – really a teenage girl – who embodied extraordinary courage and faith in God to be able to say, "Let it be to me according to your will." Or to put it more mundanely, Mary said yes.

More than one theologian of the church over the centuries has said that the great miracle that surrounded the birth of Jesus was not the miraculous conception of Jesus or the virgin birth, but that Mary and Joseph believed and obeyed.

An old rabbinical story says that when there was a crisis in the life of God’s people, the great rabbi, Baal Shem Tov, would go to a particular place in the forest, build a great fire, say a particular prayer, cry to God for salvation, and the story says, "It was sufficient; for God saw the fire in the place, heard the prayer and heard the cry, and God saved his people."

A generation passed and another grave crisis came upon the people. Rabbi Maggid of Mezeritch, a disciple of the great Shem Tov, went to the same place in the forest and cried to God for mercy, "Master of the Universe, listen! I do not know how to light the fire, but I am still able to say the prayer." And the story says, "It was sufficient. And the miracle was accomplished."

Still later, another generation passed and another crisis came upon the people. Moshe-Leib of Sassov, a disciple of Rabbi Maggid, would go to into the forest and say, "I do not know the prayer, but I know the place and this must be sufficient." And it was sufficient and the miracle accomplished.

Then it fell to Rabbi Israel of Rizhin to overcome misfortune. Sitting in his armchair, his head in his hands, he spoke to God: "I am unable to light the fire and I do not know the prayer; I cannot even find the place in the forest. All I can do is tell the story, and this must be sufficient." And it was sufficient (from Souls on Fire: Portraits and Legends of Hasidic Masters by Elie Wiesel, p. 167).

For Mary, and Joseph too, the great miracle was the simple act of obedience, of saying yes to God. Perhaps they knew a lot of Bible and were well versed in theology but I doubt it. Perhaps each of them was well situated in the religious life of Nazareth, but nothing is said about any of this. All we know is that each of them said yes to God. And it was sufficient. They didn’t set out to know all things, change the world, or even change their town. They simply said yes to God. And God said it was sufficient.

And it was sufficient. Amen.