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POINTS from the PASTOR
We just recently had our “All Church Charge Conference” it was somewhat different in that Rich Lang, our Seattle District Superintendent used the time to discuss with us the condition of our District Churches, as well as the troubling condition of most mainline Protestant denomination churches.
A major portion of his presentation dwelt with some of the markings or tangibles of vital churches, but he also shared some news that ought to be troubling as well as very hard for us to hear, in that far too many churches have abandoned young families, that they are sadly missing from our churches, especially far too many UMC’s, St Peter’s included.
In talking about vital churches there were a few illustrations he gave, yet indicating no one template or cookie-cutter model will work for every church. Rich did however highlight a book written by Bishop Robert Schnase, titled “Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations.”
Bishop Schnase came to write his book after careful study along with concern and a heart for the local church, and it being a vital and fruitful representative for God where ever they are.
The Five Practices there were constant in fruitful congregations Schnase concluded were; RADICAL HOSPITALITY, PASSIONATE WORSHIP, INTENTIONAL FAITH DEVELOPMENT, RISK-TAKING MISSION and SERVICE, and EXTRAVAGANT GENEROSITY.
We here at St. Peter’s are currently in the midst of change that I pray and hope will become a continuing element of our church DNA. We need to by our nature practice and live into “Radical Hospitality,” whereby as Bishop Schnase writes:
“we demonstrate and active desire to invite, welcome, receive and care for those in our midst, so that they find a spiritual home here, and discover the unending richness of life in Christ. The radical describes the drastically different from the ordinary…outside the normal which exceeds expectations and goes beyond.”
Bishop Schnase then shares the intention of what on the personal level the Practice of Radical Hospitality looks like;
“In our personal walk with Christ begins with an extraordinary receptivity to the grace of God. In distinctive and personal ways, we invite God into our hearts and make space for God in our lives. We say yes to God and open ourselves to the spiritual life. We accept God’s love and our acceptance of us. We receive God’s love and offer it to others.”
We are currently being blessed with an opportunity to intentional invite, be open, caring concerned, and grace-filled to others who are seeking a place to be anchored to God, and call their worship home.
In Exodus 22:21 we read; “Remember you yourselves were once strangers in the land of Egypt…Thou shall neither vex a stranger, nor mistreat them…” In Deuteronomy 10:19 we read;
“So you, too, must show love to strangers/foreigners, for you yourselves were once foreigners…Love you therefore the strangers for you too were strangers…”
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Carol Sing Along
This coming Sunday the 18th, during the coffee hour after church we will be joined by several musicians for a Christmas Carol Sing Along. This is great time to be in fellowship, sing, and make more "joyful noise" to the Lord. I hope you will join us! Many thanks to our musicians Heather Keeney, Martin Keeney, Ted Deacy, and June Allison. This is also a good time to ask if you have instruments hiding in storage. I have lots of different parts books for Christmas and other times and would welcome any and all to dust them off and join us!
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Church Council & Charge Conference
We will have the all-church charge conference as a part of the Church Council meeting set for January 3, 2017. The meeting will be from 7-9pm. In addition to approving the slate of officers and the pastor’s salary, we will also be approving the 2017 budget. All church family is encouraged to attend. We will pass out the Charge Conference packets at that meeting. Questions see Diana Wilson.
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End of the Year Pledge Payments
Please Note: Because of the way our books are set up, if you want your Pledge statements from the church to show all you have paid in 2016 you will need to have all payments in by the last Sunday of December, which is Christmas Day, December 25th. That is because our last deposit for the year will be made on December 26th, 2016.
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Country Store
The Country Store is open again and will run through December 25th. This would be the perfect place to pick up some extra holiday baked goods, last minute present or hostess gift! If you would like to add your item to the store, please make sure to price your goods before adding them to the table.
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Hark the Harold- Review
A sizeable and enthusiastic audience enjoyed Taproot Theatre’s touring group performing “Hark the Harold” on Sunday. Two of the actors portrayed Gabriel and “Harold”, a novice angel, while a third actor portrayed the angel scheduler as well as Joseph, Mary and Zechariah. Thus the story of the births of John the Baptist and Jesus were told by skilled actors with minimal sets and costumes. After the play there was fellowship with cookies and coffee and the afternoon was proclaimed a success.
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No UMW in December
The UMW Fellowship Circle will not be meeting on December 21, 2016. We will resume regular Circle Gatherings on the third Wednesday in January 18, 2017.
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Winter Shelter for Families
Families experiencing homeless this winter will begin arriving at St. Peter’s on December 29th. We would like to provide dinner for them on several evening before they leave at the end of March. The sign-up for providing a meal is at this link: http://www.signupgenius.com/index.cfm?go=s.signupform . Andrea of Holy Family congregation keeps the information on the home page up to date with the number of participants and address of the particular shelter. The shelter for families is obviously the most handy for those of us at St. Peter’s but others, particularly the men’s shelter, need meals as well.
Although, usually those making the meal pay for the ingredients, this year anyone who can gather a few friends to shop and put a meal together, may submit the receipts for meal ingredients to Carol Benedict, church treasurer to be reimbursed through the “Winter Shelter” fund. In addition, anyone wishing to purchase breakfast items such as fruit, fruit cups, granola bars etc. can be reimbursed through the “Fill the Pantry” fund.
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No M and M's in January
Due to weather conditions and folks missing we will not arrange a luncheon for the M & M's in January. Have a wonderful Christmas Season and Happy New Year. Enjoy the activities at church and we will see you all as we gather together for the festivities and worship, lots going on. -Rose Hart, Coordinator M & M's
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Agape Breakfast 2017
Save the date of February 11 for an exciting event with our favorite story teller Debbie Dimitre as Grandma Moses. Bring your family and friends for a morning full of memories.
Hope to see you there.
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Winter Haiku's by St. Peter's Sunday School
Stars in the night sky.
Snowing, snowing,
blowing wind.
Santa comes tonight!!!
- Zachary Hall
Merry Christmas, all
Praise be to the
Heavenly Lord
The young and old, sing
- Adora Wood
Snow dusting the ground
Stars sprinkling the dark night sky
Christmastime is here.
- Allison Hall
Angels song surround
drawing near to the throne, praise
Glory to the King.
-Sally Watson
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