Vistas Update for November 27

We are here!!
We'd love to hear from you. Please call or email with your questions or comments.

Phone: 805-544-2133
Email: info@mtcarmelslo.org
or on Facebook at facebook.com/mtcarmelslo

Prayer requests may be sent to the church office by email or phone

OUR MISSION
Celebrating God’s grace through worship, learning and service.

Online giving is now available from the comfort of you home or when you're on the road. Click the Give Online button above, or download the Give Plus Mobile App on you phone or tablet, to make a one-time offering or to set up a recurring donation. You decide how much to give and when.

Thank you for sponsoring the children at Iglesia Santa Cruz. Please call the church office to make other arrangements if you are unable to come by on December 12. We ask that you do not 'drop off' your gifts without an appointment to avoid confusion, and possibly lost packages.

Church phone: 805-544-2133
Email: info@mtcarmelslo.org

Please use the links listed here to join any of our worship services and Bible studies. We look forward to seeing you!

Link to SUNDAY morning Zoom worship
Sundays at 9:30 AM
For telephone: +1 669 900 9128 (San Jose)
Meeting ID: 849 4786 1947
Passcode: 591300

- Link to WEDNESDAY Evening Zoom Service
Wednesdays at 7:00 PM
For telephone: +1 669 900 9128 (San Jose)
Meeting ID: 867 5095 6162
Passcode: 695333

RSVP here to attend in person
In-Person Worship Instruction Video

- Link to FRIDAY morning Bible study,
Fridays at 10:30 AM
For telephone: +1 669 900 6833 (San Jose)
Meeting ID: 552 129 433

- Link to SATURDAY morning Bible study,
Saturdays at 8:30 AM
For telephone: +1 669 900 6833 (San Jose)

Meeting ID: 839 9161 5112

- Mt. Carmel YouTube channel, in case you missed a service.

Sunday Morning Schedule

In order to enhance our time together and our worship experience online we will follow a schedule for Sunday morning that includes an extended time before and after worship for conversation with microphones unmuted. During worship microphones will be muted (except for the Sharing the Peace and Lord's Prayer).

9:00-9:25; Bring Your Own Coffee (BYOC) Fellowship with microphones unmuted
9:25: Announcements (microphones muted)
9:30: Worship
10:30 Post Service (PS) Fellowship with microphones unmuted
10:45: Adult Forum
12:00: In-person worship on the Mt. Carmel patio (weather permitting)

Click the picture above for a full version of the Order of Worship

Prelude
Advent Preface - My Soul In Stillness Waits
Gathering Song - Rejoice, for Christ Is King! - ELW 430
Confession
Kyrie
Apostolic Greeting
Prayer of the Day
Children’s Time / Lighting of the Advent Wreath

First Reading: Isaiah 64:1-9
This lament comes from a people who have had their hopes shattered. The visions of a rebuilt Jerusalem and a renewed people of God, spoken of in Isaiah 40–55, have not been realized. Instead, the people experience ruin, conflict, and famine. This lament calls God to account—to be the God who has brought deliverance in the past.

Psalm 80

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:3-9
As the Christians in Corinth await the advent of Jesus, Paul reminds them how the Lord has already enriched them through spiritual gifts and will continue to strengthen them until the coming day of the Lord.

Gospel Verse
Holy Gospel: Mark 13:24-37
Sermon - Pastor Richard Rollefson
Song of the Day - Creator of the Stars of Night - ELW 245

Affirmation of Faith
We believe in God,
Creator of all that is.

We believe in Jesus the Christ, God's child.
His coming is the advent of God's reign of justice and peace.
Through his life comes healing,
Through his death comes hope,
And through his rising, life eternal.

We believe in the Spirit,
Who speaks through the prophets,
inspires the witness of the Church,
and through our baptism into Christ,
dwells within our hearts.

Prayers of the People:
Prayer requests: Sid & Beryl Bennett; Sally Eggen & Family (son, Eric, is in the hospital); Jeannie Ledford and family; MaryAnn & Ken Jakes and Family; Elsa Brody
Prayers for our church family: John Merrill; Dean & Kathy Meyer; Jeanne Miller
The Peace / Birthdays and Anniversaries
Thanksgiving for the Word
The Lord’s Prayer

Sending Song - Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble?
Blessing
Dismissal

Thanks to:
Lector: Nancy Cook
Children’s Time: Ingrid Frokjer
Musicians, Singers: Paul Woodring / Dave Becker / Joan Pedersen / Sue Haas-Clark / Patti Frey / Richard Rollefson

Adult Forum
Sunday, following worship

November 29, 2020

The church council will present a Town Meeting discussion on upcoming events and plans for Mt Carmel.

December Forum Series

Prose and Prophesies for Advent & Christmas
Join us for a series of scripture readings and beloved stories for the Advent and Christmas season. The series will include prophesies from the Old Testament, seasonal readings from the Gospels and a featured story read by Pastor Richard. On December 6 we will read from Micah, Isaiah, Malachi and the
Book of Luke; Pastor Richard will read “Barrington Bunny” from The Way of the Wolf by Martin Bell.

Outdoor In-Person Worship Service
Sundays at 12 Noon

In case of rain, the outdoor service will be canceled. Those who RSVP will be notified by phone and email

Sign-up here to RSVP

We are holding in person worship and communion while observing guidelines and best practices to maximize the safety of those attending. We will continue with the existing Sunday morning schedule of Zoom worship at 9:30am followed by the Adult Forum at 10:45.

The in person service will be outdoors, under the shade canopy in front of the santuary. Please click the RSVP link above to help us prepare the space for socially distanced clusters of same household members. You are asked to bring your own chair, if possible, although metal church chairs will also be available. Attendees should be masked when arriving, will receive a temperature check and be signed in. The worship itself will be an abbreviated communion service (under 45 minutes in length). Communion will be done using prepackaged communion bread and cup kits. Entrance and departure routes will be marked and attendees are requested to mask following the service. There will not be a coffee time following worship. While we are aware that we are holding this in-person worship at a time when the weather is turning cooler and we hope for needed rain, we hope that this will be an alternative worship for those wanting to meet in person.

My Favorite Things Survey

Renewed restrictions and cautions against travel and family gatherings have me thinking of my favorite holiday things. Memories of gatherings with family and friends, favorite foods and traditions, even holiday wishes for my loved ones near and far led me to create a fun little survey. I hope you'll join me in sharing some of your favorite holiday joys. Click the link below for the survey. You can fill it out as many times as you like. Responses will be shared in the December Summit newsletter and in the the Vistas.

Wishing you peace and joy,
MaryAnn

MY FAVORITE THINGS SURVEY LINK

Coming next week...
Start gathering your favorite cookie recipes! We'll share a virtual cookie exchange in the Vistas!

My Favorite Things…

Carlyn Hinds:
Thanksgiving Tradition - We always go around the table and tell everyone what we are thankful for- from the serious to the silly! Many times we all end up in thankful tears!
Christmas Memory - When I was 5 or 6 years old, we had a fake metal silver tree that had this spot light behind it with a rotating color wheel on it. I thought we were so rich with that tree. I would sit and watch the colors change and think Santa is going to love it.

John Keisler:
Thanksgiving Memory - It was Thanksgiving, 1972 and was in the middle of Basic Training, at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio Texas. I had been married for a little over a year and this was the first Thanksgiving I had ever been away from family. I spent the afternoon waiting in a looooong line of recruits, on base, in front of a telephone booth, waiting to call home, No smart phones or face time. It was a cold damp wait and took for ever. The wait was worth it! It was so good to hear the famiiliar voices of my wife, Mom and Dad. How good home sounded! I will never take for granted the gift of "being with" family. Calls and zooming are good but not the same as sitting down, in person, with those you love,
The rest of the late afternoon and evening was spent enjoying a lobster Thanksgiving Dinner in ther Mess Hall, and watching football. Yes lobster, flown in from Maine.

MaryAnn Jakes:
Thanksgiving Memory — I was living on an Army post in Germany and one year we chose to take our family to one of the mess halls for Thanksgiving dinner. The food was fabulous and there was so much of it! We enjoyed the traditional offerings of turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, etc., but what my kids loved most were the crab legs. In fact, they still talk about that unique experience. The only downside to eating in the mess hall that year was that we didn't have any leftovers for the next few days.

Christmas Tradition — As a child, we were allowed to open one present on Christmas Eve, then the rest on Christmas morning. It's a tradition I kept it up with my children, and they've continued with their children.

Patti Frey:
Traditions — My family did not really have recurring traditions, although at Christmas we always trimmed the tree with tinsel, a few strands at a time. When it was time to take down the tree, we took those same strands off a few at a time to store until the next year.

I have established a tradition of introducing something new or unexpected to the usual food or activity. It drives my family crazy. And if we have to celebrate on another day because of someone’s work schedule, that’s ok too. It’s less important to observe an actual date than it is to observe the meaning of the holiday.

The other tradition that we have is that we NEVER decorate for Christmas, play Christmas music or watch Christmas movies until after Thanksgiving.

John Cook:
Memory — In Thanksgiving for family present and past. For all of the great memories we share, and the ones we will create.

Book Discussion Group
Mondays at 6:30pm

An online Zoom book discussion of The Book of Joy meets on Mondays at 6:30 pm. The book is a series of conversations between interfaith religious leaders the Dalai Lama and Bishop Desmond Tutu and is available from Amazon in a hard copy or electronic version. Watch for the Zoom link in the weekly VISTAs and on our Mt. Carmel webpage at www.mtcarmelslo.org.

Click here to join the Zoom meeting

Meeting ID: 862 7971 6007
Passcode: 419787

Join by phone: 1 669 900 9128

Advent Small Group Series
Four Saturdays In & After Advent:
December 5, 12, 19, and 26
6:30 PM on Zoom

During the Advent season we often talk a lot about the Holy Land of the past without talking much about the Holy Land of the present. What is going on in Bethlehem today? How are we called to accompany our Palestinian siblings in love, joy, hope, peace, and justice? What does this mean for our own advent journey?

ELCA Young Adults and ELCA Peace Not Walls are presenting a 4-week Advent Pilgrimage in Palestine. Young adults from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land will lead us on this pilgrimage through story, education, and theological reflection. There is a free opening educational webinar run by ELCA Young Adults on Monday, November 30 5:30-6:30pm PST (you can register here), and on each following Saturday we will meet on Zoom as a Mt. Carmel small group utilizing the pilgrimage’s weekly resources.

Contact Monica at monicajholman@gmail.com to learn more or to RSVP for the small group.

Volunteers from Mt. Carmel prepare and serve a hot lunch for The People's Kitchen program at 40 Prado on the first Friday of each month. Here is a list of our volunteers for Friday, December 4:

Entree - Steve & JoAnn Bennett; Marilyn & Dennis Brown; Sherri Parkinson; Mollie Smith; Cyndi Rollefson; Karen Petersen
Salad - Carol Harvey; Wayne Lippold; Rebecca Keisler
Canned Fruit - Dorothy McCoid
Milk - Carol Grosse

Please contact Jan Uder, or the church office at info@mtcarmelslo.org if you are unable to serve this month, or if you would like information on volunteering in the future.