Wayside Weekly
December 16-22
 

1. Tonight at 7pm we will have a short service over Zoom (about 30 mins) to acknowledge and honor those we are missing this holiday season. Longest Night or “Blue Christmas” service is a tradition that goes way back in the mainline church. Often celebrated on the actual longest night of the year we pause during the joy of the holiday season to lift up our struggles and grief. You are invited to bring a candle to the service tonight to light in honor of a loved one who has passed. The service will NOT be live streamed on Facebook. You can find the Zoom link below in the announcements section.
   
   From the creators of our Advent Materials,
   “There’s an Advent tradition within Western Christianity of inviting people to come together for the Longest Night, a night around the time of the winter solstice, when there are more hours of darkness than light. It’s a time to come together for prayers and laments, to mourn the losses and griefs of the year, to let the tears flow for the hurting places in our own lives, as well as for our country and our world. Known also as “Blue Christmas,” a Longest Night Gathering is a safe and sacred space to share anguish, to plead with God to remember us, to pray for justice and restoration, even to hope against hope, through our doubts and tears and fears, that “God will set things right all over the earth.”
    
2. Every year during the Christmas Season there is a special offering sponsored by the National UCC called the Christmas Fund. This important offering directly helps active and retired clergy who find themselves in financial difficulties. More than ever clergy are struggling to pay their bills, are uncertain about keeping their jobs, and wondering if they will make it through this economic recession. I have personally benefited from this fund in the past and know many of my colleagues who have relied on this money to get them through difficult financial situations. If you are looking for a special way to give back this season please consider donating to the Christmas Fund. You can donate directly through the UCC's Christmas Fund website or via Wayside’s tithe.ly app. More information about giving is in the announcements below.

• TONIGHT at 7pm we will have a virtual Longest Night Service. This service is also often referred to as a “Blue Christmas” service. This is a time for anyone struggling this holiday season to pause and acknowledge that the holidays aren’t always so cheery and bright. This service is also a time to honor anyone you are missing (dead or alive) this holiday season. With the pandemic many of us are grieving the traditions we are used to and the fact we will not be able to gather with our loved ones as we originally planned. Sometimes we need to mourn just as much as we need to celebrate. Due to the fact that this is a very intimate service we will NOT be streaming this service or posting it on the Facebook Page. You can access the service HERE or here:
  
  Longest Night Service: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88695624665?pwd=VHdDVHlybDFnSWl1YlNaSFNJRWZsdz09
   
• Because of the Longest Night Service, there will NOT be a Weekly Gathering tonight. 
   
• This Sunday, for worship, we'll be watching the UCC's Christmas Pageant, "A Very UCC Christmas: 2020."
   
• This Sunday we'll also be collecting for the Christmas Fund, one of the four Special Offerings of the UCC.
   
• For our Christmas Eve Service we will send out a link for our virtual service and post it on Facebook. What will be different this year is you can watch the service at your convenience that day and after words. The service will include songs to sing along with, candle lighting, and a mini message. Feel free to pass the link along to family and friends who are not part of our community!  
   
• Do you have a favorite holiday movie or custom that helps you through the season (especially this year!)? If you do, please send the titles to Robbie in the Church Office and he'll put the list together and include in next week's email.
   
• Federal Way Chorale's virtual holiday concert, "We Need a Little Christmas" will be playing live, December 19th, beginning at 7:30pm, with pre-show music beginning at 7:15pm. Links on where to watch can be found on the Chorale's website, www.FWChorale.com. More information can be found below.
   

• Federal Way Food Bank (1200 S. 336th St. Federal Way) in addition to food, is currently able to accept the following New Items for all ages/sizes: 
     sweatshirts
     hoodies
     sweatpants
     jackets
     socks
     gloves
     scares
   
• In addition to the above items for the Food Bank, we encourage you to think about also giving monetarily to the Federal Way Food Bank (which is part of the Multi-Service Center)  and these other organizations:
  
  - Federal Way Day Center - Donations to Catholic Community Services, ATTN: Fund Development, 100 23^rd Ave. S., Seattle WA 98144-5979
  
  - FUSION Emergency Shelter - Donations to Fusion, PO Box 23934, Federal Way WA 98093-0934
  
  - NE Tacoma Healthy Kids Coalition - Donations can be made by going to the Browns Point PTA website (HERE).

• We're still in need of a Vice Moderator. If you're interested in filling this vitally important position, please contact Kim Larsen, Pastor Allysa, or Robbie in the Church Office.
   
• We are still accepting pledges for 2021! You can either mail in your pledge card or pledge online HERE. For those that have already pledged, thank you for your commitment to Wayside!
   
• The password for the Member's Section is listed near the bottom of this email.
   

• This last Sunday was "Mary Sunday" and the Magnificat was read. Because of this we especially lift up in prayer those that have lost a child or have struggled to get pregnant.
   
• Prayers for Rich Neal's grandmother, Jane. She's 93 years old, has tested positive and is now on hospice.
   
• Prayers for Barb Miller. She has lost two friends to cancer during the pandemic so she hasn't been able to be with other friends. Prayers of joy that Lindsay has made it home!
   
• Continued prayers for Pat Lettenmaier and family, after the death of Nikki.
   
• Prayers for those living outside and for those caring for them.
   
• Prayers for our country.

• Thank you to the Lutze family for lighting the Advent candle of Joy this past Sunday.
   
• Thank you to Barb Miller for being the Pastoral Assistant this past Sunday.

• December 18th - Noah Johnson
   
• December 19th - Tricia Gabriel
   
• December 19th - David Mulder