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EPUMC WEEKLY MEMO
You Are WELCOME AT EDEN PRAIRIE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH Empowered by God's love, we are a community of Christ's disciples, centered in worship and fellowship with:
OPEN HEARTS to live and serve with compassion and to share God's love OPEN MINDS to seek spiritual formation and encourage each person's faith journey OPEN DOORS to invite and welcome all to join in discipleship
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Weekly Memo from Prairie Church – December 6, 2009 Advent
blessings
to you and your household! This Sunday we will observe the second
Sunday of Advent as
we light the candle of PEACE.
This year we are using purple candles. Purple symbolizes royalty. One
pink candle acknowledges the Sunday of Joy – the third Sunday. Our
theme for Advent and Christmas this year is: “Road
Trip to Christmas: Heading in God’s Direction”.
This
Sunday we will receive a special Advent/Christmas gift as the Chancel
Choir
presents their annual cantata. The choir will be joined by an orchestra
made up of musicians from our congregation along with guest musicians.
The title of the cantata is: The
Mystery and the Majesty, written
by Joseph M. Martin. This 40 minute cantata will be offered at both
worship services. Children (K
through 8th grade) will be staying in the sanctuary this
Sunday, so they may learn the story of Christ’s coming through musical
storytelling. Sunday School for preschool children (3-5 yrs.) will be
offered during the 9:00 a.m. worship service. There will be nursery for
infants and toddlers at both services. Invite a neighbor, friend or
co-worker to join us for this special Sunday or worship. Pledge amounts continue to grow since our Consecration Sunday worship service. The Stewardship Ministry Team will be giving an update soon. Thanks to all who have made a financial commitment for the ministry of Prairie Church for 2010. If you have not returned your pledge card, you may mail it to the church office, or bring it this coming Sunday. This week two members of our church family died. We will remember and give thanks for each one by gathering in the sanctuary for their funerals: · Andriene Johnson died Monday, November 30th. Her funeral will be held: December 4th at 11:00 a.m. · Kathleen Chalekian died Tuesday, December 1st. Her funeral will be held: December 5th at 11:30 a.m. We began the season of Advent, with scripture that included references to “the end” of life as we know it. Death is a stark reminder of our humanity. But for the Christian community it is also a time to remember that God’s love is greater than we can comprehend, as we affirm the promise of resurrection. The following prayer comes from our “Service of Death and Resurrection”. As you pray this prayer I invite you to remember with gratitude the life of Andriene Johnson and Kathleen Chalekian, as well as for your own life. Let us live faithfully, in the strength of God’s eternal love.
O God, who gave us birth, you are ever more
ready to hear than we are to pray.
You know our needs before we ask, and our ignorance in asking. Give
to us now your grace, that as we shrink before the mystery of death we
may see the light of eternity.
Speak to us once more your solemn message of life and of death.
Help us to live as those who are prepared to die.
And when our summons comes, may we die as those who go forth to live,
So that living or dying, our life may be in you, and nothing in life or
in death will be able to separate us from your great love in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
May we live with the confidence
of God’s eternal love. I look forward to being in worship with you
this Sunday as we gather in the sanctuary at 9:00 or 10:30 a.m. on
the second Sunday of Advent Keep the faith! Pastor
Mike Miller Weekly Memo from Prairie Church – December 13, 2009 Advent
blessings to you and your household! This Sunday we will observe the third
Sunday of Advent as we light the candle of JOY.
This year we are using purple candles. Purple symbolizes royalty. One
candle is pink, symbolizing joy. Our theme for Advent and Christmas this
year is: “Road
Trip to Christmas: Heading in God’s Direction”.
This Sunday John the Baptist joins us on the journey. He comes out of the wilderness of Judea, and he has advice on preparing the road for the coming of the Messiah: “level the hills, fill in the valleys and repent!” You can read about John and his baptism of repentance in the Gospel of Luke 3:1-18. The title of my message this Sunday, based on John’s preaching is: “If You’re Going the Wrong Way – Turn Around”. This
Sunday the Prairie Kids choir will
sing at 9 a.m. worship. The Youth Choir
will provide special music at both worship services. The “Praise
Band Quartet” will provide musical leadership for worship
this Sunday. The season of Advent
and Christmas is a time of many emotions, ranging from joy to sadness.
Remembering that Christmas is a heightened time of grief for many, the 5
United Methodist Gateway Churches of the southwestern suburbs, are
offering a “Longest Night Service”, on December 20, at 4
p.m. at Aldersgate United Methodist Church, 3801 Wooddale
Avenue S., St. Louis Park. The pastors of each church will be
present to participate in this service of healing and compassion. You
are invited to attend. As we travel in God’s direction, during these days of Advent, I offer the following prayer from the book: The Unsettling Season, by Rev. Donald Shelby which reminds us that God is also coming toward us. Lord,
we pray to you, the Holy One who comes to us. Come
to us with new beginnings. Come
to us with healing for festering wounds. Come
to us with peace for our conflicts, wholeness for our brokenness, hope
for our despair, and power to overcome our doubts and fears. Come
to us that we may come closer to each other and to those in need. Come
to us in Jesus Christ and make us ready to let him live in us. Amen. As we remember the historic coming of Christ, may we also look for his coming in the wilderness of our lives and of our world. I look forward to being in worship with you this Sunday as we gather in the sanctuary at 9:00 or 10:30 a.m. on the third Sunday of Advent – the Sunday of JOY. Keep the faith! Pastor
Mike Miller Weekly Memo from Prairie Church – December 20, 2009 Advent
blessings to you and your household! This Sunday we will observe the last
Sunday of Advent as we light all four candles on the advent
wreath. The only candle remaining – the white Christ candle - will be
lit on Christmas Eve, December 24. The theme for Advent
and Christmas this
year is: “Road
Trip to Christmas: Heading in God’s Direction”.
This Sunday our Gospel reading is focused on Mary and her song. She is much quieter than John the Baptist, but her message is just as bold and audacious. You can read “Mary’s Song” in the Gospel of Luke 1:39-55. The title of my message, based on this scripture reading is: “Reduce Speed, Small Town”. Musical
leadership for worship this Sunday will be provided by the Chancel
Choir and the Adult Handbell Choir.
At the second service, we will also celebrate the baptism of Wyatt
Phillip Berscheit, as we welcome him into the Christian family. Many of you ordered CD’s of the recent Christmas Cantata. CD’s will be on a table in Fellowship Hall, marked with your name for those who had previously signed up to receive one. A donation is requested in any amount you choose. Proceeds will be used for the music program of the church. The season of Christmas is a time of many emotions, ranging from joy to sadness. Remembering that it is a heightened time of grief for many, the five United Methodist Gateway Churches of the southwestern suburbs, are offering a “Longest Night Service”, on Sunday, December 20, 4:00 p.m., at Aldersgate United Methodist Church, 3801 Wooddale Avenue S., St. Louis Park. The pastors of each church will be present to participate in this service of healing and compassion. You are invited to attend. Remember: Christmas
Eve Worship services at 4:00 and
10:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 24. Then on Sunday,
December 27, we will have one worship service at 10:30 a.m. with
special Christmas stories and the singing of Christmas hymns. One Christmas, a colleague gave me a small card titled: “On How To Be A Manger”, which said: “Be empty. Be sturdy. Be soft inside. Be still. Be ready.” As we celebrate the historic coming of Christ, may we also prepare for his coming into our lives and our world by being a manger. Worship helps us open our eyes and hearts to prepare for the ever-coming Christ. I look forward to being in worship with you this Sunday as we gather in the sanctuary at 9:00 or 10:30 a.m. on the fourth Sunday of Advent – the Sunday of Love. Keep the faith! Pastor
Mike Miller Weekly Memo from Prairie Church – December 27, 2009 Merry
Christmas to you and your household! This Thursday evening,
on Christmas Eve, we will celebrate Christmas
with two worship services as we travel the road to Christmas: 4:00
p.m. “A Christmas Celebration for All
Ages”. This worship service will engage the children
in the Christmas story as they “build the nativity” in the
sanctuary. They can be shepherds, angels, stars and sheep. The worship
service will include singing the well-known Christmas Carols and will
conclude with lighting the candles on a Birthday Cake for Jesus. The
Prairie Kids Music and the Youth Choir will sing.
9:40 p.m.- Pre-Service Concert by the Chancel
Choir 10:00 p.m. “Communion and Candlelight” Hear again the ancient story of Jesus’ birth from the Gospel of Luke 2:1-20. The title of my message reflects the “Road Trip to Christmas” theme: “Rest Stop: A New Beginning”. The
Chancel Choir will provide musical
leadership. Communion will be served. We will conclude our time
together, with a candlelit sanctuary as we pass the light from the
Christmas candle among us. This year’s Christmas
Offering is being used to support the following: 50% as seed money
for scholarships to assist those who serve on mission work teams; 50% to
support the ongoing mission and ministry of Prairie Church. Please
use the Christmas envelopes in the pew pockets or note “Christmas
Offering” in the memo line of your check. This
coming Sunday, December 27, we
continue the celebration of Christmas
as we gather in the sanctuary at 10:30 for one worship service.
It will be a time of stories and songs. Larry Evans, will read two
Christmas stories: “Christmas Day in the
Morning” by Pearl Buck, and “Christmas in the Trenches”.
The scripture for worship is the Christmas story from the Gospel of John
1:1-5, 14. Following
worship on December 27, you are invited to a “Sunday Brunch”
hosted by the “Mission Planning Team”. Those hosting this meal ask
for a donation to cover costs of the meal and a bit more if possible.
Donations received beyond expenses will be added to the “Mission
Scholarship” which will provide travel assistance for people from our
congregation serving on mission work teams throughout the world.
Christmas
is the celebration of God coming into our midst through Jesus. Christmas
bridges the chasm between God and humanity. The Dutch priest Henri
Nouwen expresses that experience with these words. “It
seems as if I am standing on one side of a huge canyon and see how I
should grow toward you, live in your presence and serve you, but cannot
reach the other side of the canyon where you are. How, O Lord, can I get
there? Sometimes I even have the painful feeling that the clearer the
vision, the more aware I am of the depth of the canyon.” “I
can only keep trying to be faithful, even though I feel faithless most
of the time. What else can I do but keep praying to you, even when I
feel dark; to keep writing about you, even when I feel numb; to keep
speaking in your name, even when I feel alone. Come, Lord Jesus, come.
Have mercy on me a sinner.” And so we come, once again to Christmas,
remembering the promise that God comes to meet us. When our emotions are
spent, when we have no more words to say or pray, when we are weary from
the troubles of life, the story of Christmas
promises us that God comes and continues to come even in our own time.
God builds a bridge across the canyon and comes to hold us in love. That
is the promise of Christmas. It is
God’s gift to us. Let us celebrate and give thanks through worship,
prayer and the offering of our gifts to the Giver.
Christmas Eve: 4 and 10 p.m.
Christmas Sunday 10:30 a.m. Keep the faith! Pastor
Mike Miller
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