PRESBYTERIAN MESSENGER

UPCOMING EVENTS. . .

Every Sunday 10:00 AM Worship

Communion served 1^st Sunday of Month

Choir Practice 8:30-9:30AM

Knitting Group 2^nd Sunday of Month in

Sanctuary 12-1:30PM

Every Tuesday – Bible Study 7-8:30PM

Every Wednesday – Bible Study with

Rev. Lou Kilgore 10-11:30AM

Bell Choir Practice 7PM

Thu 12/15 Personnel 10 AM   Session 7PM

Fri 12/16 HMPC Book Group 1-3PM

Wed 12/21 Longest Night Service 7PM

Sat 12/24 Christmas Eve Service 9:30PM

Sun 12/25 Christmas Day Service 10AM

Mon-Fri 12/26-12/30 Office Closed

Deacon Pamphlets

The Deacons of our Church will be providing special pamphlets for Christmas.  They may be found in the Narthex for your convenience. We are remembering those who cannot come to church with cards, notes and visits.  If there is anyone in the church that you know is In need of a hand crocheted afghan, please speak to any Deacon.  (Lois Gassman, Phil Harder, Linda Latham, Donna Loukos, Tom Noonan). Also, if you know that anyone is ill or in the hospital, please speak to Pastor Lou or any Deacon.

Poinsettia Orders

Poinsettia Order Forms are placed in the bulletin for your convenience or you may obtain one from the church office.  All orders must be received by December 11^th.  Please send your order to Linda Latham or drop at the Church Office.  Plants will be displayed in church and can be taken home after the Christmas Eve Service.  Any questions, please call Linda Latham or Lois Gassman.  Thank you.

 Ḟaithworks

This Sunday we light the candle of joy. Joy is not the same as happy. Joy is remembering that God sent Jesus so we would always know of God’s care. Our foucus Bible reading for this Sunday is Luke 1:47–55. The gospel of Luke was written at a time when the Christian movement had spread beyond Palestine and across cultural bounda­ries. It was a time of great expectation that God would send a saviour or messiah to challenge the political and social systems of the day. In this week’s reading  Mary, has been told by an angel that she will bear a special child and she wonders if this child will be the saviour for whom people had been waiting for so long. Mary is chosen by God for the special task of being Jesus’ mother. Mary is young, she has no status or power in her society; she is an unlikely person for such an important task. Mary’s prophetic song (The Magnificat)  radiates love and celebrates God’s transformative vision of justice that challenges the power­ful and lifts up the weak. For the Christian tradition, the Magnificat (which takes its name from the first word of the Latin text) is the great New Testament praise song of liberation. Mary preaches as the prophet of the poor. The Magnificat is revolutionary, with a long history of being banned by various church or political bodies. As recently as the 1980s, the government of Guatemala forbade public reading of it, as did the government of Argentina in the 1970s. Some of the themes in Mary’s song may be hard for younger children  to grasp, such as justice and compassion. But they will identify with the ideas of fairness and things being made right. For younger children, things are “right” when they are equal and fair. Young teenagers might connect with the story of Mary, who was a teenager herself when she discovered that she was pregnant and unmarried. The emotions in this story are powerful– fear, uncertainty, wonder, great joy – and Mary expressed these emotions by singing a song. Powerful emotions are also common to young adolescents. Music and song lyrics can be a  release for these emotions. Music defines their world and provides a soundtrack for their lives. Mary sings for all the generations. Her song may  encourage young people to live their lives as  a song of God’s love, hope and for God’s vision of fairness. In Advent, we prepare to celebrate the birth of this saviour, Jesus, who breaks all expectations of what God’s power and justice are like. Children will be excused from worship after their conversation with the Pastor. Childcare is provided for children 5 years and under in the 2nd floor classrooms.

Upcoming Events

December, Sunday 18 at 10 am – We will be retelling a familiar story, “The Nativity Story” Please join us for worship and participate in the telling and singing of the Christmas story together.

15^th Annual Heavenly Christmas Bells Musical Event

Friday, December 16^th at 8pm, there will be a musical event presented by Jersey Jubilation Handbell Choir.  This is sure to put you in the Christmas spirit!  Concert will be held at Ridgewood United Methodist Church, 100 Dayton Street, Ridgewood.  Suggested donation is $10.  Questions call 201-447-2751.

Prayers & Announcements      

Announcements for the Sunday Worship service should be emailed to the church office.  If you would like the community to pray with you for a person or circumstance please call the office at 201-891-0511.

Book Club at HMPC

The Book Club meets on the 4th Friday of the month and anyone is invited to come and discuss the books. The Book Club will meet again on December 16:  Glory Over Everything by Kathleen Grissom

Sunday Server Sign-Up Sheet; Fourth Quarter 2016

*Assigned families can decide who will be reader. Please inform Chris who is reading one week before you are scheduled.  If you cannot be available when assigned, please switch with someone else and inform the office of this change.  Please check PM regularly to see the date of your assignment.  We need a few more volunteers for the listed duties.  If you can help in anyway, please call the office at 201-891-0511 and we can add you to the list.  Thank you for your kindness and generosity in assisting with the church service.