Seeing the new you!

For Tuesday, December 12, 2023

The exiles returned home.  They hoped to restore the city to its former glory but that was not possible and so they mourned. 

Do you remember when Jacob wrestled the angel?  Remember that Jacob one but was forever wounded and limped?  We can recover from trauma. We can be restored in mind and body.  But there may be permanent scars.  What God promises is compassion and help assimilating those scars into a new and healthier personal self-awareness. 

Maybe that past glory wasn't as glorious as we remember it.  Maybe we need a new, more authentic goal.  A more expansive goal always expanding and moving forward.  Like God's kingdom at Christmas.

Every year in Advent, the Service Committee gives out $20 bills to people they see who look like they need some help.  It's called "Pay It Forward."  This year the whole congregation is getting involved.  Everyone is invited to participate. More information to come.

Congratulation to new Elders Ellen Austin and John Yater.  Many thanks to outgoing Elders Vicki Miller and Jim Little for your service.

Session meeting this Thursday evening at 6 p.m. 
Christmas Joy offering is being collected each Sunday until Christmas. 

Allen Cross