Peace,
Heather

That is exactly where I am hoping we will go. I hope that we can begin to articulate the ways in which God has been speaking to us. As we are able to do just that we can better see the places that God is calling us. Where has God spoken to you over the past 6 weeks? We have learned many things during this e-Project, but first and foremost, we learned about the power of invitation. Each and everyday we are given the opportunities, no we are invited to share our faith with those around us. We have also learned about the importance of inviting others to our church and church events.

So, I ask again. “WHAT NEXT?” I hope that you will starting thinking about just this question. Where are we begin called. It isn’t an easy task, but it is the next step in this e-Project. Please let us know as things begin to rise for you. Fill out the cards in the Narthex, shoot me an email, or give me a call. Whatever it takes, just let us know! It isn’t always easy to let the spirit lead you. I want to leave you with a tool, a prayer. This is a prayer that I pray every morning to help center myself. Hopefully it will help center each one of us as we ask to hear God in our lives.

My Lord God,

I have no idea where I am going

I do not see the road ahead of me.

I cannot know for certain where it will end.

Nor do I really know myself,

And the fact that I think I am following

your will does not mean that I am

actually doing so.

But I believe that the desire to please

you does in fact please you.

And I hope that I have that desire in all

that I am doing.

And I know that if I do this, you

will lead me by the right road

though I may know nothing about it.

Therefore will I trust you always

though I may seem to be lost

and in the shadow of death, I will

not fear, for you are ever with me

and you will never leave me

to face my perils alone.

thomas merton

Congratulations, you spiritual adventurers! At last count, 165 Saguaro folks have signed up to be part of 18 small groups that will meet during the season of Lent (the 40 days before Easter) to study Martha Grace Reese’s book, Unbinding Your Heart, to share the stories of our faith, and to pray for one another and for our church. It has been so encouraging to see the e-mails that group leaders are sending to support one another and to share how God is working through this process.

Our small groups include all kinds of people, from long time members to visitors who have just recently come to Saguaro; from teenagers to octogenarians; meetings are happening at church, in homes, in libraries, and around campfires (some fires were more successful than others!). The good news is that in all these places, people are sharing their faith, praying together, and listening for God’s voice. If you weren’t able to be part of a group this season, I hope that you will pray for our e-Project groups. You can also pick up a copy of Unbinding Your Heart in the church office if you would like to use the 40 day prayer journey on your own.

I am looking forward to some adventures, spiritual and otherwise, this summer when I will be on Sabbatical leave from July through September. I’ll be traveling to Germany and Austria on July 6th, to visit some of the churches and castles, and to see the Passion Play at Oberammergau, presented once each decade for the last 370 years! There are brochures about the trip in the narthex if you would like to learn more (or tag along on the trip!). I will also be spending some time in reflection at local monasteries, making time for visits with family, and doing some work with straw bale construction practices, a sustainable building practice that I’ve always been interested in but never had time to pursue. Perhaps it will lead to some future mission trip ideas.

The Sabbatical Committee and Pastoral Relations Committee will be meeting throughout the spring to help me with planning and to help support Heather with leadership of the church during the sabbatical period. If you have questions, please feel free to talk to me or to a member of the committee.

Keep praying during this Lenten season.

Bill

Advent Advent
Ein Lichtlein brennt
Erst ein, dann zwei, dann drei, dann vier
Dann steht das Christkind vor der Tür.

Directly translated this means:

Advent Advent
A little light burns
First one, then two, then three, then four,
Then stands the Christ Child at the door.
In Germany, the Christ Child brings the presents on Christmas Eve. Their version of Santa Claus is actually St. Nicholas whose day is celebrated December 6. He also leaves gifts for children but in their shoes, not under a tree. Fruit, candy, toys, and goodies if kids have been good, and switches if they have been bad. (Or both if they have been good and bad.)

I remember Advent wreaths everywhere in Germany, not just churches, but also in public places. Everyone had advent calendars, each day containing chocolate and/or pictures, and these provided a daily reminder of this special time of year.

Most towns in Germany have Christmas markets during Advent: “Weihnachtsmarkt” in some parts of Germany and “Christkindlmarkt” in Catholic parts of Germany (literally “Christ Child Market”). It was always freezing and sometimes snowing, but everyone, people of all ages would manage to find their way to these markets to enjoy shopping, food, and “Glühwein”, a hot sweet spiced red wine. This feeling of community and festivity during the Christmas season is one of my fondest memories of Germany

Her birthday in September was coming up and we were told an old friend and we were told an old friend would be in Tucson for business that week and be sure to stay in town. The doorbell rang early in the afternoon on her birthday and a good friend of her daughter Farrah said: “Come see what I have for you in the car.” There was Gavin, all smiles, and parent Ivan and Farrah in for a week as a special gift for Terry’s birthday. (The “old friend” never showed, of course — it was ruse to keep us home).

What a week it was! Gavin took many steps to grandma. Family pictures were made, shopping so grandma could outfit mom (expecting her second child), and meals made by culinary expert Ivan. It was indeed the most precious of gifts Terry could have received — and filled with precious memories that will last forever.

Yes, unexpected prayers are answered — to take us on the rest of life’s bumpy road.

My Grandma made a huge different in my life and continues even though gone from this earth. My Grandfather died before I was born, so she would come and stay with us for months at a time. My teens were rough years and during the time I was a strayed from my mother, my grandma remained in her unconditional love for me.

I know she is the reason I went to work as a nurse in a nursing home for twenty-three years, loving the older and making many older friends in our church and community. She gave me an example of the love that Christ asks us to give in the 1st and 2nd greatest commandments, Love God and Love others. She knew the Lord and practiced this kind of love and I am ever grateful for her example to me. The greatest gift and of us can receive is God’s love through his son and the love of others.

As I think about you and your families I send only love and blessings. May you find the strength and courage to face whatever challenges you are in. Happy New Year! May we all be a little kinder and more generous in the holiday
season and in the New Year.

Daddy was a widower, left with 2 little children ages two and five. A cement finisher by trade, he was a rough, burly man who after a hard days work on his knee, trawling concrete, picked us up from a sitter, bather, fed and clothed us. He curled my straight stringy hair with a curling iron heated on the gas stove every morning so I’d be “pretty”. In those first months after mom died, we would go to bed with him one each cuddled along side of him. He would listen to the news on the radio with a string tied to the bedpost and the radio plug that he could pull with his toes to turn the radio off so he wouldn’t disturb us after we went to sleep.

He was a good dad, a caring gift from God, who loved us and taught us that gifts were not important. What is important is love and caring for one another. He was the best gift ever.

Gifts take many forms.  Some come in brightly wrapped boxes, while others are intangible and touch our hearts for a lifetime.  This year our Advent devotionals feature writers from our congregation who will offer stories of gifts.

Some devotionals will be long, some might be short. So may be quotes, some songs, some poems, and others stories. You will see the date of each day in Advent followed by the daily devotional. I hope that you will spend time each day reading and reflecting on these devotionals.

We often speak of Christ as the gift of Christmas.  The gift of the incarnation, God with us, shapes our understanding of how God loves us and how we are to live our faith in God.  I hope that you will spend time thinking about gifts so that we may open ourselves up and listen to the voice of God and experience the power of gift in our lives.

Peace,
Heather

If you would like to gets these online, please subscribe to our blog and you will be emailed the devotional daily.

This summer several of us went to the General Assembly for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). I have to say that I am always amazed and moved by the amount of people that are at this event. For the first night of worship, it was great to see that there were actually not enough chairs. When do you ever get the chance to see more than 6,000 Disciples in one place?

I can remember my first Assembly in the summer of 1997. We were in Denver, and as a Senior in high school I was awestruck at what was before me. I think it is similar to the feeling people, young or old get, when they too attend their first Assembly. First you meet wonderful Disciples from all over the nation. You have the opportunity in the business sessions to speak your mind, to speak on behalf of your congregation, to speak up for the Disciples of Christ.

You are also gifted the opportunity to see many amazing things that are going on in the denomination. Like this year there was Blue Jesus and the Greenworks booths. There are so many innovative things to bring back to your church. There is also the opportunity to hear from speakers and attend workshops and hear amazing preaching that might just change your life.

As Disciples of Christ, we are all charged with being the one body of Christ. The priesthood of all believers makes each of us leaders called into a specific ministry. What better place to connect than at Assembly? In two years, we will be meeting for another Assembly. This time, we will gather in Nashville, TN. It is time to mark your calendars. It is time to start putting your pennies in the penny jar. It is time to start planning. It is time to talk church. It is time for us to talk about, “being a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world.” Won’t you join me?

How great is it to be with more than 160 people at camp this year. About 30 staff members and 130 campers have gathered here in Pine Summit, Arizona to be part of this God filled week! This year it is particularly neat to be here this year because there are so many new faces. There are new staff members some of whom have never even been to camp before. There are lots of new campers who are bringing new things to our experience and challenging us to be better servants of Christ.

I hope that even if you have never been to camp before or even if you have been to camp all your life, I hope that you will find a way to be part of this experience. Do you have a week to give to be with our youth at camp? Can you help support the camp programs with money? Can you pray for the campers and staff who are spending a week away from home or their jobs here? Can you help build up the one Body of Christ through this generation of youthful people?

Think about it!