Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024 Newsletter



For Sunday - Communion Sunday

9:00 a.m.: Holy Ground Contemporary Worship Service

 (in person in Fellowship Hall)

11:15 a.m.: Traditional Worship Service

       (in person in the Sanctuary, and livestreamed on Facebook and website)

NOTE: Today’s newsletter is coming out on Wednesday, Nov. 27 because of the Thanksgiving holiday. As a reminder, the church building will be closed on Thursday, Nov. 28; Friday, Nov. 29; and Monday, Dec. 2 for the Thanksgiving holiday.

A MESSAGE FROM REV. LINDSEY ALTVATER CLIFTON: A SACRED NEW CHAPTER

Dear ones,

I hope you and yours have a lovely celebration of gratitude and time for meaningful connection this Thanksgiving! We are turning the corner into Advent, and Christmas will be here before we know it.

We’ll begin our Advent celebrations with Hanging of the Greens this Saturday (Nov. 30). Beginning at 9:00 a.m., we’ll deck the church halls for our holiday season. 

Advent is a season of endings and beginnings. As the calendar year comes to a close, a new church year begins. Christ’s birth ushers us into new ways of living and loving; and yet, the world as we know it spins madly on. In many ways, pregnant Mary was surrounded by endings - large and small, personal and political. 

But Mary proclaimed hope in a God who was and is making all things new. Christ’s birth offered a beautiful new beginning for shepherds and Magi alike - all the while, King Herod tried to bring Christ’s story to an end. When we ourselves navigate seasons filled with endings and beginnings, we need reminders. We need words that can feel like steady ground, like a path for our feet to find as we step forward into the unknown.

This devotional is shaped around several reminders we all need from time to time: you are a blessing; we can’t go alone; do the good that is yours to do; hope is worth the risk; love knows your name; don’t forget to laugh; the road isn’t straight. These reminders root us in the fundamental truths of our faith. Many of them are life lessons we teach to children - lessons that adults continue to learn and relearn. 

They may resemble the blessings we impart to loved ones during special ceremonies like weddings or baptisms. And so, we invite you to move through this Advent season as if you are entering a sacred new chapter, holding fast to the reminders that will bolster you for the journey ahead.

Read, look, and sing your way through the pages of this devotional. Each week offers art, reflections, poetry, and hymns to give you strength, courage, and grace. As you journey through this season, may you find words for belovedness and hope. May you find words for beginning again. For no matter what you are facing, no matter what this new day brings, love is your beginning.

TO DOWNLOAD AND PRINT on 8.5" x 11" paper:



Traditional Worship Service (5 pages)

JOIN US FOR OUR THANKSGIVING EVE SERVICE

We will also celebrate communion (if you are at home, please prepare your elements in advance: a bread or bread-like item, like a cracker, bagel or pita, and grape juice, wine or water).

We look forward to worshipping with you, either in person in our Sanctuary or livestreamed on Facebook or on our website (fpc-bethlehem.org). 

KICKING OFF THE ADVENT SEASON

Then on Sunday, Dec. 1, we’ll enjoy intergenerational Advent festivities and fellowship between our two worship services. We’ll begin around 10:00 a.m., so we invite “all ages” to join us for crafts and fun, or for a cup of cocoa and good conversation!

In January the group will begin a discussion of the book, Sacred Earth, Sacred Soul: Celtic Wisdom for Reawakening to What Our Souls Know and Healing the World by John Phillip Newell. We encourage you to find your copy at an independent or used bookstore (brick-and-mortar or online).

FOR SUNDAY: BODY N SOUL WILL NOT MEET

Because of the special Advent festivities (see above), Body N Soul will not meet this Sunday. They will return on Sunday, Dec. 8, meeting weekly between Sunday services (10:10 – 11 a.m.) in Fellowship Hall.

POINSETTIA ORDERS FOR CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICES

DEADLINE: SUNDAY, DECEMBER 9

Help us decorate the Sanctuary with beautiful, “double” poinsettias!

We suggest a donation of $20 for a poinsettia that you can take home

after the Christmas Eve service you attend.

This is a lovely way to honor a loved one.

Special envelopes are available in the pews, Narthex and

Fellowship Hall (there is also a poinsettia envelope

in your pack of pledge envelopes).

If you need an envelope contact us at 610-867-5865

or info@fpc-bethlehem.org.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: BES DINNER ON DEC. 10

LOOKING AHEAD

Wednesday, Nov. 27: Thanksgiving Eve Service, Sanctuary and livestream; 7 p.m.

Thursday, Nov. 28 – Monday, Dec. 2: Building/offices/Preschool closed for Thanksgiving holiday (reopen on Tuesday, Dec. 3)

Saturday, Nov. 30: Hanging of the Greens, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. – volunteers welcome!

Sunday, Dec. 1: Intergenerational Advent Festivities, 10-11 a.m., Fellowship Hall

Tuesday, Dec. 17: Longest Night Service, 7 p.m., Sanctuary

Saturday, Dec. 21: Concord Chamber Singers Concert, 4 p.m., Sanctuary (ticketed event)

Sunday, Dec. 22: Christmas Joy Concert, 4 p.m., Sanctuary

Tuesday, Dec. 24: Christmas Eve services – 4 p.m. Intergenerational and 7 p.m. Traditional, Sanctuary

Tuesday, Dec. 24 - Friday, Jan. 3: Building, offices and Preschool closed for the Christmas/New Year holidays (reopening Monday, Jan. 6)

Sunday, Dec. 29: 9 a.m. – Holy Ground service; 11:15 a.m. – Traditional service

Sunday, Jan. 5: 9 a.m. – Holy Ground service; 11:15 a.m. – Traditional service

FOR SUNDAY’S IN-PERSON WORSHIP:



• Child care will be available from 8:45 a.m. -12:15 p.m. this Sunday morning; please ask an usher for directions.
• Your children are a joy in our worship services, and should the need arise, “kid bags” are available for their use while they are visiting. They are in the Narthex.
• We offer nametags for folks to wear – these are for everyone! You can pick up as you enter the worship space; please clearly PRINT your first name.

THIS SUNDAY

• 8:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.: Child Care (ask ushers to direct you)
• 9 a.m.: Holy Ground Contemporary Service, Fellowship Hall (in person only)
• 10-11 a.m.: Intergenerational Advent Festivities, Fellowship Hall
• 11:15 a.m.: Traditional Worship Service, Sanctuary (in person and livestreamed on Facebook and our website, fpc-bethlehem.org

WEDNESDAYS: 7 p.m. - Overcomer’s Outreach Christian 12 Step Recovery Group weekly meeting, via Zoom.com (meeting #: 868 2214 2960; passcode: OO-Beth) THURSDAYS: 7 p.m. - Chancel Choir rehearsals, Sanctuary; newcomers welcome!



CHURCH OFFICE AND BUILDING INFO: The building, office and Preschool will be closed for the Thanksgiving holiday from Thursday, Nov. 28 – Monday, Dec. 2. 

Regular office hours are Monday - Thursday from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Many of the office staff are working remotely for some of the time, so please make an appointment if you need to see someone specific. The answering service (610-778-7003) can take your urgent pastoral concerns, 24 hours a day. 

IN CASE OF BAD WEATHER: Look for updates on our website (fpc-bethlehem.org), Facebook page, and WFMZ (channel 69 and wfmz.com). We will also put the info on our church phone message, 610-867-5865.