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18 DECEMBER 2024

Building Bridges of

Inclusion, Justice, and Spirituality

No matter who you are or where you are on life's journey,

you are welcome here!

This Sunday at Shadow Rock

9:00 am

Adult Spiritual Formation and Kindlings start in the Multipurpose Room of the Education Bldg with coffee and fellowship. Pastor Ken is back with intergeneration questions. This group will meet in the Lime Room.
Childcare is in the Blue Room
Spiritual Play is NOT Meeting but will be back for Open House, Jan. 5th with a Pancake Breakfast
Sunday School for ages 9 and up in the Green Room
Hospitality Cart with coffee and cookies in the Parlor.

10:15 am

Worship in the Sanctuary (childcare is offered in the Blue Room of the Education Bldg 10 - 11:30 am)

11:15 am

There will be Sermon Reboot after worship.

The Sunday is the

Fourth Sunday of Advent.

We continue our spiritual glide of waiting and hoping into Christmas.

Advent Theme

Advent is a season of endings and beginnings. As the 2024 calendar year comes to an end, a new calendar for spirituality and the church year begins. The birth of Jesus is very soon and his birth ushers us into new ways of living and loving. Advent is an invitation to receive the new ways that are coming. Despite how compelling the invitation the world in its madness continues to spin madly on. This is the way life is. Invitations to live, love, and hope confront the chaos, fear, and cruelty of the world. These are the stories of endings and beginnings. These are the stories of the Advent season.

Here is a new holiday greeting from the Gospel of Matthew; "Season's Greetings You Brood of Vipers!" Imagine this on a Christmas card.

This Sunday unpacks some of the harsh words of John the Baptist. These jarring words evoke feelings of judgment and make people of progressive faith run the other way. However, underneath the words is the intention of hope and inclusion. This is where we go this Sunday.

Our theme for the season is Words For The Beginning. Listen for the Advent word that is coming into your life and the Advent word that our world needs to hear.

Below is a list of dates and activities associated with our time together during Advent and Christmas.

December 22 Fourth Sunday in Advent

Theme: Hope Is Worth The Risk

December 24 Christmas Eve, 5 pm Candlelight Service

Theme: Love Knows Your Name

December 29 The First Sunday of Christmastide

Theme: Lessons and Laughter

January 5 The Second Sunday of Christmas and Epiphany

Theme: Star Words

Join us for Christmas Eve Candlelight Service at 5:00 PM

A Plea for Shadow Rock's Pastor's Charitable Fund

This fund has a long and generous history because you have been generous. The needs for people to eat, have water, a roof over their head, and stay employed has moved your hearts and pocketbooks.

The offering we take during our Christmas Eve service is dedicated to the Pastor's Charitable Fund. We usually distribute $7-8,000 a year and most of the distributions are for people and organizations with whom we have a relationship.

We could help many more people but we do not say "yes" to all of the requests. We screen the requests, verify the information, and do our best to create partnerships for sustainability.

Please be generous to our Pastor's Charitable Fund on Christmas Eve. Feel free to contact Pastor Ken if you have questions.

Dear Friends and Members of Shadow Rock!

Please click on the link Stewardship Letter to receive a heart felt message from Susan Wadell as she speaks to you as friend, fellow member, and president of our governing board. She acknowledges our financial best practice of creating an annual budget and all of us have a part in the process. Read, pray, decide, and act. Thank you for all you do!

Pastor Ken

The Secular Summit 2025 Event is hosted at our spiritual home of Shadow Rock. The event is on January 4, 2025, 10 am - 1 pm. Pastor Ken will be part of a panel discussion about Christian Nationalism.

More info and a link to Zoom/tickets for attendees can be found here: https://secularaz.org/single-event/summit25/.

The Golden Rule given in the wording of different world religions are available to you.

Business size cards are available in the office for you to keep or share with others!

Office Hours During the Holidays

12/19 9 am - 2 pm

12/23 9 am - 2 pm

12/26 - 1/5 Office is closed. Please contact Pastor Ken, Lois, and Heidi directly through their email.

In the case of a pastoral emergency, please contact Pastor Ken on his cell phone.

Theater Event at Shadow Rock Dec. 20, 21, 22.

Showcase Community Theatre and B3 Productions are collaborating to bring you this unique spin on the classic Charles Dickens holiday story.

Ebenezer Scrooge, a wealthy theatre owner, is a miserable curmudgeon - mistreating his nephew Ferdinand and employee Benedick Cratchit. There is not a generous bone in his body. But why is that? And is it possible for such a man to change his ways? The ghost of Scrooge's former partner, Christopher Marlowe, arrives with a warning: "thou shalt be haunted, man. Three spirits shall come hither, unto thee".

This play seeks to reimagine the story of Ebenezer Scrooge's brush with the supernatural through a Shakespearean lens. Written mostly in iambic pentameter, this version of Charles Dickens' classic Christmas tale utilizes other characters through Shakespeare's history to re-contextualize the narrative with a unique spin: what if William Shakespeare had written A Christmas Carol?

Get Tickets here!

SPIRITUAL PLAY HAPPENINGS!

Adult Ed and Kindlings Happenings

Dec. 22

Intergenerational Questions led by Pastor Ken

Dec. 29 and January 5

No classes, but on January 5th there will be a Spiritual Play Open House and Pancake Breakfast for Kindlings and grandparents.

January 12

We will begin a multiweek exploration of Family Systems concepts and dynamics. More to come or contact Pastor Ken if you have questions.

(Kindlings is our young adult group. This is open to singles, couples, and parents with children.)

Save the Date:

Annual Electronic Recycling with AZStRUT

January 7-12, 2025