December 23 - December 30, 2022

SUNDAY Morning, 10 am Zoom Worship

https://zoom.us/j/97010988439 Password: betogether

SUNDAY , 12 noon Zoom Bible Study  

https://zoom.us/j/262314649 Note: Resumes January 8, 2023.

MONDAY - FRIDAY, 8 am Morning Devotion

https://zoom.us/j/94276813637

WEDNESDAY Eve., 6:00 pm Midweek Inhale Spiritual Practices

https://zoom.us/j/123020606 Note: Resumes January 4, 2023

Saturday, December 24th Christmas Eve

Worship Service

6 pm

(in person and on zoom as always)

https://zoom.us/j/97010988439

Password: betogether

We will gather for our annual Christmas Eve worship at 6 p.m. on the 24th. There will be special music from the Glenn & Diane Smeaton, Anne Gerke, Gabe Lemke, and our entire choir will sing together for the first time. and of course we'll sing some Christmas hymns and end with our candles and "Silent Night." Join us and bring your friends and family!

Note: Immediately after the Christmas Eve service we will set up our fellowship area for the Christmas Day Community Meal. If you can stick around for a few minutes and hlp us set up tables that would be great! 

We Will NOT meet for Sunday Morning Worship on Christmas Day!

Community Pot Luck Meal Instead

11 a.m. -- 1 p.m.

Our leadership team decided it would be best to not hold worship on Christmas morning and to encourage you all to enjoy that morning in whatever way you typically do. Thanks to SaLT member Lavor Geasland's wonderful suggestion, our church is sponsoring a community potluck meal on Christmas Day. See the details below. Thanks to all of you who have volunteered to help host this beautiful event!

Elves Needed for

Community Christmas Potluck

 Volunteers needed to set up, reset, and clean up. Help us spread some holiday cheer on Christmas Day!



Click here & sign up to be an elf

The UCC Christmas Fund Offering Is Coming Up!

Our congregation has been an enthusiastic "5 for 5" supporter of our denomination's 5 annual offerings. The next one coming up is taken each year during the Christmas season. Checks can be made out to our congregation with "Christmas Fund" in the memo line, or you can donate online by using this link.

(Select Here To Donate)

Thanks to our own member, former interim minister, and retired UCC clergyman Mike Bausch for reminding me of this offering coming up and for submitting the following explanation of what the Christmas Fund Offering is all about!

The Christmas Fund of the Pension Boards United Church of Christ has been caring for active and retired clergy and lay employees of the United Church of Christ for over 100 years, providing emergency grants, supplementation of small annuities and health premiums, and Christmas “Thank You” gift checks each December to our lower-income retirees.

United Church of Christ congregations and members have blessed the Christmas Fund with their generosity for many years. This year, your care and compassion will be especially appreciated by those servants of the church who are facing a time of need. Thank you!

Appreciation For

Our Seasonal Elves

Thank You to the volunteers who assisted with additional hospitality the weekend of 12/11:

• Friday, 12/9 concert - sweet treats provided by Jayne Fischer and Becky Cohen
• Sunday, 12/11 Christmas tree decorating - Christmas cookies baked by Maryanne Raese, Jean Kleckner, and Margaret Miller

FINANCIAL COMMITTEE NEWS

Please return by Jan. 1, 2023

As we begin our financial planning for 2023 we are once again seeking financial pledges to help us have a sense of what degree of support we can count on in 2023.

Click here to be taken to the Letter and Form.

Link to a fillable PDF of the 2023 Commitment Form.

Please return Commitment Forms to the Financial Secretary via mail or email FinSec@mcfarlanducc.org by January 1, 2023. Thank you for your continued support!

Members of the MUCC Finance Committee

Geoff Brink    Joan Jacobsen    Barb Janoski     Carol Lemke   

Farrel Smith    Sue Haeffner

2023 Sunday Morning Ministries Kitchen/Hospitality and Ushers

Here’s your opportunity to get involved and support some of the activities for Sunday morning – helping in the kitchen or being an usher. 

Signup sheets for 2023 are posted on the bulletin board near the front entrance and updated signup lists are now available in Sign Up Genius (under “Contact”) on the church’s website.



Link for Kitchen/Hospitality - For more information contact Joan Jacobsen (kitchen) at treasurer@mcfarlanducc.org

Link for Usher -For more information contact Becky Cohen (usher) at cohenrw@yahoo.com.

Kitchen/Hospitality Ministry Team

Team members are responsible for preparing beverages and snacks to be served prior to and after each worship service. This includes set up and clean up. The time commitment is from 9:15 am to about 11:45 am. The goal is to have a minimum of two individuals assigned each Sunday.

Once a month on the first Sunday, in addition to the usual beverage duties, the Kitchen Team is responsible for setting up and serving cake for our monthly birthday celebration. 

Ushers Ministry Team

The ministry of ushering is an important part of worship because it is one of the most visible ministries in the church. Ushers assist the congregation and pastor by greeting and welcoming all members and guests. They serve a role in ensuring the worship service runs smoothly and the sanctuary offers a place conducive for worship. Ushers also respond to requests and any special needs or accommodations of those in worship. Ushers serve from 9:30-11:15; preference is for 2 persons to greet and usher together.

Lost and Found Items

-Brown/flower framed glasses

-Water bottles

-XL blue MUCC sweatshirt

-Winter hats

Lost & Found bin is located under the coat rack. Thank you!

Pastor Bryan On Vacation Next Week

Tom Ludwig will lead worship on January 1st. Thank you Tom!

If you need pastoral support of any kind during my absence, once again our dear friend Rev. Kris Gorton from Memorial UCC in Fitchburg will be on call. Her phone number is 608-438-6307 and her email is pastorkris@memberialucc.org.

I'll be visiting friends and family on the East Coast again from Dec. 26th through January 2nd. Yes, I'll be stepping into the wildness of my daughter's four boys, so pray for me! Kidding. Kind of. It will be a blast as always and who knows what new stories I'll come back with. Those 4 are always good for something funny, and they are going to give grandpa a run for his money on the hockey rink this time!

Ginger will be sending out the Pulse in my absence. I told her that I may or may not send any article or update from my vacation, so if you don't here from me in next week's Pulse, just know I'll be back in action on Tuesday, January 3rd.

A Few Words From Pastor Bryan



Well as I shared last week, it's been a beautiful Advent season for me. I hope it has for you too. As we've acknowledged together many times in the past four weeks, this can be a complicated time emotionally for many, and I hope and pray you've felt God's presence with you in whatever ways you've needed to most.

I've been thinking lots about Mary this year as Christmas approaches. Our Bible study and morning zoom devotion group have shared several readings and discussions about Mary and her experience with the angel Gabriel and the news that she was being invited to carry and give birth to Jesus. It's such an amazing story.

This morning I shared an article from Sojourners Magazine written by a woman named Amar D. Peterman called "What Mary Didn't Know."

Here's a link to the article in case you'd like to read the entire thing.

The focus of it though was on the fact that Mary did not, as we often think, simply say "Let it be" to Gabriel. The Bible reminds us that part of the story was that Mary was "perplexed," and that she had to "ponder"--think about, work with, process, reflect on what was going on. She did indeed say yes to this invitation, but it wasn't as simple as we sometimes like to think.

Oh that speaks to me in so many ways, and I have a feeling it does to many of you as well. If we're engaged deeply on our spiritual journey, God is going to offer us all some opportunities to give birth to something (maybe even someone!) new, and sometimes we'll need the freedom and space to ask some questions and be a bit perplexed or confused. And sometimes we'll say no, or not yet, or not now, or why now, why me, and either run away or delay or maybe miss something altogether that God is offering to us or challenge us to accept. And there are lots of other good Bible stories about people who responded in all those perplexed and perplexing ways. Jonah comes to mind.

Read the article if you want more. My point here is that I'm just glad that Mary had a choice. This is kind of a new thought to me. I'm glad God did not force Mary to say yes to having the baby. God gave her--and Joseph--time and space to be human. To push back a bit. To weigh it out and ask some hard questions. Mary was not coerced. She was issued an invitation--a wildly perplexing invitation for sure--but not an ultimatum or an order. It's only on the other side of that kind of freedom to question and doubt that our choices are truly ours. I think the implications of this are profound, and without any further elaboration I'll just say that this is one of the many reasons why I am "pro choice."

Of course I'm so glad Mary accepted the invitation to give birth to the Savior of the world. I'm so grateful for her courage and strength, and for Joseph's as well. What a mission that young couple was asked to undertake. And what an amazing thing that God placed the healing (i.e. "salvation") of the world in the hands of a young teenage woman and a presumably young man.

Well let's meeting tomorrow evening at the manger and ponder it all together some more. And sing and give thanks. And welcome this beautiful baby once more.

Pastor Bryan