From the Pastor

I so enjoyed my first Christmas Eve with you on Tuesday! I hope the Christmas message of Immanuel, God-with-us, has blessed your heart and mind this Christmas season. In the church year, Christmas is not yet over! We celebrate the 12 days of Christmas and so this Sunday is still part of our Christmas celebrations! This Sunday we are celebrating the ministry of Rich and Ruby Pleva (whose time with Zwingli was shortened due to Covid so an in-person celebration was not possible). We hope you will join the community on this special Sunday – for Worship, for community pictures with both Pastor Rich and myself, and then for a potluck following Worship. It will be a meaningful celebration and we hope you can join us!

In Worship, Rich will be bringing us the message, 

“Keeping Hope in Trying Times.” 

He has also chosen some of his favorite hymns for us to sing.   

Following worship, we will take community pictures 

and then have a potluck and time to visit. 

Please note: we have ordered a cake, so won’t need many desserts.  

For reflection this week, I want to share with you this poem to remind us that the work of Christmas will continue beyond the 12 days of Christmas. It begins with us speaking our ‘yes’ to however God calls us to serve, just as Mary gave her ‘yes’:

(to listen to a song of this poem, you can find it and the image used here at https://kalliopekathryne.com/2019/12/26/the-work-of-christmas-begins-in-us/) 

Blessings,

Karla

A Look Ahead

January 26 Annual Meeting following the Worship Service

Video Presentations following worship January 12

At the Wisconsin Conference Annual Meeting last June, the delegates voted to study a resolution from our Palestine Justice Working Group. This resolution calls for a “Just Peace Between Palestine and Israel” and refers to a resolution that was passed at the United Church of Christ General Synod in 2021. This resolution recognizes that all people living in Palestine and Israel are “created in the image of God and that this bestows ultimate dignity and sacredness to all. It also rejects any theology or ideology including Christian Zionism, antisemitism or anti-Islam bias that would privilege or exclude any one nation, race, culture, or religion within God’s universal economy of grace.”

What was voted on by the Conference delegates was to ask churches to study this resolution, in whatever way they choose, to prepare our delegates for a vote at our 2025 meeting on whether to also adopt this resolution for peace with justice in Israel and Palestine.

To be a part of this study we will show two videos on January 12 after worship. One is about the life and work of Father Elias Chacour, a Melkite (similar and related to Roman Catholic) priest. He grew up in Galilee, northern Palestine, and at the age of eight his quiet Christian village was raided by Zionist (later Israeli) soldiers and they were told they had to leave or be killed. Most of them left, with no where to go, and this begins his story of learning to be a peacemaker and teacher. 

The second video is a short talk by Mark Braverman, an American Jew (he says he loves being a Jew). Born in 1948, he says he was taught that the whole world was their enemy but especially the German people and the Arabs. He goes on to tell of how he had an identity crisis as he learned, by going to Palestine, that these things are not true.

Both of these men are remarkable and faithful voices for peace with justice between Israel and Palestine. Please join in viewing these videos. They are only about 40 minutes long (together) so there will be time for discussion within an hour.

         “Blessed are the Peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” 

Book Group will begin a new book in February! 

·       We had such a wonderful Fall Group and everyone is looking forward to our next book! We welcome newcomers! 

·       We will meet 3 times for our next book: Sundays Feb, 9, 23, and March 9 from 10:45 ish (following Worship) to 11:30 a.m. 

·       The group decided to read Bethlehem Besieged: Stories of Hope in Time of Trouble, by Rev. Mitri Raheb. Mitri is a friend of the Wisconsin Conference UCC and has been in Madison several times (most recently last Fall). The book group wants to learn more about Palestinian life so they chose this book.

·       Rev. Mitri Raheb is a Palestinian Arab and Christian Lutheran pastor who ministers to his people in Bethlehem, where his family has lived for hundreds of years. He is a Palestinian Christian peacemaker, and the most published Palestinian theologian.

 ·     In this book, he presents a powerful collection of compelling personal stories of desperation and hope in the midst of lethal conflict, bringing the Palestinian/Israeli conflict up close and personal. Raheb's lifelong commitment to his people has kept him in the legendary birthplace of Christianity, even as Bethlehem has become a flashpoint in the world's most volatile and hate-filled conflict. His passionate personal testimony lifts up the stray gesture toward friendship, the brave attempts to rebuild life and livelihood in a destroyed land, and the unquenchable desire for justice and peace.

·       Professor Harvey G. Cox of Harvard Divinity School writes of this book: “It is required reading for anyone who wants to understand the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and its importance for the whole world.”

·       Since writing this book, Mitri founded and is President of the Dar Al-Kalima University in Bethlehem. With the mission of educating the next generation of creative leaders in Palestine (and the Middle East).



Because it is copyrighted 2004, it is challenging to find it in stock. Depending on how many we purchase and where we purchase them, it can run from $14.25 to $20.00. So if you want a copy of the book, please contact Pastor Karla by January 5 so an order can be placed – or several orders if we must order from several booksellers. If you need a partial or full scholarship to be able to afford the book, please let her know that as well.

Zwingli United Church of Christ

www.paoliucc.com

https://www.facebook.com/zwingliuccpaoli/

zwingliuccpaoli@gmail.com

PO Box 530, Belleville, WI 53508

"A small church with a big

and open heart!"

Pastor

Rev. Karla Schmidt

pastor.zwingliuccpaoli@gmail.com

608-572-4557

Kathie Wagner, Administrative Assistant

zwingliuccpaoli@gmail.com

Phone: 608-845-5641