Centering Thought:  “Have enough courage to trust love one more time, and always one more time ”   Maya Angelou We celebrate the Fourth Sunday of Advent and light the Love candle.

Centering Thought:  Whether it’s the transcendent joy of sacred ritual or the simple joy of cultivating a garden, the pursuit of joy amid great struggle is a way to tend our humanity when it is most threatened. . . —ngrid Fetell Lee Reading: Luke 1: 26-56  

Centering Thought: “If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” – Mother Teresa Reading: Isaiah 2:1-4 Semon: “A Peace that Transforms”  Rev. Elisabeth Middelberg

We begin the preparation season that is Advent.

Centering Thought: “Piglet noticed that even though he had a very small heart, it could hold a rather large amount of gratitude.” A.A. Milne

Pastor Elisabeth reflects on Jesus calling down Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10). By calling  down from the tree this despised man, Jesus made him part of the community and Zaccabeus’s response opened him to redemption.  How do we respond to being called down from our tree?

Guest preacher Elisabeth Conway reflects on Job’s suffering and later reward, and notices that Job’s misfortunes reverse when in his darkest hour, he prays for mercy for his friends who have been blaming him.  Likewise, our restoration is through each other, and ultimately, we are the ones we have been waiting for.  Elisabeth is 3rd…

Pastor Elisabeth turns the parable of the persistent widow sideways, to create different insights. Perhaps the point of the parable is not found in the unjust judge relenting, but in God’s persistence shown in the widow. How are we persistent in showing God’s live and justice?

Guest preacher Rev. Dr. Jana Childers imagines Jesus’ encounter with the kyophotic (bent over) women. Since he looked her in the eye and touched her, he must have gotten very low and in a humble position in order to heal her. There is no overstating the tenderness of God’s love, she asserts. Rev Childers is…

We meet outside for our annual Blessing of the Animals near St Francis Day. Great music, adorable animals, and further realization of the blessings among us.