While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son.
She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
(Luke 2:6-7 NIV)
As we each prepare ourselves for this particular Christmas, I thought I’d share a short poem by Madeleine L’Engle with you today. L’Engle, maybe best known for her fantasy novel A Wrinkle in Time, also wrote a number of books on the relationship between her faith and her art. Here is her poem “First Coming,” a reminder to us all of the shape of that first Christmas:
He did not wait till the world was ready,
till men and nations were at peace.
He came when the Heavens were unsteady,
and prisoners cried out for release.
He did not wait for the perfect time.
He came when the need was deep and great.
He dined with sinners in all their grime,
turned water into wine.
He did not wait till hearts were pure.
In joy he came to a tarnished world of sin and doubt.
To a world like ours, of anguished shame
he came, and his Light would not go out.
He came to a world which did not mesh,
to heal its tangles, shield its scorn.
In the mystery of the Word made Flesh
the Maker of the stars was born.
We cannot wait till the world is sane
to raise our songs with joyful voice,
for to share our grief, to touch our pain,
He came with Love: Rejoice! Rejoice!
We still cannot wait until this world is sane to raise our joyful songs. I hope to see as many of you as possible tomorrow evening at 7:00PM at our Facebook service, and I hope that service warms your hearts and reminds you the present is always for rejoicing.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Ben
Announcements
Christmas Eve Worship, 7PM on Facebook Live
While our traditional candlelit service is not taking place in person, Greg and Pastor Ben are working to put together something beautiful to welcome all of us into the joy of the season. There will be a service of Lessons and Carols on Christmas Eve at 7:00PM on Facebook Live. Invite your friends, family, neighbors, and anyone else to join in. All are always welcome here.
Links to Stay Connected:
You will find every newsletter, worship service, devotional, and additional material posted to our Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/FlemingtonUnitedMethodist/
Even if you don’t use Facebook, you can access everything we have there. If you do have a Facebook account, “like” to follow our page and be notified when new things are posted or when videos are about to go live so you don’t miss anything.
There are also several ways of connecting over Zoom, too. Laura hosts a weekly coffee hour after worship. Bruce and Lynn are both hosting Advent small groups. Additionally, we may have a special link for a time of caroling to share soon. For now, here are all the current links to groups and studies:
Coffee Hour
Bruce’s 9AM Sunday Group
Bruce’s 7PM Wednesday Group
Lynn’s 2PM Tuesday Group
If you have any difficulties accessing any of those links, please reply to this message or call the church office at (908)782-1070 and we will get you connected right away.
Snow Days