This Week December 12, 2023
Dear Folks,
The Advent Season is marching on! I hope your preparations are well under way!
Thank you for the generous gifts to the BHCare “Under the Tree” project. Because of your generosity, people will have a merrier Christmas!
This Sunday, December 17, is the Third Sunday in Advent. The scriptures are Matthew 1:18-25, and Luke 1:26-38. The sermon is “Who?” The choir will be singing, “Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne”. Sunday School will be meeting in the C.E. office.
The Christmas Fund 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. This offering will be taken on December 17. Envelopes will be available in the pews and in the Alcove. You may also give via our website at: www.huntingtonucc.org.
The Longest Night Service is on Thursday, December 21st, 6:30 P.M., on-site and Facebook live stream. December 21st is the longest night of the year. For many people, the lack of light is symbolic of the harsh things of life. And those harsh things become more evident in the light of the “shoulds” of Christmas time: we should be happy, we should be glad, we should be joyful. But sometimes life is not conducive to the shoulds: we lost a loved one, or a relationship, or a job, or whatever. We don’t feel joyful. The Longest Night Service is a time for us to face the darkness, but also look to the Nativity for hope and light.
Our Christmas Eve service of Lessons, Carols, and Candlelight will be held on Sunday, December 24 at 4 P.M., on site and Facebook live stream. We will have a Fourth Sunday of Advent service at our 9:30 A.M. time.
The Valley Food Bank at Spooner House – There is a list of needed items in the Alcove. Please pick up a copy. Please use the box in the Alcove for donations. The Blessing Box also needs to be stocked! Please note that our Spooner House Meal is now the 3rd Tuesday of each month. Questions—see Holly or Gerry Fassbender.
Funds for Clean-up Buckets Needed – Women’s Fellowship is collecting monetary donations for Church World Service Clean up buckets. Checks may be made out to HCC with “Buckets” on the memo line. You can drop your donation in the bucket on Sundays or you can use the on-line option on our website. The need now is urgent.
Please continue to support HCCUCC with your contributions. Now more than ever, our mission of being the beacon of love and light on the Huntington Green and beyond is vital. Contributions sent in by mail are welcome. Please consider donating at our website, www.huntingtonucc.org. Electronic Fund Transfer giving is also available. Please email the church, hcc@snet.net if you would like a form to set that up. Any way you give is a blessing and is greatly appreciated.
Let us pray. O God of Joy, we know that our lives are a mixture of good and bad, joy and sorrow. Help us to see, in Christ, your presence that is with us in all circumstances, offering a joy that transcends all. Amen.
In Christ’s love,
Rev. Lucille
