Vol. 54, No. 12 December 2020 FROM THE PASTOR’S DESK: lonely and sometimes even painful. How many of us can tell stories this year of waiting for the outcome of a COVID test or waiting to see a loved one again who has been hospitalized or waiting to hug our family members again after long periods apart? We are familiar with waiting - deep waiting: the waiting of a pregnant woman as her body rounds and she prepares to bring a new life into this world; the waiting of a child watching their parent’s last, labored breaths. We know waiting. And the season of Advent invites us to transform that waiting into a spiritual practice, Welcome to Advent! The season of waiting. to learn something in the midst of waiting, and “Hold on,” you say. “More waiting? Isn’t that to be blessed along the way. the last thing we need this year?” We’ve been In her book, “Seven Spiritual Gifts of waiting for restrictions to ease. Waiting to see Waiting,” spiritual director Holly Whitcomb loved ones again. Waiting for the ability to hug talks about the ways that waiting itself can or shake hands or even fist bump again. connect us to our God. She writes, “Waiting Waiting for the call process to be complete. presents an enormous challenge. We are Waiting to come back to in-person worship. impatient, I-can-fix-it kinds of people. But Waiting for election season to pass. Waiting for not all situations can be fixed. We assume that a vaccine. And so many more things, besides. everything in life can be made better by taking There’s been a lot of waiting already, and now action, but sometimes it just isn’t so.” For we enter into a season dedicated to waiting. Whitcomb, waiting isn’t passive acceptance of Why? the status quo nor simply waiting for God to In Advent, we wait (patiently or impatiently) speak or to act or to arrive. There is value and for the arrival (advent) of Christ. Our scriptures good and intention in the process of waiting and songs remind us to wait for Christ to come itself. She talks about patience, the loss of again in the glorious fullness of time even as control, living in the present, compassion, they remind us of how Jesus first came to us in gratitude, humility, and trust in God as the humble straw of a manger bed. And yet, different gifts that waiting offers. She says that this year, in the midst of a pandemic that sometimes, waiting is the better choice, a seems endless, we are tired of waiting. The “wise teacher” that offers us a great deal when waiting and watching have been long and we chose to learn. Vol. 54, No. 12 Page 2 December 2020 None of that makes waiting any easier. But Pastor Chapman is the newly-called pastor it might ease the burden of waiting if we can at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. She see within it an opportunity for insight, officially started her work among us on revelation, or growth. What if we reframed our November 16th, and is eagerly looking forward Advent waiting as a learning of patience, or a to meeting more folks from the congregation coming to terms with the fact that we’re not in over the coming weeks and months. Please feel as much control of our lives and our world as free to contact her to introduce yourself or we’d like to be? What if our Advent waiting, or with any urgent pastoral care needs. A date for even our pandemic waiting, became a chance her installation will be set in the near future. to live in the present, to treasure the here and now and the people we can share our lives with in the meantime? Maybe our waiting can help us practice compassion for others or offer gratitude to others. Perhaps, this Advent, as we put aside hopes for big family Christmas gatherings and our traditional Christmas eve services, we might see others’ needs as more important HOLDEN EVENING PRAYER IN ADVENT than our own and the health of the community as being of greater priority than our wants and Join us Wednesday evenings in Advent for wishes. Holden Evening Prayer. Take a little time out of Above all, this season of pandemic and of your busy week for worship and reflection as Advent challenge us to trust in God. We trust in we anxiously await and prepare for the birth of the God who, in the words of Isaiah 53, leads Christ. The services will be posted weekly on us through the waters, protects us from the our YouTube channel on December 2, 9, 16, flames, and calls us by name. We trust in the and 23. You can find the link to the services at God who accompanied the Israelites on their https://www.gslc-cu.org/events/online- journey in the wilderness, waited with Paul and together/ Silas in prison, fed Elijah during his fearful waiting and moved within Mary during her joyful waiting. We trust in the God who is already at work in our lives, wherever they’re taking us (or keeping us) and in our situations, whatever they may be. We trust, knowing that we are trusting in the God of Love who came to us as a babe in Bethlehem, who arrives in our lives in unexpected ways every day, and who will come CHRISTMAS EVE DRIVE-IN COMMUNION again as God promised. We trust, believing that SERVICE – 4:00PM even if our waiting is reluctant, forced, or We will have a drive-in communion service spiritually unfruitful, it will still end in blessing. in our back parking lot on Christmas Eve, Peace be with you, my Christ-siblings. Peace Thursday, December 24. Please join us to share in your waiting, and peace in your growing. the Holy meal as we celebrate the birth of our Pastor Lynette Chapman Savior. Vol. 54, No. 12 Page 3 December 2020 CHRISTMAS EVE WORSHIP SERVICE A VIRTUAL NATIVITY WALK AVAILABLE STARTING DECEMBER 6 A very special Christmas worship service AT 5PM while we’re staying safe at home this year. Available online December 24 and full of music, We can’t meet in person this year to a special message for children, the Christmas celebrate our 15th annual Nativity Walk, but we Story, and more, to help us celebrate the true can still enjoy and share this event virtually! reason for the holiday. We thank our members, their friends and families, our fellow Lutheran congregations; CHRISTMAS OFFERINGS Grace, St. Matthew, and St. Andrew’s for sharing their nativities, and the musicians who Please keep Restoration Urban Ministries shared their talents vocally and instrumentally. and empty tomb, inc. in thought and prayer Visit https://www.gslc-cu.org/nativity this Advent season. They are vital to our community and the GSLC Christmas offerings CHRISTMAS AT LSSI FUNDRAISER will be given to both of them. COVID-19 has thrown challenges at everything we are used to doing, and this is no different with LSSI. While we are used to choosing a child’s gift tag off the Giving Tree each year in the Narthex, and carefully choosing the items the child would like, COVID has made this a challenge. LSSI is asking that our congregation support 50 children again this year and consider donating $60 per child, but any donation amount will help us reach our goal. Your donation will provide Christmas presents and DRIVE-THRU LIVE NATIVITY essential items through gift cards. The SUNDAY, DECEMBER 6 fundraiser will run through, December 22nd. 3-5PM AT GSLC th Please contribute at: This 15 year’s Nativity Walk will be https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/good- different from year's past and will be a unique shepherd-lutheran-church experience. Tune in on your FM radio to hear a If donating by check, please make check live broadcast of the story of our Savior's birth payable to Good Shepherd and include LSSI & Christmas music while you enjoy the drive- XMAS in the memo line. thru Live Nativity scene. This year's Live If you have any questions, please contact Nativity scene will include the Holy Family, Nicki Kyle [email protected] or Shepherds, and Wise Men (socially distanced, Patty Hart [email protected] of course) and a stable of animals (yes, the Thank you for supporting LSSI. camel will be there!) Tune in your radio to 87.9FM. Vol. 54, No. 12 Page 4 December 2020 ducking Herod and being some of the first to From the Deacon’s Desk meet the Savior of the world! How about the Shepherds in Luke’s Gospel? Countless nights they wandered the hillsides and valleys counting sheep and counting stars. Each crevice, and boulder, every worn path, and each star in the sky was like family to them. They knew the land like the back of their hand, and just when they thought they had seen it all, angels appeared before them and the scriptures say they were terrified. The geography of the land may have shaped them, but so did the message from God that took them away from those familiar fields. You show me the path of life. In your presence The journey of Mary and Joseph walking there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are with no end in sight and just wanting to find pleasures forevermore. - Psalm 16:11 some comfort before all the pain of childbirth that was to come.