Winthrop Congregational Church, UCC
No matter who you are. No matter where you are on life's journey. You are welcome here!
God empowers us to do great things together!
Christmas 2020
Beloveds in Christ,
On November 23rd, the week before the beginning of Advent, my friend and colleague, the Rev. Eliza Tweedy posted a picture on her social media. The picture itself is simple. A tall, thin box is laying on her table. On the purple and pink box is written “Advent Candles” and “Set of Four, 12” Wax Taper Candles, 3 Purple, 1 pink.” The box has a window on it, allowing you to see its contents.
The surprise comes when you look in the window. Yes, you can see four candles. And, they are 12 inches tall. But, the color scheme is wrong. It’s three pink candles and one purple, the opposite of what most folks use at Advent and the opposite of what is advertised on the box. This is not what the church or their pastor wanted when they made the order. And, now, the order was wrong and it arrived so closely to when they needed it that it was hard for the church to fix the problem. To Rev. Tweedy, this seemed like a perfect example of how messed up this year has felt. Even Advent, as holy as it feels, couldn’t escape the difficulty of 2020.
Getting the right amount of the right candles is probably not the hardest problem you’ve dealt with lately. I’m sure it isn’t the hardest thing Rev. Tweedy has dealt with, either. But, this messed up box of candles did feel like one more thing that went wrong in a year (well, eight or nine months) where lots of things have gone wrong. I shared her picture, captioning it with the words “ALL GAUDETE ALL ADVENT,” a line that is mostly only funny to my pastor friends and people who speak Latin, trying to make a joke out of empathy for her frustration.
As soon as I typed it, though, I decided that maybe what I did actually want this year was “All Gaudete, all Advent.” Let me explain. Gaudete is the Latin word for “rejoice.” In many Christian denominations, the third Sunday of Advent is called Gaudete Sunday. It is the Sunday that we remember joy (hope, peace, and love are the themes for the other three Sundays of Advent). It’s also the Sunday when many churches will read Mary’s song from Luke 1:46-55. I think Mary’s song teaches us something important about how joy can arise in a complicated time.
I've heard from people more learned than me that joy is a spiritual practice. I’m inclined to agree. Joy doesn’t always just happen. It is cultivated through gratitude, graciousness, and care. To be rooted in joy is not to simply be happy all the time (which is literally impossible), but to have a posture of thankfulness and a foundation of awe. When Mary sang for joy after finding out that she would carry a child who would change the world, she sang of what is possible within God’s reign of love and justice. Few things would bring me more joy today than a world that looks more like the one Mary describes in her song, where the lowly have been lifted up, the hungry fed, and where mercy reigns down.
Instead of just being a botched packaging job in a busy time, I wonder if we could see this small box of three pink candles, the color of candle we use on Gaudete Sunday, as a call to practice extra joy during our whole Pandemic Advent. It’s not that we don’t need the hope, peace, and love that the other three Sundays represent. It’s just that maybe this year, during a year of so much death and disruption and isolation, we can use three candles full of joy, instead of only one.
I imagine that the weeks leading up to Christmas are looking quite different in your home than they did before Covid. I also imagine there is no small amount of grief over those changes, even if you are confident that you have made good choices to keep the people you love as safe as possible. My wish for you, and all of us, is that we can still find the joy we need in this season of preparation and waiting. Joy will help us be resilient. Joy will carry us through the rough patches. Joy will bring us to the side of the manger, in gratitude for Jesus, God-with-us, and to the side of our neighbors, working with God for a more just world. Joy, with its incumbent gratitude and awe, is what will help us survive.
With joy, even in struggle, and an abiding love this Advent,
Pastor Chrissy
Beloveds in Christ,
On November 23rd, the week before the beginning of Advent, my friend and colleague, the Rev. Eliza Tweedy posted a picture on her social media. The picture itself is simple. A tall, thin box is laying on her table. On the purple and pink box is written “Advent Candles” and “Set of Four, 12” Wax Taper Candles, 3 Purple, 1 pink.” The box has a window on it, allowing you to see its contents.
The surprise comes when you look in the window. Yes, you can see four candles. And, they are 12 inches tall. But, the color scheme is wrong. It’s three pink candles and one purple, the opposite of what most folks use at Advent and the opposite of what is advertised on the box. This is not what the church or their pastor wanted when they made the order. And, now, the order was wrong and it arrived so closely to when they needed it that it was hard for the church to fix the problem. To Rev. Tweedy, this seemed like a perfect example of how messed up this year has felt. Even Advent, as holy as it feels, couldn’t escape the difficulty of 2020.
Getting the right amount of the right candles is probably not the hardest problem you’ve dealt with lately. I’m sure it isn’t the hardest thing Rev. Tweedy has dealt with, either. But, this messed up box of candles did feel like one more thing that went wrong in a year (well, eight or nine months) where lots of things have gone wrong. I shared her picture, captioning it with the words “ALL GAUDETE ALL ADVENT,” a line that is mostly only funny to my pastor friends and people who speak Latin, trying to make a joke out of empathy for her frustration.
As soon as I typed it, though, I decided that maybe what I did actually want this year was “All Gaudete, all Advent.” Let me explain. Gaudete is the Latin word for “rejoice.” In many Christian denominations, the third Sunday of Advent is called Gaudete Sunday. It is the Sunday that we remember joy (hope, peace, and love are the themes for the other three Sundays of Advent). It’s also the Sunday when many churches will read Mary’s song from Luke 1:46-55. I think Mary’s song teaches us something important about how joy can arise in a complicated time.
I've heard from people more learned than me that joy is a spiritual practice. I’m inclined to agree. Joy doesn’t always just happen. It is cultivated through gratitude, graciousness, and care. To be rooted in joy is not to simply be happy all the time (which is literally impossible), but to have a posture of thankfulness and a foundation of awe. When Mary sang for joy after finding out that she would carry a child who would change the world, she sang of what is possible within God’s reign of love and justice. Few things would bring me more joy today than a world that looks more like the one Mary describes in her song, where the lowly have been lifted up, the hungry fed, and where mercy reigns down.
Instead of just being a botched packaging job in a busy time, I wonder if we could see this small box of three pink candles, the color of candle we use on Gaudete Sunday, as a call to practice extra joy during our whole Pandemic Advent. It’s not that we don’t need the hope, peace, and love that the other three Sundays represent. It’s just that maybe this year, during a year of so much death and disruption and isolation, we can use three candles full of joy, instead of only one.
I imagine that the weeks leading up to Christmas are looking quite different in your home than they did before Covid. I also imagine there is no small amount of grief over those changes, even if you are confident that you have made good choices to keep the people you love as safe as possible. My wish for you, and all of us, is that we can still find the joy we need in this season of preparation and waiting. Joy will help us be resilient. Joy will carry us through the rough patches. Joy will bring us to the side of the manger, in gratitude for Jesus, God-with-us, and to the side of our neighbors, working with God for a more just world. Joy, with its incumbent gratitude and awe, is what will help us survive.
With joy, even in struggle, and an abiding love this Advent,
Pastor Chrissy
|
Support Our Ministry! As we often say, no matter who you are or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome here. Since its founding in 1776, our Winthrop Church has borne witness to the belief that God's love is a gift for all people and for all times. In January of 2017, the church took a step of faith and committed to raise the funds to help us live into our next steps as a place of welcome for all people. With our neighbors' help and the commitment of our church members, we were able to fulfill the promises we made. |
|
Our Capital Campaign Priorities
Here is what we needed to do to make sure our building was both safe and welcoming:
- Fix the iconic bell tower: This is the first part of the building people usually see. The bell tower had been leaking during heavy wind-driven rains resulting in some water damage in the sanctuary. We planned to install new windows and weather proofing to the bell tower to eliminate water intrusion.
- Fix our roof: The church roof shingles on the Main Street side had been loosening and blowing off. This resulted in roof leaks and some damage to the sanctuary ceiling. For a more permanent repair, we removed the shingles, installed plywood and installed new shingles.
- Repair the sanctuary ceiling: Once we eliminated sources of rain water intrusion through the roof and bell tower, we repaired the water damage to the sanctuary ceiling.
- Update our entryway: The wall paper, paint and carpet in the main entry way of the church are worn and needed replacing. We painted the walls and ceiling and replaced the carpet.
Our church community endeavors to accept and embrace all who enter here. We welcome individuals of every race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, family structure, marital standing, socio-economic status, age, physical and mental ability to join us in the ministry of our church. All are invited to participate in worship, fellowship, and leadership.
Even though those projects are complete, our Gospel Work is never truly done. If you value having us as a faith community and faith partner in our town, please donate today.
Even though those projects are complete, our Gospel Work is never truly done. If you value having us as a faith community and faith partner in our town, please donate today.
