Dear Friends,

Those of us who made it to church last Sunday during the snowstorm had a warm and wonderful worship experience! The total attendance, including those who provided activities for the children, was about fifty people. I sat at my desk at about 8:00 A.M. and began to guess the number and my guess was less in number than those who actually came to worship.

The service was an informal one, but intimate and personal. It was a Communion Sunday, but we didn't have a Communion Committee. Therefore, I opted to offer a Service of the Lord's Supper using a method of administration called "intinction," a procedure not unlike that used at out Midnight Christmas Eve service. Jen Healy had baked a beautiful loaf of bread and that was used as one of the elements. It turned out to be a solemn celebration of the Lord's Supper as we all gathered at the front of the sanctuary near the table.

Several members of our choir showed up and with the expert and genial leadership of Maureen Hague provided us with delightful Advent music, including two anthems! The Choir, perhaps on octet, was fabulous and we where all moved by the dedication and good humor of those who helped us make a joyful noise unto the Lord!

The season of Advent moves on now toward its preparatory culmination in the joyous celebration of the nativity of Jesus Christ. Advent is a very special season in the church's year, though it has a somewhat different tenor to it today than it did hundreds of years ago. As I related at last Wednesday's Prayer/Reflection Service, nobody knows exactly when Advent started, only that it is ancient. We do know that St. Gregory of Tours spoke of Advent as a time of penitential preparation as early as 480 A.D. We know, too, that Advent was celebrated very early in England as noted in the history of The Venerable Bede whose monastery at Jarrow I visited three years ago when I attended a Celtic seminar at Durham, England. In its earliest forms Advent was a time of fasting and prayer, a season not unlike Lent.

Today, no doubt because of cultural preoccupation with buying, the penitential elements of Advent have all but disappeared. There is loss in that development because Advent should be a time to develop humble hearts in order to receive the hope born in God's unlikely visitation to the world in Bethlehem's Child.

Advent should be a spiritual season, no matter what the culture in which we live has made of it. There is hope, purpose and resolve in our faith which cannot be bought and exchanged and may only be received as a pure and surprisingly simple gift of God. There was a sense of preparing for that gift last Sunday in the snow. There will be this coming Sunday, too, as we prepare for the Word of God made flesh, dwelling among us as grace and truth.

 

Love,

© The Church of the Pilgrimage in Plymouth, MA Inc., all rights reserved.

Morning Worship 10:00 A.M. Rev. Daniel Spacek will be preaching. The Lighting of the Third Advent Candle. The Missions Christmas Dinner, 5:00 P.M. in Allerton Hall.

Greeters: Judy and Larry Foster

The Pulpit Flowers are in loving memory of Esther Surrey, Danielle McNeely, and loved ones, given by Sandy Mann Santos and family.

Christmas Pageant Participants. There is a costume fitting on December 14th immediately after church. Meet Jody and Kim Saunders in the Sanctuary and they will assist you. On December 21st there will be a formal rehearsal also immediately after church. If you are interested in the pageant, and haven't signed up yet, please sign up in Allerton Hall no later than December 14.

Confirmation Class will meet after church from 11:30-1:00 in the Church House. The theme is "God as Creator". Please bring something you have created.

All are invited to join us for Coffee Hour downstairs in Allerton Hall following the worship service. Also, Volunteers are needed to sign up for Coffee Hour. Please look for the sign-up sheet on the coffee hour counter.

Greeters are needed for the month of January. Please call the church office to volunteer to greet or look for the sign-up sheet on the coffee hour counter

Office Hours: M-F 8:45 A.M.-3:45 P.M. Thursday's 8:30 A.M.-3:00 P.M. Pam will be out of the office on Monday, December 15th as a vacation day.

CHURCH RECORD

Hospitalized: Marion Whiting-Jordan Hospital

Recuperating at home: Audrey Shuart

THIS WEEK

Sunday, Dec. 14: Morning Worship 10:00 A.M., Rev. Daniel Spacek will be preaching. (If it doesn't snow)! The Lighting of the Third Advent Candle; The Missions Dinner at 5:00 P.M. in Allerton Hall.

Monday, Dec. 15: Rev. Dan's office hours 10:00 A.M.-Noon; Aerobics, 9:00 A.M. in Allerton Hall; Girl Scout Tr. 1128, 4:00 P.M. in Church House.

Tuesday, Dec. 16: Rev. Marks will be in the church office, 9:30-11:03 A.M. Rev. Dan's office hours 10:00 A.M.-Noon; Aerobics, 6:30 P.M. in Allerton Hall.

Wednesday, Dec. 17: Aerobics, 9:00 A.M. in Allerton Hall; Rev. Dan's office hours 9:30 A.M.-11:30 A.M.; Staff Meeting, 10:00 A.M.; Christian Ed Meeting at Jen Healy's House, 6:00 P.M.; Music Committee Meeting in Allerton Hall at 6:30 P.M.; Tr. 47, 7:00 P.M. in the Church House; Pack 47, 7:00 P.M. in the Church House; Advent Prayer and Reflection, 7:00 P.M.-7:30 P.M. in the Sanctuary; Choir Rehearsal - 7:30 P.M.

Thursday, Dec. 18: Rev. Dan's office hours Noon-2:00P.M.; G.S. Tr. 1227, 4:00 P.M-5:30 P.M. in the Church House; Aerobics, 6:30 P.M. in Allerton Hall; Pack 47 Christmas Party, 7:00 P.M. in the Church House.

Friday, Dec. 19: Rev. Marks' office hours, 9:30 A.M.-11:30 A.M.

Saturday, Dec. 20: Pilgrim Society Annual Meeting, 4:30 P.M. at Pilgrim Hall.

PLEASE NOTE

Please call the church office if you are aware of persons hospitalized or in need of pastoral care. It is especially important to let the ministers know about out-of-town hospitals. Hospital listings prepared for clergy at the Jordan Hospital, too, have been irregular in availability. It is, therefore, important that the ministers and church office be informed of any hospitalizations. Thank you for your help.

Membership Classes- Rev. Marks is planning another series of classes for those desiring to become members of The Church of the Pilgrimage. If you are interested in becoming a part of our church family and its ministry, please speak to Rev. Marks or call the church office.

Memorial Poinsettias: Christmas is fast approaching. By your loving purchase of poinsettias, we can enhance the beauty of our church for the Christmas services. Sign up in the lower vestibule following the service this Sunday. There will be an insert listing the donors and those memorialized in the Christmas week Herald. The suggested donation for a poinsettia is $15.00, although a donation of any amount is welcome. The flowers may be given to shut-ins, or picked up after the Christmas Eve services or the following Sunday. Volunteers will be welcomed to take flower to shut-ins following the Christmas Sunday service.

The Harvest Fair Special Fund-Raising Offer is still available. Order the 2004 Expanded Edition of "Dine N Save". The new books are in so please see Dave Cowie or Diana Budge during coffee hour if you have purchased a new book. If you have any questions please see Diana Budge or Dave Cowie.

The Annual Missions Family Christmas Dinner will be held on December 14, 2003 at 5:00 P.M. The menu is Lasagna, Salad, Hot Dogs, Ice Cream. Meal will be served at 5:30 P.M. The program is called "The True Meaning of Christmas" by Sheldon Peavey. Please bring an "unwrapped" gift to be laid under the tree. Thank you the Missions Committee.

Because of last weekend's snowstorm the Memorial service for the Reverend Richard Maxwell was cancelled. It has been rescheduled for December 13, 2003 at 10:00 A.M. at the Chiltonville Congregational Church.

We extend our sympathies to the Sever family and to all who grieve the loss of Thomas Sever. All who grieve are in our prayers.

We thank everyone who pitched in to help with the service on December 7th, the service being held during the big snowstorm.

We thank the Healy, Willis and Bruffee families for lighting the Advent Candles.
We thank the students from Plymouth South High School for assembling and decorating the sanctuary Christmas tree.

Thank you to the following for ushering in November: Debbie and Gerry Chaskes, Joanne and Bob Cole, Megan and Pedro Verdugo, Diane and Bill Harting, Ruth and Christie Fry, Betsy Stearns, Eileen Ganem Marylyn Colburn, Don Moore and Augusta Moore. Also a special thanks to Augusta, Nathaniel, Naomi and Matthew Moore who acted as Accolytes. Thank you, Nancy Stearns.

Congratulations to Susan Chapman Moss and Mathew Moss on the birth of their son Zachary Chapman Moss on November 15, 2003.

The Christmas Fund Offering formally known as Veterans of the Cross, will be taken on Christmas Sunday, December 21, 2003. The Christmas Fund, administered by the Pension Boards, provides Gift checks to low-income retired clergy and their spouses; emergency assistance to clergy in financial need; and funding for Pension and Health supplementation plans for low-income retired clergy and lay workers. Offering envelopes are included in this week's Herald. Your support is appreciated!

Habitat for Humanity house and Christmas pins will be available for sale during coffee hour on December 14th. Prices range from $14-$18. Also sweatshirts with the rendering of the Plymouth house on the back will be for sale for $25.00. Please stop by and support Habitat for Humanity.

Lending Library: There is now a bookcase in Allerton Hall filled with books for anyone to take and read. We hope that you will take advantage of the opportunity to both borrow and lends books as they become available. There is no charge and no obligation to return books if you would like to give them a permanent home. We do have a small collection of books for religious study in this bookcase and there are also many more in the cabinets of the Mayflower Room for anyone interested in serious study to borrow. We hope that many of you will take the opportunity to make use of our lending library and to add to it with books that you have enjoyed. The Board of Trustees.

Think ahead! There will be a joint Bake Sale sponsored by the Pilgrimage Women's Fellowship and The Pilgrimage Guild on the Sunday before Christmas (December 21, 2003). Be sure and plan to pick up some Holiday Goodies on that date and save yourself some baking time. We will have pies, cookies, squares and much more available for sale. Visit us in Allerton Hall after service and take advantage of this opportunity to get you out of the kitchen a little more during this busy season.

Attention Church School Teachers: The new winter curriculum is in each of your respective classrooms, so be sure to pick it up at your earliest convenience. Also, there will be church school on December 21, but not on December 28th. On the 28th, there will be a craft and story hour in Allerton Hall.

COMING EVENTS

Dec. 21: The Fourth Sunday in Advent-Christmas Sunday- Forefather's Day-Christmas Fund Special Mission Offering.
Dec. 22: Rev. Marks will be the speaker at the Old Colony Club's Forefather's Day dinner.
Dec. 24: Christmas Eve; Christmas Eve Family Service with living Nativity in the Sanctuary, 700 P.M.
Candlelight/Communion Service in the sanctuary, 11:30 P.M.
Dec. 25: Christmas Day.

Clerk - Lois Post; Moderator - Steven Triffletti; Treasurer - David Kegel; Collector - Thomas Mudgett;
Asst. Collector - Debbie Chaskes; Music Director - William B Richter;
Secretary - Pam McNicholas; Sexton - Tony Nightingale; World Mission Emphasis - Heifer Project International;
Church Building Telephone - (508) 747-1341.