Dear Friends,

Sometimes a seasonal theme emerges for me even though it has nothing specifically to do with the season itself. I was, of course, thinking of the Advent season when I came across a letter of a 10-year-old girl to her grandfather who had died before she could enjoy one last visit with him. The letter's response is what touched my heart as an appropriate theme for Advent as we prepare for the birth of God's love in the person of Bethlehem's baby.

The grieving 10-year-old sent a letter to her grandfather in an envelope addressed to "Grandpa Bernie, in heaven up high." She attached the letter to a helium-filled balloon and sent it off into the sky. The letter represented a little girl's hope that somehow her grandpa could read it and know of her love for him.

Two months passed when a letter arrived addressed to the little girl whose name was Sarah. The letter began, "your letter to Grandpa Bernie apparently reached its destination and was read by him. I understand they can't keep material things up there, so it drifted back to earth. In heaven they just keep thoughts, memories, love and things like that."
One of the lessons suggested for the First Sunday in Advents is I Thessalonians 3:1-13. It is a letter written by the Apostle Paul and is considered by many scholars to be the first letter written to a struggling church by the church's first great missionary. In the letter to that early church the Apostle emphasizes over and over again that the love of God has entered the world in the "advent," or the coming of Christ. That love is to be a model of "holiness" which the church should follow and by which its members will be sustained in hope.

The letter sent to 10-year-old Sarah represents today the kind of heavenly love that Paul was talking about when he prayed, "...may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all." (I Thessalonians 3:12).

May we learn through the season of Advent that God has given a great love to the world in the birth of Christ. We need to give expression to that love in a world in which there is so very much which is unloving and in which the birth of Christ is obscured by the unholy and unloving ways in which people treat one another.

The Church of the Pilgrimage sponsors many programs and activities. We are an active church and blessed with many deeply committed people who strive to live by God's graceful gift of love in the child of hope born in Bethlehem. In all, however, we seek to show to an increasingly secular world that in Christ there is a divine love which will not let any of us go. Our Advent prayer from the ministry of the church continues to be the Apostle's prayer;

"...may the Lord make you (us) increase and abound in love for one another and for all."

Love,

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

Morning Worship 10:00 A.M. Rev. Gary Marks will be preaching. The Lighting of the Second Advent Candle. Communion Sunday

Greeters: Arlene Axford and Bea Roberge

The Pulpit Flowers are in loving memory of deceased Guild members given by the Guild.
Youth Worship Service in the Church House at 10:00 A.M.

Heads up Christmas Pageant Participants. There is a costume fitting on December 14th immediately after church. Meet in the Sanctuary. On December 21st there will be a formal rehearsal also immediately after church.

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.

CHURCH RECORD

Hospitalization: Audrey Shuart, Jordan Hospital.

Recuperating after Hospitalization: Warren Besegai, Dave Lunnetta following hospital tests.

Baptism:
On November 30, 2003, Samuel Theodore Flynn, son of Theodore and Laura (Stearns) Flynn was baptized during the morning service.

In Memoriam: On December 2, 2003 Rev. Marks conducted a funeral service for Grace James. Our sympathies are extended to her family and friends.

THIS WEEK

Sunday, Dec. 7: Morning Worship 10:00 A.M., Rev. Gary Marks will be preaching. Communion Sunday. The Lighting of the Second Advent Candle; The Congregation Beth Jacob Confirmation Class will be meeting at our church following worship as a part of their religious instruction; There will be a memorial service for Rev. Richard Maxwell at the Chiltonville Congregational Church at 2:00 P.M.

Monday, Dec. 8: Rev. Marks will attend a board meeting of The American Congregational Association in Boston; 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; Women's Fellowship Christmas Party, 6:00 P.M. in Allerton Hall.

Tuesday, Dec. 9: Rev. Marks will be in the church office, 9:30-11:00 A.M. Rev. Dan's office hours 10:00 A.M.-Noon; Aerobics, 6:30 P.M. in Allerton Hall; Stewardship Meeting, 7:30 P.M. in the Church House.

Wednesday, Dec. 10: 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.; Choir Rehearsal - 7:30 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.

Thursday, Dec. 11: 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; Membership & Evangelism Meeting, 7:00 P.M. in the CH.

Friday, Dec. 12: Rev. Marks' office hours, 9:30 A.M.-11:30 A.M.; Women's Guild Christmas Party, 1:00 P.M. in Allerton Hall

Saturday, Dec. 13: Temple Christ Church Christmas Dinner, 5:00 P.M. in Allerton 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.

We thank Liisa Budge, Diana Budge and all who gave up a large part of Thanksgiving Day to provide an Open House for visitors. We don't want to overlook anyone who participated on that day, but it was great to have Doris Johnson playing the organ and John and Linn Peterson guiding people in the sanctuary. Once again we thank Nancy Stearns, Ruth Fry and Kathy Marks for proving a beautiful Thanksgiving Harvest table for our celebrations. It was a wonderful Thanksgiving in Plymouth!

Memorial Poinsettias: - The joyous Christmas season is fast approaching. By your loving purchase of poinsettias, we can enhance the beauty of our church. Sign up in the lower vestibule following the service on the next two Sundays, or call the church office. There will be an insert listing the donors and those memorialized in the Christmas week Herald. The suggested donation for a poinsettia is $15, 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 flowers 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. Sign-up in Allerton Hall after worship on November 30th and December 7th or call the church office. The deadline for signing up is Wednesday, December 10, 2003. 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.

The Pilgrimage Women's Fellowship Christmas Party will be held December 8 at 6:00 P.m. in Allerton Hall. The festivities include a potluck dinner, gift wrapping, sing-a-long and a Yankee swap. To be a part of the swap, please bring a wrapped gift with a value of under $10.00. For the potluck the division of labor will be done according to the first letter of your last name: A-L main dishes, M-R salads and side dishes, R-Z appetizers. If you would like to bring home a sampling of leftovers, bring a container with your name on it. All women of the church are welcome. Jenny and Marna.

Stewardship Meeting will be held on December 9 at 7:30 P.M. in the Church House.
The Women's Guild Christmas Party, 1:00 P.M. Please remember to bring a food basket item and a $5.00 wrapped gift. Also, Sunday, December 7 is Guild Sunday. All members please remember to sit in the front.

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 will be in included in next week's Herald. Your support is appreciated!

Living Nativity at Overlook Farm, 216 Wachusset St., Rutland, MA, December 13th and 14th from 1:00 to 5:30 P.M. A live nativity complete with animals will be presented at the beginning of each hour. There will be an offering at the conclusion of each presentation. Sleigh or hayrides will be available, and the gift shop will be open. There is no charge, but please bring a plate of cookies to share. For more information call 508-886-2221.

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.

The Board of Trustees wishes everyone a healthy and happy holiday. They will not be meeting on December 16th as scheduled. However if we need to call an emergency meeting, the Board will meet as needed right after a church service.

COMING EVENTS

Dec. 14: The Third Sunday in Advent-Mission Committee Christmas Dinner, 5:00 P.M. in Allerton Hall.

Dec. 17: Advent Prayer/Reflection Service in the sanctuary, 7:00-7:30 p.m.

Dec. 21: Forefather's Day.

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 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.