BCC Newsletter Dec 08

8/14/2019 BCC Newsletter Dec 08

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The Bethlehem Word

Featured in this Issue...

Message from the PastorJohn Weborg is Professor Emeritus of Theology at North

Park Theological Seminary and a longtime columnist for the

Covenant Companion, our denominational magazine. He was a

former professor of mine while I was at North Park. Each Friday

during Advent, one of his columns that originally appeared in the

magazine will appear on the Covenant’s website. This article

first appeared in December 2000.

Holiday time and Christmas time are related, but not

dentical. While holiday time and Christmas time occur at the

same time on the calendar (as observed by Christians and with

some communality in the culture in general) and in people’s

schedules, they are not the same.

The article “Surviving Holiday Hell” in the November/

December 1998 issue of Psychology Today cites several voices

that cannot agree on what time we are celebrating. One exam-

ple. Frank Pittman says that “Christmas is make-up time.” The

delusion he refers to is “the belief that we can do a year’s worth

of work on our entire set of relationships just in a few days—

holiday time.” He is candid in admitting his painful lesson: trying

to do everything, complicated by the other pressures of the sea-

son, it backfired in every way. Make-up time replaced holiday

time, which replaced Christmas time. Make-up time ended u

leaving more to make up and no one had a holiday.

For some it is Santa time, but not St. Nicholas time.

Does our culture know the story of St. Nicholas? We know th

he was a fourth century bishop of Myra on the southwest corn

of what is now Turkey, and that St. Nicolas Day is celebrated

December 6. One story of his life tells of gifts given to a poor

family, rescuing three daughters from a life of prostitution. If t

story is true, it beings out the redeeming character of gifts—th

is, gifts make a material difference in the circumstances of the

recipient. Gift giving is a redemptive act, not a competitive ac

among givers.

For many children it is Rudolf time, immortalized by ic

and song. But is the storyline truly faced? Contrary to the ho

tality of Mary and Joseph to the shepherds and Magi and the

generosity of St. Nicholas, the company of reindeer was exclu

sionary. They perpetrated an evil whose effects are seldom f

escaped: ridicule and exclusion. Holiday time is when ridicule

and excluded persons yearn like Rudolph for a reversal of for-

tune. (continued on pg. 4)

December 2008

Missions News Pg. 2

Christmas WorshipServices Pg. 3

Ladies ChristmasTea Pg.3

Calendar Pg. 2

Women’s Book Club Pg.4

Movie Night Pg. 5


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Children's Christmas Party - Sunday,December 14 from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. If a Beth-lehem child is going to attend a small giftshould be provided for them to have on the dayof the party.

Thanks to all who donated food and turkeys tothe Quinsigamond Village Community Center.We collected enough money for over 50 tur-keys!

We are still accepting donations of jackets for the South Worcester Neighborhood Center.

Any jackets you have that are in good condition

that you no longer used would be appreciated.

If you have any questions, please speak with

Jeanne Bartkus.

n Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 3 4 Bible Study 5 6

Worship:30am

8 9 10 11 Bible Study 12 13 LadiesChristmas Te

12-2pm Mov

Night 5:30pm

Worship

:30am Chil-

en’s Christmas

rty 1-3pm

15 16 Board Mtg.

7pm at Fellions

17 18 Bible Study 19 Youth Group

“Christmas

Carol” at Hano-

ver Theatre

7:15pm

20

Worship

:30am Chil-

en’s Christmas

ageant 5pm

22 23 24 Christmas Eve

Service 4pm

25 26 27

Worship

:30am

arsonage Open

ouse 1-4

29 30 31

December 2008

“All authority in

heaven and onearth has beengiven to me.Therefore go anmake disciples oall nations,

baptizing them ithe name of theFather and of thSon and of theHoly Spirit, and

teaching them toobey everythingI havecommanded youAnd surely I amwith you alwaysto the very endof the age.” Mt28:18-20

Missions News



Birthdays and Anniversaries

December Birthdays

Carl P. Werme 12/04Paul Swenson 12/11Lillian Ekstrom 12/16Astrid Randall 12/18Algot Ekstrom 12/26Robert Thyden 12/30Amy Berg 12/31Eric Nordstrom 12/13

January Birthdays

Mark Fellion 1/1Johanna Thompson 1/1June Rice 1/5Gordon Forsberg 1/8Carl Thompson 1/13Jeremy Leach 1/15James Zoulias 1/16Karen Meenan 1/25Denise McGinley 1/30

Veritas Update

“Veritas” is Latin for “truth.” That is the name given toour revitalization team and process that we are currentlygoing through at BCC. One small but important thing tocome out of this so far is the need to update our churchrecords. For the last several weeks we have been askingthose in attendance to check their member information(address, phone #, birthday, email, etc.) located in abinder in the vestry. If you have not done so, please dothis as soon as possible. There is also a survey we would

like you to fill out as part of our revitalization process.Please take one home and bring it back completed by theend of the month.

****************************************************

Ladies Christmas Tea

Saturday, December 13 12:00 to 2:00 p.m.

Please try to attend this tea—it is a great

time to catch up with each other, relax andreflect on the blessings of Christmas. Please

bring a $5 donation for Abby’s House.

Christmas Worship Services

Sunday, Dec. 21st—Children’s Christmas Pageant at

5pm.

Wednesday, Dec. 24th—Christmas Eve candlelight se

vice with scripture lessons and carols.



The following is an updated list of our church mem-bers and friends who unable to attend church on aregular basis. Let us remember them in ourthoughts and prayers and with a note. Please let thepastor know if you are aware of others who should be on this list.

Mr. Lee & Mrs. Astrid Randall10 Hall Street Web-ster, MA 01570

508-943-0847

Mrs. Doris Anderson667 Washington Street #225Auburn, MA 01501508-832-5239

Mr. Algot EkstromBeaumont Rehab & SkilledNursing Center378 Plantation St.Worcester, MA 01608

Mrs. Lillian EkstromNotre Dame Du Lac555 Plantation Street Apt. 327Worcester, MA 01608

Mr. Carl & Mrs. Esther Werme24 Briarwood CircleWorcester, MA01606508-856-7232

Those participating in worship this month are:

Dec. 7th

Ushers: Delbert and Eleanor Smith

Scripture Reader: Sarah Strozina

Worship Leader: Sarah Strozina

Sound Ministry: Steven Pope

Dec. 14th

Ushers: Michele Kohler and Denise McGinley

Scripture Reader: Tracy Ellis

Worship Leader: Gigi Zepp

Sound Ministry: John Schonning

Dec. 21st

Ushers: John Schonning and Jeffrey Stafinski

Scripture Reader: June Rice

Worship Leader: Alden AndersonSound Ministry: John Schonning

Dec. 28th

Ushers: Beverly Gosselin and Jeanne Bartkus

Scripture Reader: Susan Strozina

Worship Leader: Jeanne Bartkus

Sound Ministry: Steven Pope

Women’s Book Clu

December 9th

Tuesday, 7 PMAt the parsonage

The book this month is The

Shack by William P. Young

All are welcome even if you

have not had a chance to read

the book.

Paul Faler321 Massasoit Rd.Worcester, MA 01604

Mrs. Dagny JohnsonLife Care Center of Auburn14 Masonic CircleAuburn, MA 01501

Mrs. Claire Poirier63 Hudson AvenueGrafton, MA 01519508-839-0364

Mrs. Lydia AndersonWhitney PlaceP.O. Box 93585 Beaumont Dr. Apt. 10Northbridge, MA 01534

Mildred Carlson669 Washington St. Apt.234Auburn, MA 01501

(continued from pg. 1)

Not only was he received into the pack, but he was made leader

of the pack? It was a reversal worthy of those described in Han-

nah’s song (1 Samuel 2) and Mary’s song (Luke 1). In the king-

dom, the least become the indispensable. It was the fullness of

time for Rudolph.

So what time is it? Is holiday time and make-up time the

same as what the Bible calls the fullness of time? Like this: “But

when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born

of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who

were under the law so that we might receive adoption as chil-

dren” (Galatians 4:6). Or like this: “(God) set forth . . . Christ as a

plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things

n heaven and things on earth” (Ephesians 1:9b-10).

God did not “take time” to be with us momentarily. If so,

from whom did God take time away in order to give it to us? No,

God’s time for us is not rationed and parceled out. God came in

the person of the word incarnated in Jesus of Nazareth and re-

mains with us in the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit.

Christmas is not to be reduced to make-up time, but is the cele-

bration of time made full by a presence never to be withdrawn.



Can You Hear Me ow?

A man decided to write a book about churches aroundthe country. His plan was to begin in San Francisco andwork east. Going to a very large church, he spotted a

golden telephone on the vestibule wall and was intriguedwith a sign that read, "Calls: $10,000 a minute."

Seeking out the pastor, he asked about the phone and thesign and was told that it was, in fact, a direct line toheaven. The man thanked the pastor, and as he contin-ued to visit churches in Seattle, Dallas, St. Louis, Chi-cago, Milwaukee, he found more phones with the samesign, and received the same explanation from each pas-

tor.

Finally, he arrived in Boston, where he again saw the

golden phone, only this time the sign read, "Calls: 35cents." Fascinated, he located the pastor and said,"Reverend, I have been in cities all across the countryand in each church I have found this golden telephoneand have been told it is a direct line to heaven and that Icould talk to God for $10,000 a minute. But your sign

reads only 35 cents a call. Why? Why?'

The pastor, smiling benignly, replied: "Son, you're nowin God's country, home of the Red Sox, the Patriots and

the Celtics. "It's a local call."

Movie Night

“Lars and the Real Girl”

Saturday, December 13th

We will meet at church for pizza

5:30pm and start the movie around 6pm

In this comedy, Lars Lindstrom is an awkwardly shy young man

small northern town who finally brings home the girl of his dream

his brother and sister-in-law's home. The only problem is that s

not real - she's a blow

-up doll Lars ordered

off the internet. But

what Lars has in

mind is a deep,

meaningful relation-

ship. His sister-in-law

is worried for him, his

brother thinks he's

nuts, but eventually

the entire town goes

along with his delu-

sion in support of this

sweet natured boy

that they've always

loved.

The movie is rated

PG-13 and is 106

minutes.

Farewell Party

On Sunday, Dec. 28th at 4pm the Quinsigamond United

Methodist church will have a goodbye party for Rev.

Avis Hoyt-O’Connor. Avis is leaving the Village andQuinsigamond United Methodist Church and will be go-

ing to Washington, DC at the start of the new year. All

are welcome to come to QUMC at 4pm to celebrate her

ministry.

Parsonage Open Hous

Sunday, December 28t

All are welcome to stop any time between 1 & 4p

There will be plenty of fo

a fire (hopefully just in t

fireplace) and Christma

decorations.


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The Bethlehem Word

Bethlehem Covenant Church

46 Greenwood Street

P.O. Box 70629

Worcester, MA 01607

(508) 752—1459

www.bethlehemcc.org

Documents

BCC Newsletter Dec 08