Church Events December 4
Advent Lessons & Carols Noon & 7:00 PM
December 8 Vivaldi’s Gloria 5:30 PM
December 11 Advent Lessons & Carols Noon & 7:00 PM
December 14 Christmas Board Game Party 6:30 PM
December 15 A Lutheran Witness on Love and Marriage 11:00 AM
December 15 Lunch and Caroling Noon & 7:00 PM
December 18 Advent Lessons & Carols Noon & 7:00 PM
December 24 Christmas Worship Services 4:30 PM & 7:30 PM
Advent Adventures
DECEMBER 2019 | ADVENT LUTHERAN CHURCH |
WWW.ADVENT-LUTHERAN.ORG
Pastor’s Pen By Pastor Anita R. Warner
Christmas carols, Advent wreaths, Christmas trees, worship with candlelight, and ginger cookies—whether they are family or Church customs, the many traditions associated with the Advent and Christmas seasons make this a special time of the year.
One of these ancient traditions is the O Antiphons: seven responses, or
antiphons, that are sung or recited to introduce the canticle of Mary (the Magnificat) at evening prayer from December 17 to December 23, the octave before Christmas. These antiphons are based on Isaiah’s prophecies and refer to the different ancient titles given to the Messiah:
O Sapientia (O Wisdom) See Isaiah 11:2–3; 28:29. O Adonai (O Lord) See Isaiah 11:4–5; 33:22. O Radix Jesse (O Root of Jesse) See Isaiah 1:1; 11:10. O Clavis David (O Key of David) See Isaiah 9:6; 22:22. O Oriens (O Rising Sun) See Isaiah 9:1. O Rex Gentium (O King of the Nations) See Isaiah 9:5; 2:4. O Emmanuel (God with us) See Isaiah 7:14.
These prayers, and this season, give voice to our human condition of longing, waiting, and restlessness. These prayers call us away from busyness and distraction to look for the coming of the Messiah, the Christ. These prayers invite us into solidarity with the places crying out for salvation in our own hurting world and lives, asking God to send Christ to come and save us.
This year in our congregation, we will have a season of Advent Lessons and Carols, based on the O Antiphons. The first three Wednesdays in December, we will gather for a simple service of scripture readings, songs, silence, and prayer. These services will be offered at 12:00 noon and at 7:00 PM. These six services (2 each Wednesday), which invite us to pause and pray and feel and process any emotion we carry, will take the place of the Service of the Longest Night (Blue Christmas).
We can bring these O Antiphons into our own prayers, as simple reminders throughout the day of the one whose coming we are joyfully expecting, as introductions to our own prayers of praise of Jesus, or as words of thanksgiving for God’s faithfulness throughout the ages and our lives.
Regardless of how you incorporate these ancient words into your Advent and Christmas prayer life, let them speak to you, with you, and through you as you pray for the life of the world.
Christ’s coming among us is that for which we long, a promise from God fulfilled, bringing a new dawn into a weary world lost in the night. Christ comes to all. Christ comes for you, as you are. I wish you Advent, Christmas and Epiphany seasons marked by hope, peace, joy and love.
Staff
Pastor
Rev. Anita R. Warner
Pastoral intern
Brandon Peck
Parish Associate
Rev. Lee Tyler
Director of Music & Worship Arts
Kyle Jones
Admin/Ops
Sherry Quick
Communications Specialist
Eileen Arellano
Mailing Address
P.O. Box 607
Morgan Hill, CA 95038
Advent Lutheran Church
(408) 779-3551
www.advent-lutheran.org
Worship: Sunday 9:30 AM
Physical Address
16870 Murphy Avenue
Morgan Hill, CA 95037
The Spiritual Discipline of Gratitude
By Reverend Lee Tyler
Recently I received a note from my high school
boyfriend. He told me that he and his wife were
practicing the spiritual discipline of gratitude.
The note continued with him expressing his
gratitude for me as his first love. Needless to
say, I was reduced to tears, because we have
been friends for over 60 years, but I never knew
how I had impacted his life. Because of this
note, I decided to take a deeper look at gratitude.
Words of gratitude are part of the liturgy of
worship. We give thanks to God for God’s
abundant love. We give thanks for God’s grace.
We give thanks for family and friends. Gratitude
is a feeling of appreciation, and a way of
strengthening relationships. Gratitude is good
for us, good for our health and well-being.
(Gratitude is an affirmation of what is good and
in the world, which recognizes a source outside
of self.) Gratitude is woven into who we are as
human beings.
Scientific studies on gratitude have found the
benefits of gratitude to be better physical health
and psychological health. The studies included
keeping a gratitude journal or writing letters of
gratitude. The subjects reported increased
happiness and decreased materialism.
As a spiritual practice, gratitude helps us to
realign with God, because gratitude begets
humility, which begets God’s grace. The
pathway of gratitude is humility and grace in
which we experience the presence and power of
God. Yet, Christian gratitude is not about
“turning lemons into lemonade” or smiling
through the pain pretending everything is fine.
Jesus came not only to suffer for us, but also to
suffer with us by trusting in God’s redeeming
grace. Thus, gratitude becomes the power to
hope. Practicing gratitude is an everyday
treasure hunt.
To Advent with Gratitude
By Vicar Brandon Peck
It has been nearly three months since my
installation as vicar at Advent, and what a
welcoming community you are! I want to take
this opportunity to explain a little bit about how I
got to Advent and where this year fits into my
overall training as a potential word and
sacrament minister in the ELCA. I also have a
brief reflection on my experience thus far.
In 2016, I started a four-year-long Master of
Divinity degree program at Pacific Lutheran
Theological Seminary in Berkeley. The first
three years of this program consists of both
coursework and contextual education in various
congregations. These three years of study
culminate in a 12-month internship, which is
intended to be an opportunity to dive further into
various areas of ministry. During the internship
year, I have a lay committee, which along with
Pastor Anita helps to evaluate my time in the
congregation. Pending the completion of my
time at Advent on August 31, 2020, and if the
ELCA feels so called to confirm my approval, I
will be eligible for a first call. My time at Advent
has already been deeply formational, and all of
you are a part of this mutual experience of
learning and growth, and for that I am truly
grateful.
Grateful...a word I’ve been hearing a lot this
month, and naturally so with Thanksgiving on
the minds of many. One of the historical
Christian prayer practices that has always
resonated with me is the Examen prayer from the
Catholic, specifically Jesuit, tradition. It is a
prayer that emphasizes gratitude as one reflects
on the events of the day or a period of time,
paying particular attention to the consolations and
desolations, and God’s movement in one’s life.
Now that I’ve had some time to get settled in this
community, I’d like to offer a brief meditation, reflecting
on my experiences so far, while giving a nod to the Jesuit
spirituality. For the warm welcome of the people of
Advent Lutheran Church, I am grateful. I give thanks for
both affirmation and constructive criticism, for the
willingness to learn and grow together. I am grateful for
the witness to the gospel, and moments of true confession
and absolution. What a gift! I thank God for the sacred
presence in all our relationships together the last three
months.
Continued things like read a budget and help teach
confirmation. Your patience and forgiveness is
life-giving to me.
Reflecting on moments of gratitude as well as the
various experiences we’ve had together, and in
my confession, I hold tightly to the assurance
that God is with us in our time together. I want to
close this Examen with a look to the future. We
are on the cusp of Advent and Christmas. I
couldn’t be happier about spending this time of
preparation with you.
As we think about decorating the church and
spending time together, I also invite you to a
Christmas board game party at the house of
David and Valerie Chambliss, on behalf of the
intern lay committee. The festivities are
scheduled for 14 December starting at 6:30 PM.
Children welcome! Please let Valerie Chambliss
know if you plan on attending, and bring your
favorite board game and an appetizer or dessert.
Valerie can also get you directions to her home.
David and I received a wonderful welcome party
after my installation. Thank you to the lay
committee! I have had the privilege of visiting
with parishioners one-on-one and have had many
wonderful and meaningful conversations. I have
preached, heard Pastor Anita preach, and have
experienced the witness to grace from many of
you day in and day out. We partied together at
the Neighborhood Block Party, and we’ve
mourned and remembered together on All Saints’
Sunday. God was in both of those experiences.
I also want to take this time to ask for your
forgiveness. In the adjustment out of the
seminary to parish life, there may have been
instances of emails taking too long to get
responses on my part. There have been a few
miscommunications about fika schedule at the
coffee shop, times when I wasn’t there and some
of you showed up due to changes not getting
communicated widely enough. Some of you have
witnessed me stumble around as I try to do new
What: Christmas Board Game Party
When: December 14, 6:30 PM
Where: David & Valerie Chambliss’ House
RSVP: [email protected]
What: Fika with the Vicar
When: Mondays 2-5 PM & Thursdays 9-12 AM
Where: Coffee Guys, 50 E. 3rd St.,
Come as you are able!
By Kyle Jones
I was introduced to the Christmas Service of
Lessons and Carols in high school. It quickly
became a favorite service and I loved how it
framed the liturgical year with the Tenebrae
service, like bookends. My appreciation of this
one hundred-year-old tradition only deepened
during my undergraduate years. I found its
liturgical format very comforting and its changes
in musical pairing very refreshing. This was
especially so, since our campus services always
happened during the rigors of winter-term final
exams.
The format of the service is an alternation of
scripture readings and Carols that, as explained in
the service’s Bidding Prayer, “mark the tale of the
loving purposes of God from the first days of our
disobedience to the glorious Redemption brought
to us by the Holy Child.” I found it to be most
curious that the Christmas story begins in Genesis
with the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of
Eden. The explanation which resonated with me
the most was a medieval English poem written
around 1400, Adam Lay Y -Bounden. The
medieval Christian ethos was that Adam along
with other significant Old Testament figures were
bound to neither heaven or hell until Christ was
crucified, and this idea is what inspired the text of
the poem.
This peculiar text (see below) is restless and dramatic, and the idea that the whole story was
entirely contingent on a stolen apple captivated me as a teen, and I looked forward to singing it every December.
What does this mean in modern English? Adam is
bound to neither heaven or hell for so long that,
without his noticing, 4000 winters passed. And
his captivity was simply because of the apple that
he took from Eve, as found in scripture. However,
if Adam hadn’t eaten the apple, then Mary
wouldn’t have been the Queen of Heaven, and
Christ wouldn’t have been born to ultimately
redeem us all on the cross. Therefore, we can
praise God and give God thanks that the
disobedience of taking the apple is a blessed time.
The Latin refrain ‘Deo Gratias’ or ‘Thanks be to
God’ is used to end the poem.
Often God’s will is made known to us and we
cannot receive it for any number of reasons. There
are so many examples in scripture where God
reaches out and the person is reluctant/fearful to
listen and respond with praise and gratitude. In
the Christmas story, there are many examples of
this fear dissipating into rejoicing. Joseph’s first
inclination, upon hearing that his espoused, Mary,
was with child from the Holy Spirit, was to
divorce her in secret. An angel appears to him
with the words, “Do not fear.” Joseph embraces
his wife and trusts in God’s plan. Mary’s
Magnificat in the Gospel of Luke certainly
provides us with a wonderful example of
responding with praise and rejoicing. God, the
Master Reframer, always finds a way to create
hope, peace, joy and love out of our fears and
brokenness. We simply must be willing to
receive God’s unconditional love with a confident
Adam lay y-bounden, Bounden in a bond;
Four thousand winter, Thought he not too long. And all was for an apple,
An apple that he took. As clerkes finden,
Written in their book.
Ne had the apple taken been, The apple taken been,
Ne had never our ladie, A-been heav'ne queen.
Blessed be the time That apple taken was,
Therefore we moun singen: Deo gratias!
From Darkness to Light (From Fears into Blessings)
From Darkness to Light (From Fears into Blessings)
faith and not an anxious fear. A friend in Florida
would frequently remind me, “There’s no sense in
praying if you’re worrying, and there’s no sense if
worrying if you’re praying.”
Last year, our music ministry presented Dan Forrest’s LUX: The Dawn from on High. This
exploration of Light is as figurative as it literal. The central movement, representing the Sun or
“Son,” is one of an unconditional love. A simple, but profound poem is set for voices only creating a very intimate and personal expression.
to embrace what the Lord had made known to them.
There are many psalms about having no fear.
Psalms/Music are powerful spiritual resources to
employ when responding to the crippling fears we
feel when faced with life’s difficulties. They en-
courage us to pray to God, praise God, trust in
God, hope in God, rejoice in God, give thanks to
God. For me, music is a sung prayer that helps me
with questions such as:
What difficulty might I be facing? What fears do these challenges evoke? How can God help turn my fears into blessings? What will be my song of praise and thanksgiving?
A musical example which has comforted and sustained me in times of fear is Johannes Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem. It is truly a requiem for the living. The texts Brahms chooses for the second movement evoke as-surance and are as follows: 1 Peter 1:24 For all flesh is as grass, and
all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower fall away.
James 5:7 Be patient therefore, dear brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, and has long pa-tience for it, until he receives the early and latter rain.
1 Peter 1:25 But the word of the Lord en-dures for ever.
Isaiah 35:10 And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with shouts of praise; everlast-ing joy will crown their heads: they will embrace joy and glad-ness, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.
Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God!
The literary device of allegory beautifully conveys the gift of unconditional love. The movement that
follows is an exciting and even boisterous expres-sion of praise and thanksgiving, “Gloria in Excel-sis Deo!”
On Sunday, December 8 at 5:30 PM, Advent’s mu-
sic ministry will once again collaborate with stu-dents and faculty from Valley Christian to present Vivaldi’s Gloria.. “Gloria in Excelsis Deo” is the
hymn of the angels as heard by the shepherds. These shepherds were simple folk who I imagine
are accustomed to a daily routine, they know what to expect, and know how to be prepared. That comfort of familiarity is suddenly interrupted by the unexpected. An angel of the Lord appeared to
them, resplendent with all God’s glory and they were happy? Joyful? No, they were terrified. The angel tells them “Do not be afraid. For I bring you
good news of great joy for all.” Then a multitude of heavenly host appear and praise God with “Gloria!” The shepherds then choose to leave be-
hind the familiar and responded with joy and haste
Even After All this time, The Sun never says to the Earth, ‘You owe me.’ Look What happens With a Love like that. It lights the whole sky. - Hafiz
Reconciling in Christ Together By Kris Andry
On Sunday, November 17, the congregation voted to approve a revision of the Core Values that was created four years ago by Advent’s Visioning group. The Core Values was updated to include a Bible verse and to welcome people to worship with us who might need to know that they are expressly valued and wanted by our church community, as Jesus commanded us when he said to “love one another.” The full text of the revision is listed below.
Reconciling Works (RW), an independent Lutheran organization headquartered in Minnesota, oversees the Reconciling in Christ (RIC) designation awarded to churches in the USA and Canada. Being listed as an RIC church means we can be searched on the Reconciling Works website with details about our LGBTQIA (lesbian gay bisexual transgender queer intersexed allies) makeup. Information such as the leadership at church and the content of the sermons is covered on the RW church profile. Personally, when my family moved here 6 years ago, RW was the first place I went to find a church. It was very helpful to know where we would blend in and where we wouldn’t. The RIC process at Advent began, really, as the visioning process made clear what our values are; and was deepened when we had an anti-racism workshop two years ago. It had been on the “to do” list for quite some time when we finally decided at our council retreat in February 2019 that the time had come. It was time to find out if Advent was ready to invite the LGBTQIA community to openly worship at Advent Lutheran. Pete McElheny and I co-chaired the committee. The process began with learning more about RIC. I attended a leadership workshop led by Reconciling Works, and Pete and I fleshed out the committee over the next several months. We were thrilled to recruit Kathy & Nace Panzica, John & Kathy Hopkins, Jacqui Kanode, Janel Jannusch, Chris Paulsen, and initially
George Crowe. George eventually had to leave the committee due to time constraints. There were some who were asked to be on the committee who turned us down due to fear of highlighting their “otherness” or that of a loved one. Of course we completely supported and respected their identity and privacy. Pastor Anita was a great support, educator and friend to the cause; but not a committee member, as it was important that she be available to help answer questions and give guidance to church members during the process. We had our first meeting in February of this year and figured out that the best and most direct way of contacting everyone at Advent was to have a RIC table in the (lobby/gathering area) frequently over the next several months. A letter went out to all of Advent’s members outlining the process. We had several open question-and-answer meetings after church in order to address concerns from our Advent family. The meetings were well-received and gave us good insight as to how everyone was feeling about this journey. In July, the committee drafted a revision of the Core Values in order to satisfy the requirements for being a RIC church. The next step for the congregation was to edit the committee’s draft. Over three Sundays in September, we had an open forum after worship in Berkland Hall with the congregation to figure out what we wanted it to say. Sometimes it was fun and easy, correcting grammar and choosing word usage; and sometimes we had to leave and mull things over for a week to really figure out how we wanted to say something. The committee led the discussions but it was a very democratic and conversational process. It got a bit “heavy” emotionally sometimes for some of us. I think I needed a nap after that second meeting! But in the end we had a fantastic statement that made it clear that we welcome all to worship with us. The statement was displayed on the wall under the original Core Values during October and November until the vote. Now that it has passed the vote, we have notified RW and started the process to be listed on their website. They will send us a certificate to display and a packet of information
soon. Ashlei Cramer with RW said they have been receiving a lot of new congregations in the past few weeks. There must be something in the air! This was a labor of love for the whole congregation. The committee put so much time, effort, compassion and consideration into every step. It was very important to us to be available and approachable. We wanted to learn as much as we wanted to lead. We tried to have a rough draft that included not only members of the LGBTQIA community, but anyone else we thought would need to be welcomed in order to feel safe. Then taking it to the congregation required quite a few of you to question what you really felt was right and what you felt the Holy Spirit was guiding you to do. We consulted the Bible, learned more about the teachings of Paul and others, studied the words of Jesus, and prayed to God for wisdom. This was not an easy process for many people and we’re very sad to have lost any who did not feel like this was a Christian journey they could support. Pastor Anita had a tough job in trying to educate and spread Jesus’ new commandment while also comforting those who suddenly felt lost on their own spiritual path. To everyone who struggled or is still struggling with this journey, know that you still have a home at Advent and friends who want to be part of your “village” as you work through your feelings. We can pray for each other as we take this next step together. In this season of thankfulness (shouldn’t every season be about that?!), I would like to acknowledge the very hard work, love and support from everyone on the committee, and the wonderful show of support we received from so many people in the congregation. On Sunday, vote day, I had barely slept. I teared up a couple of times during church because it was all very real all of a sudden. This was the day that the congregation was voting whether or not to welcome families like mine into the fold. Really, it was a vote over whether or not I could continue to feel welcome. A myriad of feelings rushed through me when we heard the vote had passed. I’m a task-oriented person but I forced myself not to go straight to the computer to try to fill out the form or consult Reconciling Works. I took the day just to be happy and feel the love from my Advent family. Jesus’ new commandment filled the hearts of our congregation. It was a good day.
A Lutheran Witness on Love & Marriage
December 15, 11:00 AM
Following our Reconciling in Christ affirmation of welcome this November, we will have a conversation led by Vicar Brandon and Pastor Anita on how our welcome might be extended to include marriage. The resources of our Lutheran history and theology can be brought to bear on contemporary concerns around marriage. All are welcome in this conversation.
Advent Lessons & Carols
December 24 4:30 P.M. & 7:30 PM
New this year, we will have a simple service of lessons and carols on Wednesdays at two different times, Noon and 7:00 PM. These services, less than 30 minutes in length, will include prayer, scripture readings and carols based on the O Antiphons, and silence. All are welcome.
Christmas Eve Worship
Christ is born among us! The 4:30 PM worship service will include a sermon message, candlelight, carols, a puppet show, and communion. The 7:30 PM service will include carols, a sermon message, choir, candlelight and communion.
December 4, 11 & 18 Noon and 7:00 PM
Advent Lutheran Church
P.O. Box 607
Morgan Hill, CA 95038
408-779-3551
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED