Beacon News
November 29, 2020
First Sunday in Advent
Our Church Calendar
Our Zoom activities and events are linked below; almost daily we now post videos on our YouTube Channel as well.
Friday, November 27, 10 a.m. – Coffee Chats with Pastor Sarah.
Join Pastor Sarah for relaxed conversation and catching up every Friday morning. You may drop in and leave when it’s convenient.
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 117 491 031
No password created.
One tap mobile: +13126266799,,117491031# US (Chicago)
Sunday, November 29, 10 a.m. Worship
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/602272570?pwd=VUdRVVp6NkRNczl5QjFnUkF4OGt4Zz09
Meeting ID: 602 272 570
Password: 344276
One tap mobile
+13126266799,,602272570#,,#,344276# US (Chicago)
Virtual Fellowship will follow our service.
Tuesday, December 1,
7 p.m. Building and Grounds Committee
7 p.m. Special Council Meeting
Wednesday, December 2, 9:30 a.m. – Pastor’s Bible Study Join us as we gather weekly via Zoom. We continue our study of the life of Jesus through the Gospel of Luke.
Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/568102184.
Meeting ID: 568 102 184 No password created.
Thursday, December 3, 10 a.m. – Prayer Time on Zoom Pastor Sarah will lead a brief time of prayer every Thursday at 10 a.m. via Zoom. Perfect for those of you at home or work who need a quick “lift” for the rest of the day.
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 529 280 391
No password created. One tap mobile: +13126266799,,529280391# US (Chicago)
Friday, December 4, 10 a.m. – Coffee Chats with Pastor Sarah.
Join Pastor Sarah for relaxed conversation and catching up every Friday morning. You may drop in and leave when it’s convenient.
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 117 491 031 No password created.
Sunday, December 6, 10 a.m. Worship Second Sunday in Advent
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/602272570?pwd=VUdRVVp6NkRNczl5QjFnUkF4OGt4Zz09
Meeting ID: 602 272 570
Password: 344276
One tap mobile
+13126266799,,602272570#,,#,344276# US (Chicago)
Virtual Fellowship will follow our service.
Our YouTube Channel is UP! Have you subscribed to it yet?
We are now offering weekly, short videos for you to watch at your convenience. They include musical offerings, Bible (verse) studies, prayer time, children’s time, and more. We also will post a copy of our Zoom worship from Sunday mornings on the channel as well. The link is here:
Ways to Grow and Learn
Bible Study continues…
We gather on Wednesdays at 9:30 a.m. via Zoom for our Pastor’s Bible Study. All are welcome, and no preparation and previous knowledge is required.
We continue our study of the life of Jesus through the Gospel of Luke.
The next Zoom gathering of Soup’R Books will be on Sunday, January 3, at 4:00. January’s selection is The Splendid and the Vile, by Erik Larson. This biography of Winston Churchill focuses on his first year as Prime Minister and the bombing blitz in London. There is nothing dull or boring about this book! A few copies will be available. Kate has a small number of copies. Email Kate to reserve a copy. [email protected] The library also has copies. Everyone is welcome to participate.
Ways to Love, Serve and Give
Special Council Announcement:
We will have a Congregation Meeting on Sunday, December 13 at 10 a.m. Please plan on attending because we will need a full quorum to do business. At this meeting, we will vote on the proposed 2021 Budget and also elect new council members. As we get closer to the date, we will share the Agenda, the slate for Council, and also our proposed budget.
If you have any questions or concerns, please connect with Pastor Sarah.
An Update on our Stewardship Appeal
To date, we have received 81% of the commitment cards from those who pledged last year. We also have 9 new pledges as well. Many of increased their giving as able, and quite a few have committed to the amounts from last year. THANK YOU! We know that during COVID times, it has been a hard, challenging year.
If you have not yet pledged, please do so today. You may email Kate, call and leave her a voice mail at the church, or use the online form here.
Just like your own homes, when you look at your income and revenues, and plan accordingly, we too at church must review our revenue (which is your pledges!) and determine our best budget for 2021. Council wants to approve a preliminary budget on the 17th—which means we need to know ASAP what we can expect.
Thank you for your help and generosity this year and the next. If you have any questions, please contact Pastor Sarah.
Ways to Connect and Share
We will will be publishing the name and address of one of our homebound members here for the next few weeks. Please send a greeting to let these members know they are not forgotten! This is a great Advent project for families. People LOVE pictures drawn by children.
Elaine Stalheim 1840 N. Prospect Ave. Milwaukee, WI 53202
We are saddened to tell you that our dear longtime member Jean Martineau has been recently diagnosed with a terminal brain disease. As you can imagine, this is devastating to her friends and family. One small thing we can do that the family would really appreciate is to provide a meal twice a month. We have set up a meal train to help. See the link below to sign up. Wednesdays are the day that works the best for their family.
https://mealtrain.com/v1n5ny Please make sure and read the special instructions about food preferences, timing for delivery and so on.
First Word for Men Men’s Group will resume on Zoom the second Tuesday of December, the 8th, at 8:30 a.m. The link is below.
Topic: Men’s Group
Time: Dec 8, 2020 08:30 AM Central Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83582155295?pwd=bThHazRPekw5cjhnYmNzMlpkTW96dz09
Meeting ID: 835 8215 5295
Passcode: 420435
One tap mobile
+13126266799,,83582155295#,,,,,,0#,,420435# US (Chicago)
+19292056099,,83582155295#,,,,,,0#,,420435# US (New York)
This year we are trying something new! Since we won’t be gathering in our beautiful sanctuary this Christmas season adorned with our dedicated poinsettias. I know reading all of the dedications is a highlight of our worship services. This year of all years we have something to say…instead of purchasing poinsettias, we are “selling” virtual poinsettias. All gifts received would be sent to The Hunger Taskforce, to feed hungry families in Milwaukee. If you decide to participate, please email Kate at [email protected] with your dedication and then if you wish, send a check to the office noted “Hunger Task Force” and we will send them our collected gifts in time for Christmas. Contributing to Hunger Task Force is optional. You may just send in a dedication if you choose. All dedications will need to be received by Kate no later than Thursday, December 17. They will be listed in the Beacon for December 20 and also in the liturgy pages for Christmas Eve.
THIS YEAR we will be celebrating our Sunday School Christmas program virtually and in the spirit of the season that can’t allow us to be together in person, you are all invited to participate in the program whether you are a child or have a child who lives in your house! We would love everyone to send in a video of yourself (or with your family or friends) saying “Merry Christmas”. Please contact Kate if you have any questions, contact Kate at [email protected]
Advent Begins this Sunday, and while it will be a different season for us all, we still are a people who await the coming of our Lord. This year, along with a virtual Family Christmas Program (see above), we will also do a daily Advent Devotional, written by our members. Our theme this Advent season is Waiting in Hope. Our readings for our devotional will be mostly from the book of Psalms. Starting next Sunday, you will receive a daily devotion via email. Thanks to all who participated in this special gift to our Bay Shore family.
Also, on Sundays during our Zoom 10 a.m. worship, be sure to have your own Advent Candles ready! You can light yours while we light the candles during worship!
Prayer of the Week: Advent Prayer week 1
Lord God, only you can see into my heart and know
that under all the busy-ness of my life,
there is a deep longing
to make this Advent one that welcomes you
more deeply into my own life.
My heart desires the warmth of your love
and my mind searches for your Light
in the midst of the darkness.
Help me to be a peacemaker this Advent
and to give special love to those
who disagree with me.
Give me the strength and courage
to forgive those who have hurt me.
Help me to free my heart Amen
Readings for this Sunday, November 29
Advent Candle Lighting
We light this first candle of Advent as we count down the weeks until we celebrate the birth of the Messiah, Christ our Lord. As a people of hope, we know where we receive our salvation. We know of God’s love shone to us through the gift of his Son to a troubled world. We now wait in hope for his coming again.
Let us pray: God of all the Earth, may this candle by a symbol of our hope in you and in the salvation we receive through Christ our Savior, Amen
First Reading: Isaiah 64:1-9
This lament comes from a people who have had their hopes shattered. The visions of a rebuilt Jerusalem and a renewed people of God, spoken of in Isaiah 40–55, have not been realized. Instead, the people experience ruin, conflict, and famine. This lament calls God to account—to be the God who has brought deliverance in the past.
1O that you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would quake at your presence— 2as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil— to make your name known to your adversaries, so that the nations might tremble at your presence! 3When you did awesome deeds that we did not expect, you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence. 4From ages past no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who works for those who wait for him. 5You meet those who gladly do right, those who remember you in your ways. But you were angry, and we sinned; because you hid yourself we transgressed.
6We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. 7There is no one who calls on your name or attempts to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have delivered us into the hand of our iniquity. 8Yet, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. 9Do not be exceedingly angry, O Lord, and do not remember iniquity forever. Now consider, we are all your people.
Psalm: Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19
Let your face shine upon us, and we shall be saved. (Ps. 80:7)
1Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock! You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth
2before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh. Stir up your might and come to save us!
3Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved.
4O Lord God of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers?
5You have fed them with the bread of tears and given them tears to drink in full measure.
6You make us the scorn of our neighbors; our enemies laugh among themselves.
7Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.
17But let your hand be upon the one at your right hand, the one whom you made strong for yourself.
18Then we will never turn back from you; give us life, and we will call on your name.
19Restore us, O Lord God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:3-9
As the Christians in Corinth await the advent of Jesus, Paul reminds them how the Lord has already enriched them through spiritual gifts and will continue to strengthen them until the coming day of the Lord.
3Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, 5for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind— 6just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you— 7so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Gospel: Mark 13:24-37 Jesus encourages his followers to look forward to the day when he returns in power and glory to end all suffering.
(Jesus said) “But in those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light,
and the stars will be falling from heaven,
and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’ with great power and glory. Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.
“From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
“But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. Therefore, keep awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.”
Click here to see our Sunday’s Order of Worship to be used at home. It includes our hymns, too.
Stay in Touch STAFF
Pastor Sarah Stobie pastorsara[email protected]
Kate Yelvington, Parish Admin [email protected]
Dulcie Shoener, Minister of Music [email protected]
Daniel Ellis, Choir Director [email protected]
We use our “stories” page on our website to share the Beacon,
our weekly online activities and more.
Reader Interactions