The roles of Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus have been filled. Christmas Eve service can continue as planned. Merry Early Christmas.

I love efficiency. LOVE it. When we streamline–find new ways to do things better, faster, more resourcefully. Yet this week, it’s occurred to me how terribly inefficient the incarnation is. For cryin’ out loud, God…a newborn? So vulnerable–so inefficient. They don’t even know how to eat/drink. THIS is where God places God’s self?  

Happy 4th week of Advent.

I just spent some time looking at our monthly worship attendance for 2010. When you compare 2009 and 2010, we have doubled. Seriously. In our first year together, 671 souls gathered around word and sacrament. In our second year, 1281 souls gathered. Offering actually more than doubled ($5649 in 2009 and $12, 363 in 2010). Sheesh, if we continue in this trajectory–we’ll grow ourselves right out of the Pilney Building.

I am deeply grateful for this church–for your vision for what church can look like–for your willingness to listen and be shaped by the Gospel–for your risk taking–for giving one another the benefit of the doubt–and for your care for one another and your neighbors.

Luckiest. Pastor. Ever.

So, something good is on the horizon. In fact, all sorts of goodness.
A. This Sunday, Holden Evening Prayer (led by Saints and Sinners) with Elizabeth Flomo bringing the Good News.
B. Next Sunday (Dec. 19), Holden Evening Prayer with special guest artists Richard and Trish Bruxvoort-Colligan bringing our Good News through their songwriting.  Do not miss it–(unless you want to live with regret).
C. Christmas Eve worship (Friday, Dec. 24 at 4:30PM). If you want a simple, beautiful, unhassled Christmas Eve worship…if you want to light a candle and sing Silent Night…if you want to help act out the Christmas story or watch as others do…if you have always wanted to play Mary or Shepherd #2…this is the service for you.
D. Christmas Carol Fest in worship, Dec. 26. Come on, bring your people and sing all the good ones.
E. Artists Showcase in worship, Jan. 2. “And the Word became flesh and lived among us” hear from Rachel Kurtz, Justin Rimbo, Nate Houge, Micah Taylor…and perhaps others.
F. Epiphany candlemaking in worship, Jan. 9. Dip, dip, walk, pray. Dip, dip, walk, pray.

 The people I live with fully embrace an evening ritual during December. Every single night before bed, we shut the lights off and light candles (one for each week of Advent).  We ask each other the best and the worst part of the day. We often read a Bible story. We sing. We pray. Then two out of the four eat a piece of chocolate from the Santa Advent Calendar. The whole thing lasts about ten minutes. If friends are over, they join us. Often, one member of this household runs a few laps during the story. And then another lap during the prayer.

Perhaps you have noticed that it’s dark. And cold. (Which I secretly love. Well, not so secretly, I suppose.) We need things like flickers of candle light to remind us of hope. During this bleak mid-winter, we need to bring evergreen inside to remind us of the persistance of life.

Go on. Lights some candles. Good things are on the horizon.

Below is a guest blog from Michelle, our youth and family leader…
 
Looking for a good gift to give?  How about through ELCA Good Gifts.  ELCA Good Gifts, the giving catalog of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, lifts up more than 65 gift ideas filled with meaning and love.  This is a special way you can help make a significant impact on the mission and ministries of our church while giving a gift to a friend, pastor, teacher, neighbor or other loved one in an alternative way… by helping brothers and sisters in Christ here and around the world.

This advent, our Humble Walk children voted to participate in the ELCA Good Gifts Global Barnyard with the challenge of raising enough for a cow!  These animals are provided for families living in poverty and a cow has got it all!  Its milk, fertilizer, calves, and meat can quickly strengthen a family’s financial stability and may help them escape hunger for good.  The donation for a cow is $500, so start saving and sharing.

For these next couple of weeks we will be having a special offering along with our regular offering to help raise the donation needed for the cow.  There are barnyard boxes you can take home with you to save during the week and then bring them back each week to put in the milk jug offering can.  Ok Fellow Humble Walkers… Let’s Make it Happen.

Don’t forget to check out www.elca.org/goodgifts for more ways to give as well as cool cards and e-cards to tell your loved ones about this awesome gift of love and life.  If you have any questions feel free to contact me at mwalka001@luthersem.edu.  Thank you and Happy Good Giving.

Two Fridays ago, I joined the early morning coffee givers/drinkers at the corner of Randolph Ave and West 7th. A handful of folks from HW meet there on Fridays with airpots of hot coffee, fresh fruit, baked goods and bakery donuts. A little table under the awning of the Pilney. A little tent pitched in the name of hospitality. Stamping cold feet, frozen breath.

What I noticed–is that even after just a month of showing up–people recognize one another. “Oh, there’s so and so.” “Hey, where were you last week?”  “Did you remember the donuts this time?” In the coffee shop biz, these are Regulars.

I like that we have Regulars.
I like that we are Regulars.

I also like that a couple months ago, someone said, “I want to serve coffee at the bus stop. Once a week.” And then the next week, there they were.

Want your children to have faith? Search Institute of Minneapolis found four faith practices that are important to successfully nurture faith in children.
1.Faith talk with mom
2.Faith talk with dad
3.Family prayer or devotions
4.Family service projects

Did you notice what is not on that list? Sunday School. Confirmation. Vacation Bible School.  Bible camp. All the things we tend to leave to professional church folks. Yes, these things are important–but they aren’t the main thing…they are extras. What we are teaching (intentionally or unintentionally) is the real deal. 

Deuteronomy 6: 4-7. Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. ⁵You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. ⁶Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. ⁷Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise.

Here are the texts for Sunday, the first week in Advent.
Isaiah 2: 1-5
Romans 13: 11-14
Matthew 24: 36-44
 
Go on, see what you find. If you need an early 90′s Christian rock inspiration sandwich, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzGWrsFp_WE

King of Gyros. Doran-King. Buffet King. Ticket King. King of Diamonds. Northrup King Building. Burger King. Bike King.

It’s Christ the King Sunday. Go on and read these texts and see what happens. Jeremiah 23: 1-6, Luke 23: 33-43.