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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
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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.
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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.
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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