December 7, 2016 Volume 31 Issue No. 46

The Los Altos Life Los Altos Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

11900 Haines NE ◊ Albuquerque, New Mexico 87112 ◊ 505 299-5526

Email: losaltoschurch@qwestoffice.net ◊ Website: www.losaltoschristianchurch.com

by LaTaunya Bynum

Ezra 3:12-13 But many of the older priests and Levites and heads of families, who had seen the first house, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this house, although many others shouted for joy. No one could distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the people's weeping, because the people rejoiced loudly.

The exile has ended and God's people have returned home to Jerusalem and the surrounding area. After they had settled into their newly rebuilt homes, and after being challenged to do so (see the book of Haggai), the people began the work of restoring the Temple. There was great celebration as the foundation for the new Temple was laid. There were shouts of joy for the Temple that would be. There were also shouts of lament and tears for the Temple that had been.

Change is hard. Some of us long for what we have known, even when it no longer exists. Others of us rejoice at what is to come, even when all we see is a bare foundation. As the prophet Haggai tells the story, God promises that the Temple to come will be filled with God's splendor, and the ones who weep in lament and the ones who shout for joy will worship the living God together.

Read both chapters in the book of Haggai, and Ezra, chapter 3. List two times you lamented change, and five times you rejoiced at the new thing God is doing.

Prayer: Eternal and loving God, help us to remember that you remain faithful in every moment of change and transformation, and that you call us to do the same. Amen.

Congregational Meeting December 11 after Morning Worship

Please plan to attend the annual congregational meeting on Dec 11. The agenda will include:

Election of Directors to serve on the Board for 2017 and 2018

Voting on the 2017 Budget

A call to prayer for Mission First!

Week of November 27 - December 3

December 2, 2016

by Nadine Burton

Gracious and Loving God:

We pause today to enter into a time of prayer around the Mission Gathering Initiative. We thank you for the work

of your Holy Spirit throughout this process, understanding that it is prayerful and necessary Kingdom work! We

recognize that WE are beginning where a great cloud of witness ended, so we approach this work with humility

and courage.

This weekend, leaders from around the country will be meeting to pray and listen, to discern and discover ways to

move forward with mission imperatives. We thank you for every Mission Gathering group that gathered in 2016

to share in this ministry of discernment. We thank you for every facilitator and team, who took time to navigate

and discover meaningful ways to uncover the treasures of creativity, wisdom and dialogue. We thank you for the

Mission Implementation Team, whose wisdom and guidance continue to lead us to a place of discovery.

We pray that you move us beyond complacency, status, bickering, and selfishness. We are joyful that as we seek

to give the best of ourselves, you desire to give us the best of your Spirit. Move us to collaborate for the good of

the church! Encourage us to not waiver to the left or to the right, but to center our hearts and minds on the

transformational work. We desire to walk worthy of the calling that you call us to walk with mission priorities.

We are the Church! We are hopeful that who we are becoming will be a spring board into new wineskins of mercy

and justice.

As followers of Jesus Christ, remind us that we are called to mission in our everyday, ordinary lives: Inside the

church, outside the church, wherever we live, work, and have our being in you. We dare to touch lives to the

fullest, to love our neighbor as ourselves, to structure our lives around grace, to uncover the depths of your love

and mercy toward us, as we extend the same grace and mercy to others. We are strengthened by a witness and

perseverance that calls us to think more highly of others than we do ourselves. While we profess our love for the

Christian Church (DOC), awaken us to the realities that we face. So that we will seek remedies for injustice, to give

hope to those who are marginalized, to provide food for those who are hungry, a lamp for transforming churches,

and unity and wholeness for broken communities.

Oh God, in the coming days, help us to see what you see, to hear what you hear, and TO move as you move. Open

our hearts to do thy Holy will, to bring a "Good Report" on behalf of the Body of Christ. In Jesus name, this is our

prayer. Amen.

Praying for the Mission Council TODAY

by Allen V. Harris Philippians 4:4-9 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.9 Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you. Isn't it so like us human beings that when this or that doesn't go the way it always has or the way we had hoped it would, that our minds go into a tailspin? You had your day off planned perfectly (in your mind, at least) from the early morning yoga, to the coffee with a dear friend, to watching a good movie playing at the metroplex at night! Ahhhhh! Then something happens and your day changes dramatically: a friend calls from the hospital, your car needs to be transformed into a taxi for a group of teenagers, a distraught friend drops by unannounced, or the tickle in the back of your throat becomes a full-throttle sore throat. Argh! And, if you are like me, my mind then becomes my worst enemy, and I become obsessed with how things aren't going my way - sometimes to the point that I jeopardize the rest of the day due to the depression or frustration in which my mind has chosen to dwell. I've experienced the very same thing with congregations and mission. Sometimes we get so caught up in how we have done this or that project or endeavor, as worthy as it may be, that we get thrown off course quickly if something doesn't go quite our way when planning or implementing the mission. The pancake supper to raise funds for Week Of Compassion seems impossible when the primary pancake-flipper decides to go to a family wedding that weekend. The women's shelter that has been the focus of your Christmas Angel Tree for decades closes and all the energy and enthusiasm seems to dissipate into thin air. The pastor who was beloved and seemed to be taking your congregation into a bright and shiny future gets called to another church in another Region. Darn it! And then we worry. We worry about funding. We worry about energy. We worry about numbers. We worry about growing older. And our worries get the best of us! Well? In the words of a great Indigo Girls song, "You can stand there and agonize, 'Til your agony's your heaviest load." The Apostle Paul, writing to the church at Philippi, gives us solid words of advice about how to change our mind's obsessive focus on the negative with a few helpful suggestions: "Rejoice!" Gratitude is the greatest antidote to negative thinking. "Let your gentleness be made know." Honest vulnerability, especially with those we know and trust and love, can transform hardened hearts. "Let your requests be made known to God." Pray. Pray. Pray. "Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." Choosing to focus on the best life has to offer allows us to more fully receive the peace of God, which bypasses all human understanding. When we as individuals or our congregations begin to fixate on how our perfect plans have been thrown into a tizzy or on how we cannot do what we've "always done before," let us turn to Philippians 4 and remember that a refocusing of our minds might just refocus our hearts, and therefore our mission. If we allow it, becoming a taxi to a bundle of teenagers might just be a ride overflowing with joy and laughter. If we are open to God's Spirit leading us, the loss of one mission focus might allow us to connect with new and more pressing needs in our community. If we allow it, gratitude, vulnerability, prayer, and pondering that which is good might just change our lives. This week, restart that gratitude journal you began a few years ago. Share honestly with a friend your frustrations about life. Pray one more time than you usually do. Meditate on Philippians 4:8. Prayer: "O God, when life doesn't go the way I had hoped and my anxieties and frustrations take over my mind, help me find a way to stop, refocus, and try a new path that I might continue to follow Jesus to where I am most needed in the world. Amen."

A call to prayer for Mission First!

Week of December 4-10

Feed & Seed Thursday Night Bible Study Fellowship and supper at 5:30 pm

Study starts at 6:00 pm

December 8, 15, 22, 29

The Mighty Acts of God --The Galilean Ministry

(brown bag)

Join us around the table!

The Prayer Corner Those requesting special prayers:

Bina Caris, Virgie Key, Coral Stupp,

Janet Southward, Mary & Dean Wright

Twice-Per-Month Newsletter Trial Underway

The 3-month trial of publishing a twice-per-month

newsletter on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each

month is underway. Publication dates and

deadlines for submitting articles are given

here. We will try this for 3 months—Nov 2016

through Jan 2017, and then evaluate if the change

should become “permanent.”

The next issue of the Los Altos Life will be published on Dec 21 and will include the January calendar.

Deadline for submitting articles is Sunday, Dec 18.

Please remember to submit your January calendar items in time for the next issue.

2017 Mission West School for Ministry

2017 Mission West courses and other educational

opportunities were announced in a new document

posted to Mission West website. You can find that

information here. These classes are offered to meet

commissioned ministry education requirements, but

are open to all clergy and lay leaders for

continuing education.

Some of the classes available without leaving

Albuquerque are:

Financial Leadership Academy for

Congregation (online)

Prayer Through the Seasons: Creating

and Facilitating Contemplative Prayer

Groups (MVCC on Jan 28)

Evangelism – A Renewed Priority for

Disciples (MVCC on May 20)

Church Administration (MVCC on Aug 12)

New Steams of Income for Ministry –

Creating and Growing Endowment Funds

(MVCC on Sep 23)

ATTENTION: From Carol Sparks

This past Sunday I announced that I

would be delivering gifts to Chelwood

on the 18th. I have since learned that

Friday the 16th is the last day before

Christmas break. --So, I will be

delivering them on Tuesday the 13th.

Please attach the angel tags

on the gift to make it easier to

sort . There are two black

laundry baskets in the narthex.

Monetary donations are also welcome.

Thank you!

Taize Services will not be held on December 25th or January 1st. ***We wish you a Happy Holiday Season***

Hello to Our Los Altos Family,

We are sorry we didn't get to say goodbye. Sometimes life moves along

too quickly. You are all missed very much. We are very happy in

Colorado. Teri and Chuck are very good to us. So far, we have had

two 1 1/2" snows and expecting a bigger one tomorrow. We are

visiting New Hope Presbyterian Church and we are really enjoying

their music program. John and Carol are singing in the choir.

Have a Happy Christmas Season as we celebrate the birth of Christ.

Love to all,

Dean and Mary

Merry Christmas

.

Congregational Meeting on Sunday After morning worship on December 11, please plan to stay for the Congregational Meeting.

The agenda includes: Voting on Directors for 2017/2018 terms.

Voting on 2017 Budget. There are some minor modifications to the 2017 preliminary budget which

has been available for review the past two Sundays. Copies of the revised budget will be available

before worship and at the meeting. The Board is recommending adoption of the revised budget as the

basis for operations the first 7 months of 2017 with the Board to re-evaluate the budget on or before

July 1, 2017. At that time, the board will recommend any changes to the budget to the congregation,

and a congregational meeting will be held in July if needed. Very likely there will be a presentation from the Ministerial Search Task Force.

The LACC Christmas Eve Service will start at 6:30.

We will sing carols and have special music

with Kathy playing her dulcimer for us.

The Service should be about 60 minutes.

There will be scripture, meditations and completion of the Tableau.

Please plan to attend this beautiful and meaningful

service in celebration of the birth of our Lord.

Thank You Los Altos for your support of the colleges, universities, and graduate theological institutions affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the students who attend.

The Word from the church is to Believe in a Deeper Hope that moves beyond the “wrappings” of Christmas around us. We proclaim a Hope that brings Good News, Joy and Compassion for all of God’s people. THIS DEEPER HOPE IS MADE REAL IN ALL OF OUR REGIONS AS WE:

Assist congregations and leaders in claiming their unique mission and ministry, and provide

resources and support.

Call, commission and ordain new pastors, and support and equip all pastors for their ministries.

Revitalize existing congregations and plan for new congregations.

Connect Regional Disciples to give witness to ministries of justice, hope and compassion.

Provide camps, conferences and retreats where children and youth find hope and Christ’s love

and a community of faith that embraces “everyone.”

Make visible the care for all of God’s family through ministries of reconciliation and anti-racism.

Call and equip passionate leaders for today’s church.

Provide pastoral care for clergy and congregations.

The Christmas Special Day offering supports all of these and many other ministries of our

Region. Your generous gifts make a difference in our shared ministries in the Region.

The Invitation at Christmas is to BELIEVE AGAIN.

December 11 and 18

Hours of Sunday Worship

Sunday School: 9:15 am Sunday Morning Svc: 10:30 am

Evening Taize Svc: 5:00 pm

Los Altos Christian Church (DOC)

Los Altos Christian Church 11900 Haines Avenue NE Albuquerque NM 87112-4513

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

We are disciples of Christ, a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world. As part of the one Body of Christ, we welcome all to the Lord's Table as God has welcomed us.

Serving on Sunday, December 18: Elder: Cory Church

Greeters: Eartha Lynn, Pat Craven

Worship Leader: Debbie Rinker

Deacon: Linda Armstrong

Sound Room: Bob Dunnington

Los Altos Christian Church Staff / Support Staff

Pastor: Supply

Administrative Assistant: Connie Shaw

Office Angels: Iva Vest, Peg Jackson

Kristie Gitzendanner & Georgie

Janitorial: VanGuard Cleaning Systems, IRRVA

Security & Property: Bob Dunnington / Stuart Pirrotta

Church Office - 505-299-5526

hours: Tues-Thurs 9am-3:30pm

voicemail: 505-299-5526

Visit Us On The Web at www.losaltoschristianchurch.com

Serving on Sunday, December 11: Elder: Carl Hime

Greeters: Darlene Holliday, Geneva Jarrett

Worship Leader: Debbie Rinker

Deacon: Linda Armstrong

Sound Room: Carl Hime III