From:                                             Concord Presbyterian Church <concord.margaretob@20526043.mailchimpapp.com>

Sent:                                               Wednesday, December 11, 2024 7:30 PM

To:                                                  concord.margaretob@gmail.com

Subject:                                         Concord Connects - December 12, 2024

 

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concordconnects
  
December 12, 2024
  
Keeping you connected to the life and ministry of 

Concord Presbyterian Church!


Third Sunday of Advent
December 15 @ 10:00am

"Something Has to Change" - Luke 3:7-18
Rev. Dr. Tracy Keenan, Missional Presbyter of NCP, preaching

   Pastor Eric is away this Sunday, and we are pleased to welcome the Rev. Dr. Tracy Keenan to our pulpit. Tracy serves as Missional Presbyter of New Castle Presbytery. She sparks enthusiasm and hope in member churches by helping them to connect their dreams, ideas, and leaders with the work of the Ignite Team. Tracy also serves as Co-Executive with the Connectional Presbyter. We are grateful she can join us.

     About the Art: "The Good That Is Yours" - Rev. Lisle Gwynn Garrity [Inspired by Luke 3:7-16] Ink dyes and gold resist on silk, with digital collage. © a sanctified art/sanctifiedart.org
     "As John the Baptist preaches about transformation, he receives the same question three times from those gathered by the river: What, then, shall we do?
     At the center of this quilt square collage, a pinwheel of fire spins. It represents the Holy Spirit impelling the world to turn. Surrounding it are four petal shapes that bloom like a flower. They are each filled with branches of fruit. When we align ourselves with the movement of the Spirit, we can do the good that is ours to do. Our actions can bear good fruit. The petals and pinwheel are encapsulated by the outline of a blue cross. Four walls of the cross contain broken fragments. In stark contrast to the lush fruit, the fragments are like shards of glass. 
      They symbolize the sins John the Baptist sees present amongst the crowds: extortion, coercion, and the hoarding of power and resources. And yet, these fragments are linked together by blue arrows filled with the waters of baptism. There is a way to begin again. From each cardinal direction, a triangle of Holy Spirit fire faces inward, pointing us to baptism and transformation. When we do the good that is ours to do, we bear good fruit—fruit that repairs and nourishes, fruit that grows into the four corners of the earth."

     Join us for IN-PERSON WORSHIP on Sunday at 10:00am; doors open at 10:00am. 

     To join in WORSHIP ONLINE this Sunday, December 15, click on the picture above to go to our Concord website. Near the bottom of the home page, click on the same picture to connect with the worship video. The worship service will be available live at 10:30am Sunday morning or later in the day to view at your convenience.

 

 

 

J.A.M. (Jesus and Me) for younger learners

SUNDAY SEEKERS (middle/high schoolers)
are combining forces to…

 
NAVIGATE THE BIBLE!

SUNDAYS at 10:15am in the Sunday School hallway
(following Wondering Time)
 
DO YOU KNOW
…how many books are in the Bible?
…what they are called?
…who and what is in them?
…where/how you can find the Bible stories you have learned about?

 
Join us as we put on our detective hats, collect clues, and continue to search for the answers to these questions and so much more through games and using our ever-expanding deductive skills!

 

 


Wanted: Cookie Bakers for the Messiah Concert Reception on Dec. 15

We will again have a cookie and beverage reception after the Messiah, and we need home-baked Christmas cookies. You can bake early and put cookies in the church freezer. Please clearly mark them "MESSIAH" since we are also baking for the Friendship House shelters. If you do not have any time to bake, we would also gladly accept purchased pound cakes. These can also be placed in the freezer ahead of time. Please let Dottie Lund know what and how much you are contributing (dottielund@comcast.net 302-230-1522). Thanks for your help!

 

 

Many thanks to all who made AdventFest a joyful fellowship event!

 

 

Prayer List 
 Healing prayers for Joyce Johnson, who had a fall over the weekend. She is still a bit sore but no broken bones. She is thankful for the prompt & efficient response from EMTs, neighbors, Marj Johnson (who spent the night in the ER with her), & family.
A joy that Nancy Tucker's son Ray & family will be visiting for three weeks over the holidays.
Condolences for Christina's cousin Steffi & family - her mother passed away last week following a long illness.
Prayers for Wayne Stahl who is at Kutz Home under hospice care. Prayers also for Wayne's brother Gray, facing his own health issues.
Continued healing prayers for Kay Jewett’s friend’s brother Bob - doing well after surgery for a brain tumor.
Also for Nancy Tucker’s friend Amy, who is recovering well after open heart surgery.
Traveling mercies for Pastor Eric & Cindy on their long-planned trip to Europe.

Prayers for the following list of people who are in our hearts as they deal with ongoing health struggles - Lexi, Jo Ann, June, Ginnie M., Dan V., Duane, Craig E., Sue, Eileen, Rita & Dawn.
Prayers for peace - in our country, among nations, in our homes, and in our hearts.

*** 
If you would like to add names/needs to this list and our ministry of prayer, please email info@concordpc.org or fill out a "Prayers of the People" card at the Sunday service and hand to a greeter during the offering. 

 

 

Advent Devotional Booklet Available


     This devotional contains art, poems, hymns, commentary, and reflection prompts. It is meant to be read at your own pace throughout the season of Advent and Christmas; it concludes with Epiphany. The booklet is great for older youth and adults of all ages—and especially for those who are hungry for weekly readings and prompts.
     Pick up your copy in the back of the sanctuary or outside the church office today or our friends at Sanctified Art have provided a special e-reader version of this year’s Advent devotional, which you can access on your computer and mobile devices: online.flippingbook.com/view/811735764/  (In order to protect their work, please refrain from sharing this link or posting it on social media.)

 

 


No Mug & Muffin - Dec. 18 & 25, Jan. 1

We will meet again via Zoom on Wed., January 8 from 10:00-11:00am, led by Pastor Eric Markman. To join the Zoom gathering ONLINE, click on this link

 

 

The Perfect Gift

When Jesus was born among us, he came as a helpless baby destined to bring joy, peace, and salvation to his people. The child, God's Word made flesh - fully human and fully God - became one of us. One with us. In all our vulnerabilities, struggles, and triumphs, Jesus became one of us - leading us, knowing us, connecting us to himself and each other, and offering us his gift of eternal life. The perfect gift.

Through the Christmas Joy Offering, we reflect God's perfect gift to us with generous support of church leaders among us - past, present, and future - who have pointed us to God. 

We honor and celebrate leaders like retired pastors, church workers and their families who have faithfully guided and led us but who now find themselves in critical financial need. We honor and celebrate emerging leaders like students in schools and colleges equipping communities of color, who develop leadership skills as they pursue their education and prepare to bring their gifts in service to the world God loves so much.

Jesus’ example as a child born to be among us and lead us to eternal life provides a pattern for us to follow as we celebrate those who have led us in the past and will lead us into the future. Through the Christmas Joy Offering, we come together to support past, present and future leaders, embodying God’s perfect gift to us, Jesus Christ.

 
The Christmas Joy Offering will be received throughout the month of December. Envelopes are available in the pews or donations may be made online. Please give generously...for when we all do a little, it adds up to a lot!

 

 

Contributions for the Flower Fund for Christmas

If you would like to contribute to the Flower Fund for the upcoming holiday season, please make your check for $20/poinsettia payable to Concord Presbyterian Church, memo: “Christmas Flowers.” Place it in a designated envelope in the offering or the Church Office mailbox. Be sure to include a note stating how you wish the acknowledgment to read in the bulletin. Contributing to the grace and beauty of our Christmas decorations is a lovely way to remember or honor a loved one.

 

 

Advent Is the Season of Giving!

     Mission & Congregational Life invites you to take part in this Reverse Advent Calendar activity to benefit our community! Instead of receiving a little daily gift as we count down the days to Christmas, we will give back daily by placing a non-perishable food item in a bag each day at our own homes. 
     Bring your items to church each Sunday in December and place them by the empty manger in the narthex. We will be sharing these gifts with the community by placing them in the Blessing Box outside Concord Church.
     Suggestions: SPAGHETTI SAUCE, dry pasta, canned tuna & chicken, cereal, PB&J, canned fruit & vegetables, canned soup & broth, oatmeal packets, boxed mac & cheese, granola/ protein bars. Smaller containers are best, as the box provides for short-term needs and space inside is limited. (No glass or expired items, please.)

 

 


Share the Spirit!
Cock-a-doodle-do! Have we got a gift for you...

      Give a gift that will make a real difference in a woman’s life. Your contribution to the Guatemala Chicken Project (Concord’s 2024 Share the Spirit) will help women become more self-sufficient and raise their families out of poverty.
     This project of the New Castle Presbytery started two years ago, and the first group just paid back their $125 and are now able to continue on their own. A full starter set of chickens costs $250, but you can make any contribution you wish. Please make any contribution you wish through Concord (memo Guatemala Chickens) or at https://mailchi.mp/637434c252f3/gift-of-chicks-advent-2024.
      Beautiful gift cards are available on the table in the Sanctuary if you would like to make this donation in someone else’s name. (A limited number of Delaware Blue Hens are also available during Gathering Time for a donation of $15. Please see Dottie Lund.)

 

 

WANTED: COOKIE BAKERS

     Once again Mary Circle will be making Christmas cookies for the Friendship House transitional housing residents (mostly women, but a few children). We are hoping some Concord members would be willing to help by contributing five dozen or more. They can be frozen if you bake ahead.
     Bring the cookies to the kitchen at Concord by Monday, December 16. Label your container with your name and that the cookies are for Friendship House (FH). NO PEANUTS IN THE COOKIES, PLEASE! 
     Thank you for helping make the Friendship House Christmas Party a big success!!

 

 

 Concord Photo Gallery

Show us your activities, vacations, special occasions, children or pets being adorable...! If you have photos you'd be willing to share with your Concord family, please send them to Margaret. We'll try to include your photos in Concord Connects as space permits.

 

A collection of Joyce Johnson family Christmas photos. Thanks to her son Mark for sharing (left to right):

  • Three people - Mark Johnson, Phoebe Sutton, Sara Johnson
  • Little girl at Christmas tree: Rory Leddy
  • Two little girls on steps: Rory Leddy on left, Phoebe Sutton on right

These folks are:

  • Mark Johnson: Joyce’s son
  • Sara Johnson: Joyce’s granddaughter (Mark’s daughter)
  • Rory Leddy: Joyce’s great granddaughter, Mark’s granddaughter of his daughter Emily
  • Phoebe Sutton: Joyce’s great granddaughter, Mark’s granddaughter of his daughter Leah

 

As part of our Navigating the Bible unit, JAM children and Concord Youth Group members read Genesis 1:1-2:4. See their artistic responses on display in the Sunday School hallway 🌍 

 

 

     We are beginning work on a do-it-yourself, updated photo directory.  This Sunday, December 15, Terri Jones will be taking photos in the front of the sanctuary during Gathering Time. Stop by before or after snacking to have your picture taken and to update your contact information.
     We will be continuing this process for a number of weeks, so don't worry if you can't make it this Sunday. Watch Concord Connects for future dates. Deacons will also be working on getting current photos of our homebound members. Please don't worry if you're not an "official" church member - if you are part of our Concord Family, we want to include you!

 

 


Each year, CEDEPCA (which partners with the New Castle Presbytery) publishes an Advent Devotional Guide. This year, it shines light on the theme of migration with content that can encourage people to talk candidly about the intersections of migration and the hope of Advent - and then take action in their everyday lives to work for peace. You can find the weekly devotional here: https://files.constantcontact.com/0b33f4e9201/0c351605-d2e4-412a-be32-e68d490f2aac.pdf.

 

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1800 Fairfax Blvd.

Wilmington, DE 19803


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