
Second Sunday of Advent
December 8 @ 10:30am (note later time)
"Voices in the
Wilderness" - Luke 3:1-6
Pastor Eric Markman
preaching
A voice cries in the wilderness and in our
sanctuary: Make straight the way of the Lord. John the Baptist's
words, borrowed from the Book of Isaiah tells us of the coming
miracle of the birth of a child. A child born in a cattle shed and
laid in a manger. A child born to bring good news to our world and
hope for the future. Join us this Sunday as we prepare for
Christmas and a true miracle.
About the Art:
"We Can't Go Alone - From the Three" - Hannah Garrity
[Inspired by Ecclesiastes 4:9-12] © a sanctified art/sanctifiedart.org. At the end of this
Ecclesiastes text, we read that the threefold cord is not
easily broken. I had a piece of twine, which when I pulled it
apart, broke into four sections. I sistered two into one,
making three. I filmed myself pulling apart and
reweaving the twine. Then I drew this quilt square design
from the still images in my video. I dislike the final energy
in the central motif of this artwork. It
feels discordant. Perhaps that’s the point. When I read
this scripture, it seems to focus on strength—but in the rope
itself, I find weakness. Its strength lies in the weave, in
the interwoven fibers coming together.
As I continue to watch our communities
come together and splinter apart, it is always through
the aspirational and the altruistic that the re-weaving
begins. This discordant quilt square calls us to sit in the
tension of the in-between, to weave our lives together rather than
pulling them apart. In Ecclesiastes, our practical God
emphasizes that two are better than one and three are stronger
than two. A three-ply cord isn’t easily broken. This offers a
very trinitarian way forward in the messy, interwoven, beautiful,
and powerful collective.
Join us for
IN-PERSON WORSHIP on Sunday at 10:30am; doors open at 10:00am.
To
join in WORSHIP ONLINE this Sunday, December 8, 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.
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Children
in Worship - NO J.A.M. SESSION THIS SUNDAY

Due to AdventFest
immediately following worship this Sunday, we will not
be meeting for J.A.M. Session. Children are invited to
join us up front for Wondering Time. After Wondering
Time, children will stay in worship with their families.
There are quiet activities in the back of the Sanctuary that
children may take to the pews.
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Prayer
List
Condolences for
Christina's cousin Steffi & family - her mother
passed away this 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.
A joy that Mug & Muffin attendees had a Happy
Thanksgiving & that Nancy Tucker spent part of
her day serving dinner at the Sunday Breakfast Mission.
Traveling mercies for Pastor Eric & Cindy as
they embark on a long-planned trip next week.
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.
***
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.
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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!
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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.)
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Weds. @ 10:00am via Zoom
Our weekly
MUG & MUFFIN Bible study meets
again on Wed., December 11
from 10:00-11:00am, led by Carol Haas. To join
the Zoom gathering ONLINE, click on this link.
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Each year during the
Advent and Christmas season, we turn our eyes to Bethlehem and
celebrate the wondrous gift of Jesus Christ, our Savior.
God
has blessed the Church with incredible leadership in every time
and place, but those leaders often need to be supported by their
communities as well. This Offering addresses the support needed
by some of our leaders, including supporting leadership development
for communities of color, and providing support for Presbyterian
church workers in their time of need.
Supporting Past,
Present, and Future Leaders
The
Christmas Joy Offering has been a cherished Presbyterian
tradition since the 1930s. The Offering distributes gifts equally
to the Assistance Program of the Board of Pensions and to
Presbyterian-related schools and colleges equipping communities
of color. The Assistance Program provides critical financial
support to church workers and their families.
Presbyterian-related schools and colleges provide education and
leadership development while nurturing racial and ethnic
heritage. This has been a Presbyterian commitment for nearly 140
years.
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!
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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.
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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: dry pasta, spaghetti
sauce, 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.)
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Share the Spirit!
Cock-a-doodle-do! Have we
got a gift for you...
This year,
Concord’s Share the Spirit Program is dedicated to helping
desperately poor women in Guatemala provide for their families.
Here’s how this project works:
- A qualified woman
builds an approved coop and attends training.
- She then receives a
starter set of 20 chicks and special feed.
- The young chickens
are fattened up for three months.
- The woman sells
them for meat to others in her community, keeping a few to
feed her family.
- She repeats this
cycle three more times – buying, fattening, and selling the
chickens.
- After a full year,
she returns half of the investment (about $125) to help
other women get started.
- With her remaining
profits, she continues raising chickens on her own, making
this project sustainable.
The
starter set costs $250. Please make any contribution you wish
through Concord (memo Guatemala Chickens) or at https://mailchi.mp/637434c252f3/gift-of-chicks-advent-2024.
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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!!
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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.
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Concord Preschool
collects non-perishable items for Concord’s Blessing Box!!
Concord Preschool hosted a “Collect-a-Can” event as part of their
Thanksgiving celebration. Each student brought in canned and
non-perishable items to their classroom during the month of
November to see which class could collect the most. Mrs. Gordon’s
3-year-old class, Miss Kaylin’s 4-year-old class, and Miss Maura’s
Kindergarten class each collected over ONE HUNDRED cans. Combined
with all the other preschool classes, over
700 items are being donated to Concord’s Blessing
Box!! We are so thankful for our generous preschool students
and their families ❤
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Magnolia Greens available
this Sunday!
Many thanks to Bonnie Twilley for donating magnolia greens for
Christmas decorating! The greens will be made available at
Adventfest this Sunday for a donation of $10 per bunch.
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Gathering
Time (Refreshments after Church)

Please sign up online to bring snacks &
a beverage to enjoy after our Sunday worship service. We will set
up in the back of the Sanctuary and provide the coffee. This is a
great time to enjoy fellowship with our members & guests. Our
Congregational Life Committee encourages all (men & women,
individuals, families & friends) who are able to take a turn.
Keep it simple and remember to include some gluten-free snacks. Thanks for your participation!
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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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