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

Sent:                                               Wednesday, December 4, 2024 7:30 PM

To:                                                  concord.margaretob@gmail.com

Subject:                                         Concord Connects - December 5, 2024

 

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concordconnects
  
December 5, 2024
  
Keeping you connected to the life and ministry of 

Concord Presbyterian Church!


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.orgAt 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.

 

 

 

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.

 

 

 

 

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. 

 

 


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!

 

 

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.)

 

 


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

 

 

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!

 

 

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: 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.)

 

 


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.

 

 

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.

 

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

 

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.

 

 

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!

 

 


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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Concord Presbyterian Church

1800 Fairfax Blvd.

Wilmington, DE 19803


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