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Writer's picture: Memorial FernandinaMemorial Fernandina

“The Lord is coming, always coming. When you have ears to hear and eyes to see, you will recognize him at any moment of your life. Life is Advent; life is recognizing the coming of the Lord.” – Henri Nouwen


I opened the garage door on November 1st and just stared at it- the big box in the corner holding our precious, beautiful faux Christmas tree. I stood there looking at it, thinking to myself, “Do we just put it up early to add a little bit of familiarity to a house and a place that is so new?” Alas, I kept the tree in the box, shut the door, and left the decorating for another day.


Now, if you are a Christmas-as-soon-as-Halloween-is-done person, you do your thing. I think we can all use more joy in our lives, and if you find that in preparing for the holidays now, deck those halls! But I grew up in a household where my mom was something of an Advent/Christmas purist. Christmas decorations went up no earlier than the day after Thanksgiving. Christmas music did not stop in our house until January 6th, with the arrival of Epiphany. And the Magi did not even make an appearance in our nativity scene until Epiphany, which meant that the nativity usually stayed out for an extra week in January. Many of those rituals have stuck with me because I love the order of the seasons.


Recently, though, I saw a post from a pastor friend of mine here in Florida who said that he was starting an early Advent study with his church. His argument was that if the world is moving into Christmas earlier and earlier, we find ourselves out of sync between the preparation that takes place in our homes, our hearts and our churches.


So, I wonder, even as we look to the start of Advent on December 3rd, what can we be doing to prepare ourselves for the coming Christ child? If you already have Christmas up in your house, what rituals will draw you into the peace, hope, love, and joy of the coming season?


I have yet to put up the tree in our house, but my antsy self is looking at my Fridays off thinking, “This seems like a great day to deck the halls.”


We shall see. Nevertheless, may all that we do between now and December 24th look toward the coming of the Lord.


With Grace and Peace,

Pastor Rachel

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Writer's picture: Memorial FernandinaMemorial Fernandina

November 1 is All Saints Day, a day we will celebrate as a church family this coming Sunday. As I reflected on Bishop Willimon’s message of last Sunday, I contemplated my own faith journey and remembered the hands that held mine as a child, whose lives, stories, values, and beliefs first planted faith seeds in me, as well as those who came later and watered those seeds during the various stages of my Christian journey.


We Methodists understand that God’s grace intersects with us long before we understand what it means to accept Jesus as a personal savior. We call that Prevenient Grace. Once we say “yes” to God’s invitation to follow Jesus we call that our Christian conversation or Justifying Grace, the moment that marks the beginning of our Christian journey, as we daily yield our will to God’s and ask for spiritual growth. We Methodists call that Sanctifying Grace, as we are set apart as disciples, seeking justice and meting out mercy while striving to live our lives as Jesus did.


All these stages of my Christian journey and likely yours too are marked by the intersection of those whose faith helped show us the path toward Christlikeness by love, forgiveness and example.

So, I’m remembering My Auntie Irene, the only Christian Scientist in my family, whose love and reverence for God’s creation instilled the same in me.

I’m remembering my Mother, sending me to Sunday School and Vacation Bible school and making sure we children knew the real meaning of Christmas.

I’m remembering my Father, who took me to church. I’m remembering two missionaries who told me their story of faith, that led me to become baptized.

I am grateful for the dear friends whose faith inspired and encouraged me.

I’m remembering too my own sweet husband and his sister whose unwavering faith helped me overcome a lot of doubts.


So many I remember are in that great cloud of witnesses I will think of this Sunday. Our faith is not solitary. It is communal, it is family, and All Saints Sunday reminds us of our own duty to pass it on to the next generation. I hope you remember those people in your own life who planted and watered your own faith seeds and honor them with a prayer of gratitude this Sunday. I’m humming “Thank You for Giving to The Lord” right now! Go YouTube it!


Blessings,

Pastor Alyce

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Writer's picture: Memorial FernandinaMemorial Fernandina

As I was beginning to write this week’s note, I kept thinking about how appreciated I have felt during this Pastor’s Appreciation Month (thank you, by the way!). That led me to think about the calling I felt to become ordained clergy, and to be an ordained clergyperson in the United Methodist Church at this specific time, no less. I would be lying if I did not admit that there were times in this journey where I wanted to wash my hands of the whole thing. Why would I get into this messiness? With burnout rates high and church attendance low and the schism seeming to grow even wider, I sometimes asked myself, truly, “what is the point of all of this?”.

Well, as always, I come back to Jesus.

Jesus is the point of all of this. When it seems like we get bogged down with the violence of the world, the division of our country, and the state of the United Methodist Church we can hold onto a hope that is much bigger than this moment.

Today, as I was prepping for the next Lunch & Learn class, I read these words by Amanda Held Opelt:

"God, in his mystifying wisdom, did not set the foundation or raise the walls of the Church with the glorious, untouchable alabaster of heaven. Instead, he built the Church with living stones, You and me. We are imperfect so the Church is imperfect…We go to church because we know God is slowly transforming it into a true sanctuary."

-Excerpt from Holy Unhappiness, pg. 160-161


We are an imperfect people, living imperfect lives, being perfected by a perfect God. We are part of a century’s-old story that will not end with us, but there will undoubtedly be a chapter about us. The question we must ask ourselves, as a congregation doing the hard work of sharing Jesus’ love in our community and world, is how do we respond to God to transform church into a “true sanctuary”?


Do you find hope in that question? I certainly do because it allows us to dream. And every time I work alongside one of you, in a mission event or a Bible study, I am reminded of why I became a pastor in the first place. It is because I am called to serve, and I am called to serve alongside you and share in you on this journey as we look with hopefulness toward what the church, imperfections and all, can be when we embrace the promise of resurrection. Let’s dream together.


Blessings,

Pastor Rachel

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Sunday Services:

 8:00AM  In the Sanctuary

Weekly Holy Communion & favorite hymns

 9:30AM In the Maxwell Hall

Sing praises with our band

11:00AM The Sanctuary 

Enjoy familiar liturgy & hear our choir

11:00AM Digital Worship on YouTube.

Chat with our digital community during the premiere

Questions? Call 904-261-5769 or EMAIL.

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Memorial United Methodist Church

601 Centre Street | Fernandina Beach, Florida | 32034

904-261-5769       info@mumconline.com

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