December 15th, 2023 | Rev. Dr. Mark Charles

This coming Sunday will be one of the most exciting of the year as our Chanel Choir performs their annual Christmas Cantata. Choir members have been meeting every Wednesday night for weeks practicing the pieces for Sunday, and they will be joined by number of soloists and narrators who will help tell the story. It really is a special moment in our annual worship calendar - I hope you will plan to join us at either 8 AM or 11 AM in the Sanctuary.

The Cantata also presents us with an amazing opportunity to invite friends and neighbors to church for the very first time. If you have someone in your life or neighborhood, who you think would enjoy attending a church Cantata with you, don’t hesitate to make that invitation.

In between Cantata performances, in Maxwell Hall, we will have our annual Alternative Christmas Missions Fair. This is an excellent event at which we can interact with and learn more about our various partners in mission. It is also an excellent opportunity for us to support them by making a purchase at their stall or by making a donation in support of their work. Christmas is a time when we often think of receiving gifts from others, but at this event, we are the ones who are giving gifts to make a difference in the world. That’s what makes this fair alternative.

So, I hope you plan to join us this weekend as we sing the story of Christ birth, reflect on all that it means for the world, and remember that as much as we receive Christ, the gift of God‘s love, we are also called to share the gift of that love with others through our giving, our acts of service, and mission.

Blessings,

Pastor Charlie

December 8th, 2023 | Rev. Rachel Williams

This week, my household celebrated one of my favorite Advent traditions- welcoming the arrival of St. Nicholas. St. Nicholas Day, which is celebrated annually on December 6, is a day in honor of this Turkish Bishop of Myra who was known for his generosity, his love of children, and for his dedication to serving God by giving all that he had to the poor. In our house, we commemorate the day by setting out shoes by the Christmas tree for St. Nicholas to fill with little treasures, treats and oranges. Austin usually gets a book. I have continued my mom’s tradition of adding a new ornament to the tree as well. These small tokens one fun way to be reminded of St. Nicholas’ adoration of children, and they are reminder for us to put our focus on the greatest gift to come, the coming Christ child.  

While we don’t often observe feast days of saints in the Methodist tradition, I cannot help but love this day because it is also a way of thinking about tangible hope. Here we have the perfect opportunity to demonstrate how giving does not need to be reciprocal. We give to others without any expectation of something in return. We enter into someone’s hard, lived experience and say, “I am here for you because God loves me and God loves you, too.” How is it that we can follow the example of Christ by offering up of our gifts and ourselves this Advent season?  

As we move into the second week of Advent, the week of peace, I also want to welcome you to consider how hope and peace work together. We discussed in the first week of the Wednesday night Advent study Almost Christmas that the peace Christ offers us is not something of this world but a very part of him. When he speaks to the disciples in the upper room in John 14:27 he says,

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.”

This is not just any peace; this is Christ’s peace. Christ is leaving a part of himself with us, and we are to move toward a peace that restores all of creation to health and prosperity. Easy enough, right? No! In so many facets of our lives, this altogether peace is incredibly difficult to accomplish. But, like everything else in our Christian journey, we do not do this work alone. In meditation, in reflection and in the recognition and acceptance that our anger begets more chaos and less peace, we can start to attune our hearts to a more prayerful and gracious way of being. It is hard work to move away from the turbulence of conflict and envision a different way, but let us do just that- dream of ways that we can make alternatives to violence a reality in our communities and our world. May that be our prayer for the week.  

With Hope and Peace,  

Pastor Rachel

December 1st, 2023 | Rev. Dr. Mark Charles

Happy New Church Year, Memorial!

Like I mentioned in last Sunday's sermon, the move into Advent is also the move into a new church year. I give thanks for the year that has been and look forward to the year to come as we once again move through the gospel story of God's great love for the world.

We already started our church-wide Advent Study on Wednesday night. We were joined by Rev. Magrey deVega, one of the authors of our book, Almost Christmas. The conversation was rich as we discussed the peace Christ offers the world. If you missed it you can catch up by viewing the recording here. And you can plan to join us for the remaining three Wednesdays at 6:30pm on the Memorial Facebook page.

There are so many other opportunities to join in on the Advent journey at Memorial this month. This weekend our United Women in Faith circles will continue hosting No Room At The Inn in the church Sanctuary on Saturday between 10am and 4pm. Be sure to stop by and see the outstanding collection of nativity sets from all over the world. You'll be glad you did!

Fernandina's Christmas Lighted Parade will also take place this Saturday evening. You can be part of Memorials presence in the parade OR you can get the best seats in town by gathering on the church steps to watch. The parade begins at 6:00PM!

Dr. Joan leads a local community choral group: Songspinners. They will put on a concert this Sunday afternoon at 3:00pm in our sanctuary. Again, you'll be glad you joined them, if you can.

With all this as well as our annual cantata, a community Longest Night service, our Alternative Christmas missions fair, and a full program of Christmas Eve worship services, there are multiple opportunities for us all to connect with one another, engage the Advent season, and have our hearts made ready to celebrate the birth of Christ at Christmas.

I'm excited to be on this Advent journey with you and am praying that we all will grow closer to Christ as we experience the peace, hope, joy, and love of this wonderful season.

Blessings!

Pastor Charlie