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12/19/2018 December 19th, 2018 Christmas Celebrations!It is less than a week until the big day, and we have a lot of opportunities to celebrate together in the next few days. On Sunday we will gather for worship at 9:30 am followed by Sunday School at 11:00 am as usual. We will continue our worship series on what made the first Christmas the best Christmas and what we can learn from it for this holiday season. Later on Sunday evening, our choir will present their Christmas cantata beginning at 7:00 pm. This promises to be a great musical celebration of Jesus' birth! On Monday, we are offering two opportunities to gather together for Christmas Eve Candlelight Communion services at 5 pm and 11 pm. The two services will be more or less the same and open to all, so feel free to come for the one that suits your schedule best. By offering services at two times, I hope that we can meet the needs of families with small children and those concerned about driving late at night with the 5:00 service as well as the needs of those who have afternoon family plans or who prefer singing in Christmas at midnight with 11:00 service. At both services, we will be offering our Christmas present to Jesus - an offering to support our church's mission work across the world and the local work of Mission Central, a clothing and medical supply closet, here in the Valley. I pray that our gift to Jesus will be a substantial one that will make a difference in our world! I hope to see you as we celebrate Jesus' birth over the next few days. May God bless you and your family and friends in a mighty way! Merry Christmas! Blessings on the journey, Jim P.S. Since our office will be closed next week, there will be no newsletter. So I will go ahead and wish y'all an early "Happy New Year!" Sunday's Sermon SnippetThe Best Christmas: The Deepest Joy (Luke 1:46-55) What makes you happy? What bring you joy? Are these things different? These are questions we are going to explore alongside Mary. When Mary learned that she would be the mother to God's own son, she traveled to see her cousin Elizabeth, who was experiencing a miraculous pregnancy of her own. When Mary approached, Elizabeth's child jumped for joy in her womb, and the two women greeted one another in wonder and joy. Mary's joy overflowed so greatly that she burst into a song of joy. What brought Mary joy? First of all, Mary sang of how God saw her in her humble state and honored her. She is joyful for what God has done for her personally. This is what brings her joy. What she sings next, however, is a bit surprising. She begins to sing of how God has worked in the life of her people for millenia. God has shown mercy from generation to generation. God brings down the rich and powerful and raises up the lowly and oppressed. This is an odd thing for her to sing of with joy. It is not about her but about God's justice and mercy toward all people. This is what brings her joy. Lastly, she is singing throughout about how God has called her to be a part of this work of bringing mercy and justice into the world through Jesus. She is joyful to be a part of what God is doing. This is what brings her joy. Can you imagine such a deep joy as Mary had? Can you imagine being called to bring mercy and justice into the world? Can you imagine being lifted up from such a humble state to be an important part of God's plan? Can you imagine seeing God's amazing works and realizing you are a part of it? Well, of course we can, for we are all called to join Mary in this work. We are all called to bring justice and mercy into the world as we witness to the love of Jesus. May we find the kind of joy that Mary had in being a part of what God is doing! New Window Covers The installation of new covers to protect our picture stained glass windows has been completed just in time for Christmas! The new covers are made of a safety glass similar to what is used in windshields, meaning that they are designed to stop a projectile from breaking through. Since they are glass, they will not yellow with age as the old plastic ones eventually did. This is important for preserving the color of the windows. With the new covers, our picture windows should be in good shape for roughly another 30 years. We still have one remaining phase of work to do on the stained glass windows. We will need to restore (take apart, clean, repair, and rebuild) the medallion windows in the "amen" section some time in the next seven to eight years, giving us time to focus on other maintenance issues. We appreciate everyone's patience as this current phase was underway. The rainy summer and fall caused an unforeseen delay in the contractor's scheduling. We also appreciate everyone's generosity in making this and the other projects we have completed this year possible. In 2018, we also repaired our back stairs while including an accessible ramp into the fellowship hall and also repaired and repainted our parking lot. These three projects amount to almost $50,000 of improvements to our building this year alone! Good job, everyone, especially our Trustees and all who contributed to the cookbook fundraiser! Living in CommunityThank you, Davida, Sue, Jodie, Peggy, Norman, John, and Rad, for your help packing away the Nativity scenes and costumes until next year! Thank you, Mike and Lee, for picking up our poinsettias! Thank you, Peggy, for arranging them in the sanctuary! Thank you, Jean and Joe, for reading our Scripture and lighting our Advent candles this week! Please pray for our Bishop Sharma Lewis who will be undergoing hip replacement surgery on Thursday. This Week at Port ChurchWednesday, December 19 9:00 - 11:45 am - Office Hours 6:30 - Cantata Practice Thursday, December 20 9:00 - 11:45 am - Office Hours 6:30 - Cantata Practice Sunday, December 23 9:30 am - Worship: The Best Christmas - The Longest Night 11:00 am - Sunday School 7:00 pm - Christmas Cantata Monday, December 24 5:00 & 11:00 pm - Christmas Eve Candlelight Communion Services Tuesday, December 25 Merry Christmas! Office closed until January 3 Sunday, December 30 9:30 am - Worship: Dinah will be preaching! 11:00 am - Sunday School Looking AheadWednesday at the Port resumes January 16
12/12/2018 December 12th, 2018 A Special Christmas GiftOne of the special parts of Christmas is, of course, the gifts that we enjoy giving to others. As in years past here at Port Church, we have an opportunity to make a special gift this Christmas with our Offering for Others. On Christmas Eve, we will collect an offering to support the work of our missionaries across the world and the work of Mission Central here on our district. Through the United Methodist Church, we have missionaries working across our nation and indeed world to carry forth the gospel of Jesus Christ. From building new churches to teaching and providing medical care, our missionaries are making the world a better place for all in the name of Jesus. Here on the Harrisonburg District, we have people who are also working to make our community a better place. They have built a building at Cedar Grove UMC on the outskirts of Harrisonburg to serve as Mission Central. Mission Central is home to a large clothing closet open to all in our community as well as a medical equipment loaning closet. Families can find the clothing they need while those who have been afflicted by a medical setback can borrow walkers, wheelchairs, and other durable equipment to help them recover. This Christmas, please consider making a gift to Jesus by supporting his work of mercy and grace in the world near and far! Blessings on the journey, Jim Sunday's Sermon SnippetThe Best Christmas - Bravest Heart (Matthew 2:18-25) When it comes to rules, there are at least three kinds of people: those who think rules are meant to be broken, those who think rules are meant to be followed - by other folks, and those who are rule-followers themselves. The Gospel of Matthew tells us that Joseph was one of this last category. He was a faithful man and followed the law of God. When his betrothed Mary was found to be pregnant, this presented him with a dilemma. The law and the expectation of those around him was that he should break the engagement and shame her for her assumed infidelity. Yet Joseph's righteousness was only as deep as his mercy, and he did not want to make her suffer more than she already would. He decided to divorce her quietly and let her live her life as best she could as he moved on. Joseph was not a very remarkable man - a common worker from a no-name town in Galilee - yet he had a remarkable faith and a brave heart. As he slept, God's message came to him in a dream telling him to put aside the expectations - that is, the rules that he followed, to take Mary as his wife, and to raise Jesus her son as his own. In fact, he was to give Jesus that name as a way of claiming the boy as his son. Joseph obeyed this direction from God despite what the rules may have said. This is a remarkable thing for him to have done. What would the others say? How could he trust that this dream was real and was truly from God? It took great courage for Joseph to set aside the rules he had followed all his life and mark out a new course for his life. And is this not what that son he adopted as his own would do? Jesus would heal on the Sabbath, and people would say it was wrong to do so. Yet Jesus knew that life - abundant life - was more important than the rule and had mercy on those who needed help. While the rules said that touching someone unclean made you unclean, Jesus would touch the ill and sinful, and it was they who were made clean and healed instead. Jesus would eat with sinners, and the righteous people complained that this was unseemly. He continued on and even became the bread and cup of a meal given for all sinners. Rules are helpful and often good, but sometimes the rules and expectations need to be broken with a courageous heart. Breaking rules is not meant to enrich ourselves or excuse our bad behavior. Breaking rules is sometimes necessary, however, to extend God's mercy into the world. What rules do we need to set aside to enter into a brave new world of God's love and mercy this Christmas? Living in CommunityThank you, Alisa, for the beautiful Nativity wreath you made for the fellowship hall! Thanks to our Youth Council - Tristan, Jacob, and Makayla - for lighting the second candle of our Advent wreath this week! Thank you to everyone who helped to set up for the Live Drive-thru Nativity this past Sunday, especially with the snow coming down! We are disappointed that we have had to cancel our Nativity due to weather, but we look forward to hosting it next year. This Week at Port ChurchWednesday, December 12 9:00 - 11:45 am - Office Hours Thursday, December 13 9:00 - 11:45 am - Office Hours 6:30 - Cantata Practice Sunday, December 16 9:30 am - Worship: The Best Christmas - The Greatest Joy 11:00 am - Sunday School Adult and Youth Classes invited to join together in Bible Jeopardy! Looking AheadChristmas Cantata - December 23, 7 pm
Christmas Eve Services - December 24, 5 & 11 pm Wednesday at the Port resumes January 16 12/5/2018 December 05th, 2018 Lean on GodThe topic of human sexuality that has long been a source of disagreement within The United Methodist Church is becoming a focus of particular concern as we prepare for the Special Session of General Conference 2019 in February. This meeting of delegates from across the world will decide how it is that we will move forward as a denomination in the midst of our differences on this topic. With the uncertainty and perhaps fear that comes with not knowing how the issue may be decided, you may be concerned about what is happening and what this means for our congregation. Bishop Lewis recently wrote a letter to the clergy of the Virginia Conference laying out her hope for our denomination and our conference. In her letter, she shared these words that I want to pass along to you: It is my hope and prayer that we can stay a connected church. As the Apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians 3:20, it is God who can do more than we can ask or imagine. I hope that the Virginia Conference will trust in our Lord together. The reason I hold out for hope for this denomination’s unity is because I know what we can do together. I have seen it. Our conference has been historically and consistently one of the strongest supporters of the missional connection. Our small and large membership churches, through shared ministry in apportionments, help support Global Ministries and 350+ missionaries in 60 countries. We have been a part of the church’s growth in countries such as Cambodia, Brazil and Mozambique. Through our unique conference Initiatives of Hope missional partnership team, we have: • Supported church and parsonage construction and lay and clergy leadership development in Cambodia and Mozambique. • Started educational advancement through school and dormitory construction and scholarships for students in Cambodia. • Provided tutoring and after school programs for at-risk children in Brazil through the Shade and Fresh Water ministry of The Methodist Church of Brazil. • Opened dialogue and support for Virginia Native peoples as they seek autonomy and sovereignty as well as offering opportunities in cooperation with the conference Native American Ministries team to provide a family camp. Through our aid to UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief), we have supported disaster response when disasters such as wildfires and hurricanes are more prevalent. The need has never been greater. In 2017, the Virginia Conference supported UMCOR in excess of $1.7 million. Our churches, big or small, are and can be a source of hope. We are never more like the hands and feet of Christ than when we are working together in ministry. I share in Bishop Lewis's hope for our denomination and likewise for our church here in Port Republic. I hope that we will remain true to one another and true to our calling to be a family that cares for God's children. Whatever may happen at General Conference in February, there will still be far too many children in our community hungering for food both spiritual and physical. I pray that we will continue to meet that need together as best as we possibly can, for we are a lighthouse shining rays of hope out into our community! As we prepare for February's meeting, I plan to hold an informational session one Sunday in January during the Sunday School hour. This will be a time to talk about the details of what is being considered and to discuss the questions we have about it. Look for more details as we approach the new year. I also plan to offer a class on Sunday evenings during January on what it means to be United Methodist (this is the class I had hoped to offer earlier this fall but was unable to). We will discuss our United Methodist heritage, beliefs, and structures. While the topics we cover will be broader than the issues of the upcoming conference, this class will help us to understand better where we are coming from and how we make decisions together. As we walk through these worrisome days and feel uncertain about the future, remember these words from Bishop Lewis: Lean away from fear and lean on God. Lean away from uncertainty and lean into the mission of your local church... God is here. And God is doing something immeasurably more than we know how to ask or imagine. May it be so! Blessings on the journey, Jim Sunday's Sermon SnippetThe Best Christmas - Deepest Faith (Luke 1:26-38) What makes for a good Christmas? Family, friends, food, traditions, and music all help to make the season what it is. Yet the first Christmas, the one in which Jesus was born, had few if any of these elements, and still Mary, Joseph, and the whole crowd made it a Christmas to remember! What can we learn from how they lived that best Christmas? We begin the story of Jesus' birth with the angel Gabriel's announcement to Mary that she will bear a special child. Upon the angel's unusual greeting calling her "favored one" she is taken aback. As he lays out the plan for her to become the mother of God on earth, she responds with an understandable question: "How can this be?" Whether it is doubt, confusion, or sheer shock at the root of it, she hesitates and lets her uncertainty be known. Gabriel answers her with a threefold answer - the explanation that it is God's Spirit at work, the sign of her older cousin Elizabeth's own miraculous pregnancy, and the promise that no word from God ever fails. Mary, an otherwise unremarkable young woman from an unremarkable village who lived an unremarkable life, did the most remarkable thing. "I am the Lord's servant," she said. "Let your word to me be fulfilled." With those simple words, Mary showed the deepest kind of faith - the deepest faith that made the best Christmas and all Christmases since possible. A mystic once said, "We are all meant to be mothers of God, for God is always needing to be born." I think what he meant is that we all are called to be the kind of people that help to shine the light of Christ into the world because there is always a darkness in the world that God wants to brighten. What do we do when we hear the angel of the Lord speaking to us, calling us to bring new life into the barrenness of this world? Do we trust that no word from God will ever fail? Do we trust in the hope that we have in the good news of Jesus Christ? Do we stand with Mary and say, "I am the Lord's servant. Let your word to me be fulfilled"? When we do, we begin to make this the best kind of Christmas! Living in CommunityThank you, Steve, Hannah, Bruce, Davida, and Alisa, for hanging the greens and decorating the church for Advent! Thank you, Peggy, for setting up our Nativity set on the altar! Thank you, Liz, Linda, and Jane, for serving communion on Sunday! Thank you, Bob and Dianna, for leading us in the lighting of our first candle of the Advent wreath this week! What a powerful thing it was to hear you speak of Hope! Thank you, Bruce, for blessing us with a new refrigerator to replace the one that had broken! This Week at Port ChurchWednesday, December 5 9:00 - 11:45 am - Office Hours Thursday, December 6 9:00 - 11:45 am - Office Hours 6:30 - Cantata Practice Sunday, December 9 9:30 am - Worship: The Best Christmas - The Bravest Heart Poinsettia Orders due 11:00 am - Sunday School 12:00 noon - Nativity Set-up Looking AheadDrive-thru Nativity - December 14 & 15, 7-9 pm
Christmas Cantata - December 23, 7 pm Christmas Eve Services - December 24, 5 & 11 pm 11/27/2018 November 27th, 2018 Preparing for ChristmasAs we finish off the Thanksgiving leftovers and see the last days of November fly by, our attention turns, of course, to Christmas. It will not be long before the holiday arrives, so there are many preparations to be made. As we prepare for Christmas, in the church we celebrate the season called Advent - the anticipated arrival. We anticipate the Christmas holiday with all of its gifts and cookies, and we anticipate the celebration of the birth of Jesus the Christ child. Part of Advent is also the anticipation of Jesus' return - a time of promise when all things will be made right and God's work of redemption, resurrection, and re-creation will be made complete. As we prepare our homes for Christmas, we are also called to prepare our lives for Christ to return. Through prayer, sabbath, and worship, we have the opportunity in this busy season to make the preparations that truly matter. Here at Port Church, we will have several opportunities to do just that over the coming weeks. On December 14 and 15, we will hold our Live Nativity Drive-Thru from 7 pm to 9 pm. Come out and be a part of bringing God's story to life, and take the time to experience the story yourself by driving through. On December 23 at 7 pm, our choir will present their Christmas cantata and musical celebration. We will have two opportunities to worship on Christmas Eve - 5 pm and 11 pm. Both services will include candlelight and communion. Prepare your hearts for God this Advent! Blessings on the journey, Jim Sunday's Sermon SnippetPromises to God: Witness (1 Corinthians 15:3-10; Hebrews 12:1-3) As we conclude our series on the vow we have made to faithfully participate in ministry, we turn our attention to the final way we have promised to do so - through our witness. To witness is to report what we have seen to establish the truth of a matter. As Christians, we witness to what we have seen God do to establish the truth of what has happened and who God is. To explore how we are to witness, let us first consider how we have received the witness of others. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews affirms that we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses that we should run the race marked out before us focusing on Jesus. This image of a race reveals something important about the witness of others and our own witness. There are different types of races with different goals. In a sprint, we run full-out to win. In a long-distance race like a marathon, we run at a more intentional pace hoping just to finish. Faith is more like the latter than the former, but perhaps there is a better race to consider as a metaphor for faith - the relay race. In a relay race, we run our leg as best we can with others cheering us on. One of the key elements of the relay is the handoff - how we receive the baton passed to us and how we pass along what was first given to us are essential to both completing and winning the race. This is witness - the witness we receive from those who are out ahead of us and the witness we pass on to those who follow us. Moreover, we run the same course marked out by those who have already run it because we have the encouragement of their witness. Paul sees the handoff of the faith through witness as essential in his First Letter to the Corinthians. We see an example here of his own witness to them - passing on to them what he received. He details the life of Jesus and salvation we find in his death and resurrection in accordance with Scripture. He points to the witness that he received Jesus' disciples and followers. Then he turns to his own experience - his own story - of how Jesus worked in his life. This is all a part of his witness, and all these elements are a part of our own witness. When we witness, we share the words of Scripture, the stories we have heard from others, and our own stories as well. Witnessing is not just about the Bible but also about our life stories and the stories from the lives of others. Paul demonstrates all of these in this brief witness to who Jesus is. What stories do we need to tell? What stories are a part of our witness? Update on Veterans Snack MissionLast week, Dianna and Bob responded to our remembrance of veterans on Veteran's Day by inviting us to provide snacks to those undergoing treatment at the VA Hospital in Richmond every other week. Here is an update from them: Veterans Snack Mission: Our 1st Veterans Snack Mission to the VA Hospital in Richmond was November 23. We took 4 dozen cookies and placed them on the serving table. We also placed a picture of Port Church with an inscription expressing our heartfelt thanks for their service. The smiles, laughs, "MMMM Good" comments and lip smacking told the whole story. We took home an empty container...not even a crumb was left. Our mission is a quiet one, but our witness for Jesus is sweet. Thanks so much for all that have helped and for those who are helping in the future. Our 2nd Veterans Snack Mission will be December 7th. Please keep this outreach mission in your prayers. With God's guidance we will continue this for one year or maybe longer. God's Blessings...Dianna and Bob Sign Up for Nativity Drive ThruIt is almost time for our Live Nativity Drive-Thru on December 14 and 15! Sign ups for both nights are underway, and several scenes are close to full. We are hopeful we can fill both nights, but we can't do it without you! We still need adults and children for a variety of roles. Don't forget to sign up this Sunday at church, or contact Davida this week! This Week at Port ChurchWednesday, November 28 9:00 - 11:45 am - Office Hours 6:00 pm - Youth Group 6:30 pm - Hanging of the Greens Thursday, November 29 9:00 - 11:45 am - Office Hours Sunday, December 2 9:30 am - Worship with Communion: The Best Christmas - The Deepest Faith 11:00 am - Sunday School Looking AheadPoinsettia Order Deadline - December 9
Drive-thru Nativity - December 14 & 15, 7-9 pm Christmas Cantata - December 23, 7 pm |
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