Friends in Faith:
This Sunday, December 3, is the beginning of Advent! The sanctuary has been decorated so let's dive into this wonderful season together! Our text is from Mark 13:24-37—it's an intense text about the return of Jesus which can seem out of place during this joyful time of year, but we'll unpack it and see how it fits into the Advent season. We'll also be celebrating the Lord's Supper together—so if you are worshiping from home, be sure to have some bread and juice/wine on hand. Natalya begins playing our “gathering music” at 10:20 a.m. You can also join virtually here: Facebook Live. More details about worship can be found here.
A small group of Bethany members and myself were able to enjoy a special worship experience with Vietnamese Evangelistic Outreach (VEO), a ministry supported by our Presbytery, this past Sunday in Stockton. The worship service incorporated local Christians from a Guatemalan church, a Nicaraguan church, and GKI—an Indonesian fellowship supported by our Presbytery. We were so happy to be in worship together and to support these new ministries! And a special thank-you to Jim Guida, Natalya, Cathy and others for leading worship at Bethany.
Today is "Giving Tuesday—a special day when we remember a wide variety of non-for-profit agencies and support their good work in our communities. There are so many wonderful options to donate to in the spirit of the season. Here is a link to SSIP as they are participating as well.
Next two sessions of the 4-week class on "Spiritual Gifts" will be held in the Social Hall at 10 a.m. on December 4 and December 18. A free lunch is served after our time of discussion—join us!
On Sunday, December 17, all are invited to bring a special creche scene to worship where they will be displayed for the service. Details are here.
As a church family, we are a community that is committed to caring for one another. One of the ways that we can support one another, loved ones and strangers, near and far, is to offer our prayers on their behalf. We share our prayers because we care for one another, and we know that God listens and cares for all of God's children. If you have a joy or concern to share, please let me know; and if it is a confidential matter, please be sure to let them know. And don't forget that we have a prayer team who is committed to praying for any and all prayer concerns that come forward. You can reach out to Barbara Greene with your prayer concerns and she'll share them with the prayer team.
We ask special prayers for the family of Mary Harbison, who passed away last week.
Hear our prayers, O Lord!
Peace to all.
—Jesse
