The Feast of the Epiphany of our Lord has always been assigned the date of January 6. Before the revision of our lectionary and church calendar in the 1970's,  if it fell on a weekday, its celebration was transferred to the Sunday following. However, since the lectionary and calendar revisions, the second Sunday after Christmas is reserved for the Baptism of Our Lord which we will observe this Sunday. Both the Feast of Epiphany and the Baptism of our Lord celebrate Theophany - or divine manifestation: at the Baptism of the Lord in the River Jordan and at God's manifestion to the Magi. 

Although we will celebrate the Baptism of Our Lord, we do not want have the Feast of the Epiphany completely lost from view, so will acknowledge the beginning of the Epiphany season in our Sending Hymn, "O Lord, Now Let your Servant," ELW 313, because of its association with the presentation of the Christ Child to Simeon and Anna and its textual references to light.

We will also include a centuries old tradition associated with Epiphany - "Chalking the Door." 

Pastor Vida was in touch with Sonja, our Director of Music, and altough the broken bones in her leg are still healing, Sonja expressed a qualifed hope that she could return to us sometime in February. Let us continue to pray for a complete recovery. 

Merciful God, you are the only source of health and healing; you alone can bring calmness and peace. Grant to Sonja, an awareness of your presence and a strong confidence in you.  Surround her with your care, protect her by your loving might, heal her broken bones and permit her once more to enjoy wholeness and strength and peace; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stewardship Campaign Update 

Thank-you to all who have dropped off their pledges!
if you've misplaced your forms (we know how easy it is to do) we can supply you with a replacement. We are delighted to report that we have had strong support for the work of the church - especially our ministry to Ukrainian Newcomers. We are looking forward to holding our 4th ESL Circle beginning in February.  We also are reviewing our Community Kitchen pilot and hoping to re-luanch with some adjustments. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AGM

It's not too early to start thinking about Our Annual General Meeting. Your Church  Council will set the date at their meeting next week. We usually hold it on the last Sunday in March, but since Easter falls on March 31 our AGM will be held on a Sunday in Lent. This is a good time for Committee Chairs to start writing their reports and submitting them to Shelley who will be retiring after Easter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Job Opportunity

In anticipation of Shelley's retirement, the church is looking to hire a person to replace her. The position is Tuesday to Friday with part-time hours (to be determined) with some evening hours as Recording Secretary at Council Meetings. The position involves core administrative and office management duties, community and church membership outreach, and website and social media maintenance responsibilities. The person needs to be tech savvy in MS Office, Powerpoint, Google docs, and Quickbooks. As a representative of the church and due to the sensitive nature of the position, a high level of confidentiality and demonstrated loyalty to the church and the staff is expected. A full job description will be forthcoming. If you know of anyone who may be interested, please have them contact Shelley at the church office, 604-988-5838.

Image: Japanese-American artist: Julia Kestner Designs 

The war in Gaza has awakened the Christian community to the plight of Palestinians, questions about land of ancient and modern Israel, and concerns over antisemitism.  In this moment, as Christians we are being confronted by the impact of our theology on geopolitics and it has left so many of us confused, frustrated, and silent.  

Two weeks before the war began, Palestinian Lutheran pastor and liberation theologian, Rev. Mitri Raheb, released his latest book, Decolonizing Palestine:  The Land, The People, The Bible.  This book contains a much-needed framework to understand what’s happening in Israel and Palestine, and to address the questions that often come up as folks struggle to understand the history and context of modern-day Palestine.  

Join Pastor Amy Yoder McGloughlin as she leads a four-week book study on Rev. Raheb’s book.  We’ll discuss a chapter each week, and we will engage with Palestinian guest speakers as we unravel our colonial mindset and envision a world where all are liberated from oppression.  

For more details and how to register click on this link. Cost is only $50 or pay what you can. 

Sometimes at night I hear small birds lament.
Dark notes that seem to second moon's descent.
Cold is the color of a deep regret,
An etude perfected by winterset.

The world was music and it turned us round.
Stirred by the subtle atmospheric sound,
You gently sketched a snowflake on my face
Which shall be mine till light has left this place.

Such solace has the power to outlast time,
To lock a small bird's elegy in rhyme.
Somewhere beyond the January mist,
The magic of our landscape still exists.

Copyright, 2008, Sandra Fowler