A Thrill of Hope

Post date: Nov 25, 2022 6:57:20 PM

Dear Middletown Reformed Church Family and Friends,

The Peace of Christ be with you!

First, I pray you had a blessed Thanksgiving filled with delicious food, joyful company, all the while surrounded by generous love. We continue to give thanks as we enter Advent this Sunday — a season of waiting, expectation, and hope — when God became what we are to make us what God is. Emmanuel, God with us is the greatest gift we could ever receive.

Second, we have a very special offering this Advent for our Adult Education called A Thrill of Hope: Hearing God’s Voice Through the Angels of Advent led by our pastoral intern, Grace Modla (see image above). All in the community are welcomed to this learning event; it’s not just for MRC members. So, please invite those whom you think would be interested in this time of scripture, discussion, and art making. In addition, Grace is preaching this Sunday and her Internship Teaching Committee — Dolores Hofmann, Bob Kinley, and Lisa Leidecker — will lead worship with her. Come and support Grace as she brings us the word. 

Last, they are predicting rain for this Sunday and we are hoping and hoping (Hope is the theme for the First Sunday of Advent, after all!) that the rain will hold off so we can have our Third Annual Church Family Christmas Tree lighting at 4:30. Please bring a non-breakable ornament to hang on the tree. That said, if we do have inclement weather our rain date for the tree lighting will be December 4. Look for an email/Facebook post from me on Sunday afternoon to see if the event is on for that day or not.

I look forward to warmly welcoming you to church in person or on Facebook live this First Sunday of Advent. Nancy Coffin is our featured soloist singing “Imagine” and “All Earth is Waiting.” Grace is preaching from Romans 13.11-14 and Matthew 24.36-44 and her sermon title is The Waiting is the Hardest Part. 

A gentle reminder: as this is flu season and Covid still lingers among us, if you are not feeling well, please stay home and watch church online. This is for the health of you and for the safety of others. Thank you for your cooperation.

In gratitude for the privilege of being your pastor and the holy call of loving you,

Pastor Trish