December 14, Third Sunday of Advent
Wednesday, December 10, 2014 at 8:56AM Rest in Peace
A most beloved member of our Parish, Barbara Leitch died on Monday. She was 93. Barbara began attending Church of the Angels with her late husband Stewart when their daughter Judy got married here. Stewart was for years the parish treasurer. Stewart died in 1999. While Stewart loved talking to people at Coffee Hour, Barbara, not so much. So for several decades Barbara did the clean up of the Altar after Church. One thing Barbara really liked was going to Las Vegas and playing the slot machines. It was not unusual several times a year, while Stewart was parish treasurer, for he and Barbara to greet me at the door at the end of the service with the Offering in hand and Barbara saying, “We’re going to Las Vegas for a few days.”
Barbara was vital and active up until this past year. She played bridge regularly, and even until the end, she was mentally sharp as a tack. However in the last year she began to complain of being “tired” all the time and gradually withdrew from her activities. It turned out that she had a slow growing cancer in her abdomen. In the last several months she lived at the Soleheim Home in Eagle Rock. Parishioner Katie Williamson visited her weekly and Fr. Bob took her Communion regularly. She was a wonderful person and will be missed by all who knew her.
Right now her family is saying that Barbara only wanted a short graveside service with her immediate family. At this point plan have not been finalized. Hopefully some kind of memorial can be done for others who knew her.
Advent Event: Thank you
Thank you to all who participated in the Advent Potluck last Sunday. Thank you for all the wonderful food! Thanks to Hands of the Angels for their crafts for sale and to those who purchased items. Similar thanks go to the Level 3 atrium young people who were selling items for Global Hands in Hope, and for those who bought them, and are purchasing books for the school in Uganda. Finally, Thank you to Rebecca Woods for leading the Advent Wreath Making and the decorating the tables, and to Briony James who led those who decorated the gingerbread cookies she made. It was a very good time.
Music with the Angels Part 2
Saturday December 13, 6:00 p.m. & 9:00 p.m. The "Nicholas Plays”
On St. Nicholas Day (12/6) In traditional areas of Alpine Europe, families are visited by a costumed Bishop Nicholas bringing rewards to well-behaved children while the errant are threatened by a fearsome folkloric devil known as the Krampus. Over the last decade Americans have developed a fascination with this figure resulting in the establishment of costumed “Krampus runs” and events modeled on those in Europe. Tonight the artists and costume-makers of Krampus Los Angeles will perform excerpts from an original translation of a turn-of-the century Austrian “Nicholas Play” in which these figures are featured. The play, which is some ways resembles the Christmas Mummers plays of Great Britain, will be paired with the English-subtitled debut screening of the 1955 film, “Der Struwwelpeter” (“Slovenly Peter”). Based on a Victorian-era children’s book, this darkly campy film -- like the Krampus tradition -- is the product of an old-fashioned style of child-rearing the Germans call “gingerbread and whip” and tells the tales of misbehaving children and their dreadful fates. The church will also be visited by a steam-powered Krampus-driven car evocative of the period.
“St. Nicholas 1888: A Kinder-Horror Holiday” December 13, 6pm, 9pm. Tickets $20, advance online purchase highly recommended:
6pm show: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/933187.
9pm show: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/933194
Calendar Committee to Meet Sunday December 14, 9:00 a.m. Parish Hall
Chris Ortiz is calling for the Calendar Committee to meet to draft the Church activity Calendar for 2015. They will meet between the 7:45 and 10:15 services on Sunday, December 14. Anyone is welcome to join and help with setting the calendar for the year to come.
CGS Level I Atrium
December 14, 2014
Advent
“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:14 NRSV
In the Level I atrium, the last two Sundays have been filled with the prophecies of Isaiah. We learned “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great Light,” (Isa 9:2); and, the name for the child to be born for us, “. . . a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders, and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isa 9:6) We found these messages in the Old Testament of our Holy Bible. The scripture passages are duplicated and displayed on cards that rest at our prayer table.
This Sunday, the Level I children continue to listen to Isaiah who will tell us about the child’s mother. This is juxtaposed with the CGS presentation about the announcement, through Gabriel to Mary, found in the New Testament, the Gospel of Luke 1:26-38. This is a profound presentation highlighting Mary’s trust and acceptance of God’s invitation with a simple “yes.” It is a model response for all who desire the fullness of life in God.
We will light the third candle, the favorite pink-colored one. With this candle, we are reminded of the unfolding of God’s plan and of what appears unlikely, isn’t. The desert becomes full with bloom; the inconceivable conception of the young woman, Mary by way of the Holy Spirit and, later, her cousin Elizabeth who was once thought to be barren Mary finds she is with child. The image of the third candle represents to us what seems to be impossible isn’t, “For nothing will be impossible with God.” (Luke 1:37)
Next week, the plan is to prepare our Eucharistic bread for the Christmas service. Advent is a wonderful time.
Ms. Georgie
Annual Giving
We are about 2/3 of the way toward finishing the Annual Giving drive for 2015. A follow up letter has gone out. Please return your Annual Giving Pledge Cards to the Church as soon as possible. If you have not pledged before, as Bill Woods said to us when we began Annual Giving, “Please join with us.” A parish of our size depends on everyone’s participation. If you have questions please speak to Fr. Bob, or the Parish Wardens, Jim Gruettner and Kris Hillary, or our Parish Treasurer, Leigh Torgerson.
Outreach Committee: Mission Giving for Advent & Christmas
Church of the Angels Outreach Committee has decided to try something different this year for Christmas giving, and we invite you to join us. Each Sunday during Advent, we will have a Christmas tree on the patio. The tree is covered with paper ornaments, each bearing the name of a children’s book. We hope that you will take an ornament or two, buy the book in hard cover, and deliver it to the church on or before the Christmas Eve Service. We will carry the books forward as our offering during the Children’s Christmas Eve Service. (Please leave the book unwrapped.)
We suggest supporting either the independent children’s bookstore “Once Upon A Time” in Montrose (located at 2207 Honolulu Avenue, La Crescenta-Montrose, CA 91020 – Phone: (818) 248-9668) or Vroman’s at 695 E. Colorado Boulevard Pasadena, CA 91101 - Phone: (626) 449-5320. If you would like to shop using Amazon.com, we have created a “Wish List.” Go to www.amazon.com, and click on “Wish List” at the far right. Navigate to “Find a Wish List or Registry” in the drop down menu. Enter “Global Hands of Hope Uganda” and you will see a wish list entitled Christmas 2014. If you need help with Amazon, contact Kelly at kellylcr@gmail.com or 626-665-6142.
On December 28th, Tracy Gaestel will fly to Uganda to deliver the books to an impoverished Christian School called Suubi Children’s Center. She will offer a teaching seminar to the teachers at Suubi (teachers need only a High School diploma to teach in Uganda). The seminar will train the teachers on using children’s literature in the classroom, and will include both instruction and hands-on training. Tracy will leave the books for them to use in the coming year.
This is the Outreach Committee’s first International venture, and we are nervous and excited. The book titles have been individually selected as resources that will be good for the teachers and the students at the school. We are fortunate that Tracy will be able to provide us with a first-hand report about the school and what they are doing. The director of the school knew Tracy’s siblings and wanted Tracy to come to present to the teachers at Suubi. It seemed natural for us to send books for them to use.
Suubi has been highly successful in teaching the children in the village of Bukkeka. You can read all about the organization and their work at www.globalhandsofhope.com
Have we abandoned Hillsides? No. Many people from the Los Angeles community donate to ensure the children at Hillsides have a Merry Christmas. When we started, Hillsides had a much smaller annual budget than it does now. At this point, they have great capacity to raise the funds they need for children’s presents throughout the year.
Please contact Tracy is you have any questions. Thank you for supporting education in Africa!
Christmas Flowers and Decorations for the Church
Thank you to everyone who signed up to donate for Christmas Flowers and Decorations for the Church. There are still opportunities open for people to donate flowers for a memorial or a thank offering.
We still need:
Poinsettias $10.00 each. Need as many as we can get
We’ll have some pictures so everyone can see what they are donating.
Along with the Sign Up there will be a place to write your memorial or offering. All those will be acknowledged in the Christmas bulletins.
Emmaus Road Monday, December 8, 7:00 p.m.
Emmaus Road shifts gears and begins it’s traditional reflections on Advent. We will be reading selections from the Advent anthology Watch For the Light, something we’ve been doing for many years. The readings from the anthology will be selected by different participants. The readings will be available on the table outside Church on Sundays.
Feel free to join us. The readings are not sequential so you are more than welcome to come to any or all of the Emmaus Road gatherings
Feel free to read with us. If you are not able to join us, please feel free to pick the readings at Church and read them for yourself as a way to move through Advent and prepare for Christmas.
The readings for the First Monday in Advent will be: To Be A Virgin by Loretta Ross-Gatta, Christmas Joy: by Emmy Arnold, and The God We Hardly Knew, by William Willimon
Christmas Services At Church of the Angels
Wednesday December 24: Christmas Eve
4:30 p.m. Children’s Christmas Eve Liturgy
10:00 p.m. Midnight Mass