Please join us for a season of Taize Prayer on the 3rd Sunday of each month from 7-8p.m. at the Benedictine Sister’s Monastery Chapel at 840 S. Main St. in Mt. Angel.

Everyone is welcome.

Taize prayer is a contemplative experience where simple refrains are repeated to quiet the mind and heart. The ebb and flow of the music and silence is enhanced by scripture and prayer around the cross.

If you have any questions, you may call Sister Maureen at the monastery at 503.845.6141. You may also ask Phil Mullins (from SFC) about Taize prayer since he is one of the musicians who will be providing music.

UPCOMING DATES: February 15, March 15, April 19, May 17

We are looking forward to welcoming Dan and Janelle Hartley (Jim Engeman’s relatives) for a Global Outreach focus this Sunday (January 25). They will be sharing their experiences with us during the hour prior to our Meeting for Worship (9:30-10:30am) in the sanctuary. As well, a potluck lunch is planned with the Hartley’s following our meeting for worship in the fellowship hall (bring a dish to share) to enable us to ask questions and hear more about the changes that they anticipate as the new year takes shape.

On this day to remember the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., we ask you to consider pausing and personally reflecting on your life in the spirit of MLK Jr. – start by reading Psalm 139 and then ponder these queries from yesterday’s sermon, “Is Your Heart Right?”:

Lord, do you really know everything about me –
everything in the depths of my heart?

Lord, is there anywhere that I could go or anything that I could do that would cause You not to embrace me or want to guide me?

Lord, did you really know me before I was formed in my mother’s womb?

Lord, why do I not always delight in my knowledge of you?

Lord, why am I not always willing to give you my complete loyalty? Why do I lack the will to banish my wickedness, so You can live in my heart?

Lord, will you turn your searchlight on my heart?

During my sermon on “Joy” the third Sunday of Advent, I spent some time sharing the good things I saw happening at SFC. I shared how it reminded me of the interaction that took place when Mary went to visit Elizabeth. How Mary trusted Elizabeth. How she sought her out. How her questions, fears, and even the personal struggles she faced began to subside as together they worked through the realization that they both were birthing something very important. In the sermon I explained:

“Lately, I have seen this very thing happening right here at Silverton Friends Church.

• People are getting together.
• They feel safe together.
• The fears and questions have begun to subside.
• And we are seeing God birthing something among us that is not only changing our meeting/church, but out families, our community, and ultimately our world.

I went on to say,

“I am hoping this coming year, 2015, we are going to experience joy together in new and exciting ways…It is going to be good! We are going to give birth to something – because God is continuing to birth something in our lives and in this church. He is birthing His hope…He’s birthing his peace…and He is birthing His joy!”

In the same vein of Mary’s Song, The Magnificat, we as a church are proclaiming:

• Things are changing!
• God is turning things upside down!
• God is rising up in our world just like in the days of old!
• God is remembering His people!
• He is remembering the promises which he made to our ancestors.

As we continue to make the road by walking TOGETHER in 2015, let us not forget all that God has done and will be doing with and through us. Let’s acknowledge His mighty work! Let’s remember His faithfulness! And let’s look for new ways for God to birth in us His hope, peace, joy, and love in our families, in our church, and in our world! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Grace and peace, Pastor Bob+

Emmanuel – God with us. 

We hear it every year during the Christmas season. We even have a big churchy word, incarnation, to give it definition. Yet in reality, our minds can’t fully grasp the enormity of the God of the Universe coming in human form – especially as a baby.  It is much easier and acceptable to see Jesus as divine. God as a human seems at the very least awkward. The reality is that we proclaim Jesus both divine and human – a paradox of cosmic proportions.

Our own human nature seems to have very little to do with being divine, until you start thinking about it. You and I were made in the image of God. We are to be filled with God’s own Spirit, so that others will recognize His wonderful attributes and sense His presence in our lives.

Maybe for us it should read, Emmanuel – God in us.

We Quakers identify this as the “Light Within.”  Literally, this divine Light Is incarnated in and through our lives. It represents both the living Jesus residing in our hearts and the grace of God extended to us and our neighbor. Jesus’ physical presence may not be with us anymore, but now we are to live the incarnation by being the hands and feet of Jesus to our world.

This Christmas as we gather with neighbors, friends, and relatives, I pray we will look for Christ to come not just in a manger, or in a special gift or story, but in and through each other.  God’s Light is in us – now let’s go share that Light with the world!

Merry Christmas,  Pastor Bob+

SCHEDULE OF ADVENT THEMES, COMMUNITY NEEDS & EVENTS

Each week in Advent, Silverton Friends Church likes to highlight some of the opportunities we have to worship, meet the needs of our community, and get connected and involved. The “themes” listed are for that week of Advent’s Sunday service. “Community Needs” will be gathered on Sunday mornings on a special table in the back of the sanctuary. Each week we will focus on a different Silverton ministry or agency’s need. The events for each week are listed so that you can mark them on your calendar and plan to join us!  Let’s make this an Advent of giving, serving, and preparing!

Advent Week 1: November 30 – December 6
Theme: HOPE: John the Baptist (Luke 1:5-25)

Community Need: INDIVIDUAL SNACK PACKS, JUICE BOXES, FIGARO’S GIFT CARDS
Supports: Young Life Clubs

Nov. 30 – Advent Soup Supper & Craft @ SFC 5:30pm
Dec. 5 – Silverton Tree Lighting – Town Square Park 7-9pm
Dec. 6 – Mentor/Mentee Shopping Trip 9:30am-1:30pm
_______________________________________

Advent Week 2: December 7 – 13
Theme: PEACE: Mary & the Angel (Luke 1:26-38)

Community Need: SOCKS, GLOVES, PEANUT BUTTER, TUNA, DUCT TAPE, TARPS, BATTERIES
Supports: Mission of Hope

Dec. 11 – SCS Christmas Program 6:30pm
Dec. 12 – Date Night Childcare 6pm
_______________________________________

Advent Week 3: December 14 – 20
Theme: JOY: Elizabeth & Mary’s Song (Luke 1:39-56)

Community Need: PLAIN COLOR (NO LOGOS) SWEAT SHIRTS & PANTS, LEGGINGS, HATS
Supports: Silverton High School Homeless Outreach

Dec. 17 – Community Dinner 4:30 — 7pm
______________________________________

Advent Week 4: December 21 – 27
Theme: LOVE: Zechariah (Luke 1:57-80)

Community Need: TUNA, SOUP, CEREAL, & TOILETRIES
Supports: Silverton Area Community Aid (SACA)

Dec. 21 Birthday Cake for Jesus – Hospitality Time 10:15am
Dec. 22 Children’s Movie & Popcorn (Gym) 10am -12noon

Dec. 24 Family Candlelight Christmas Eve 5 pm

Dear Silverton Friends family,

On the first and third Sundays of each month you have an opportunity at SFC to share a story of how you saw God working in your life. Your story may be of a time when you saw a prayer answered concerning God’s provision, protection, healing, comfort, compassion, or redemption. It may be a moment when he revealed His deep love for you, when your faith was tested, a trial, a lesson learned, an opportunity to witness to someone, or your own  personal testimony.

Your story may tell of God’s encouragement that came at the exact moment it was needed. There may be a time when you experienced a vision, an angel, His handiwork in nature, a divine appointment, a sign, the leading of the Holy Spirit, His wonderful sense of humor, or his guidance through His Word. It may even be a work of art or a song you were led by the Spirit to compose.

It will be a great blessing to hear your story, so that we may be encouraged by how God is revealing Himself in and through His people at Silverton Friends. In November, there are two opportunities to share your God story and then a break, after which they will resume in February. Please email your God story to the correct email address (kimberlysjoy@yahoo.com) with “SFC God Story” as the subject title. If you’d prefer to discuss your story, I’d love to hear from you and visit over a cup of coffee.

Warmest Regards, Kim Shaw

SFC Meeting for Study

Advent 2014 – with Sue Henry (Jr.)

In this stunning four-session group study. Ann Voskamp draws viewers deep into scripture as she explores and illuminates the magnificence of God’s Word, unfurling the greatest love story ever told – God’s ardent and restless pursuit of us.

Join SFC as we wait in wonder for the arrival of King Jesus together!

November 30, 5:30 p.m.

SPECIAL KICK-OFF TO ADVENT EVENT @ SFC

Children and adults are welcome!

Advent Soup Supper and Craft Evening & Session 1: Look…for Hope.

Session 2: Dec. 7 @ 9:30am – Linger…for Peace

Session 3: Dec. 14 @ 9:30am – Laugh…for Joy

Session 4: Dec. 21 @ 9:30am – Love…for Always

It is important for participants on this Advent journey to order either:

1) The adult devotional book, The Greatest Gift: Unwrapping the Full Love Story of Christmas

or

2) The family/children’s version, Unwrapping the Greatest Gift: A Family Celebration of Christmas

so you can complete the daily Advent readings at home in preparation for our Sunday times together.

How to order: Please sign up on the list in the sanctuary on Sunday morning, email or call Sue Henry @ henrymom2012@gmail.com, (503.509.0225), or email or call the church office so we can order a copy of the devotional of your choice by November 16 at the least.