Advent…that time of waiting with preparation and hope…

It seems the world around us is already celebrating Christmas. And perhaps you are too. It’s hard not to get caught up in it all when it’s all around. But there’s a poem I love. If you just glance at the title you’d wonder what in the world it has to do with Advent. But if you go further and read each line and stanza, you’ll find that the words give perfect advice for creating time and space in our lives for Advent. This Advent may you find time sacred space and time to “breathe with unconditional breath.” May you find peace in anticipating the child in the manger and the love that he brings.

How to Be a Poet by Wendell Berry

i

Make a place to sit down.

Sit down. Be quiet.

You must depend upon

affection, reading, knowledge,

skill—more of each

than you have—inspiration,

work, growing older, patience,

for patience joins time

to eternity. Any readers

who like your poems,

doubt their judgment.

ii

Breathe with unconditional breath

the unconditioned air.

Shun electric wire.

Communicate slowly. Live

a three-dimensioned life;

stay away from screens.

Stay away from anything

that obscures the place it is in.

There are no unsacred places;

there are only sacred places

and desecrated places.

iii

Accept what comes from silence.

Make the best you can of it.

Of the little words that come

out of the silence, like prayers

prayed back to the one who prays,

make a poem that does not disturb

the silence from which it came.

Click on the Nativity Lutheran Church Calendar Link below if you would like an "easy-to-read" full size view of the month.

It will open a new window featuring the calendar.

Sunday, December 3 - Second Sunday in Advent

9:00 AM - Choir practice

9:15 AM - Adult education

10:30 AM - Worship in-person and online

Assistant: Betty Long

Usher: Elaine Isakson

Reader: David Paul

Monday, December 4

4:00 - 5:30 PM - Council Meeting

7:00 PM - Men’s Alcoholics Anonymous Meeting

Tuesday, December 5

9:30 - 11:00 AM - Out of Office Hours

Dot’s, Rt 1, Lincolnville

Wednesday, December 6

7:00 PM - Advent Evening Prayer via zoom

Thursday, December 7

8:00 AM - Morning Prayer, via Zoom

Sunday, December 10 - Third Sunday in Advent

9:00 AM - Choir practice

9:00 AM - Adult education

10:30 AM - Worship in-person and online

Assistant: Kim Murphy

Usher: Carolyn Ramm

Reader: Fred Walker

Monday, December 11

7:00 PM - Men’s Alcoholics Anonymous Meeting

Tuesday, December 12

9:30 - 11:00 AM - Out of Office Hours

FlipSide Coffee, Main St, Thomaston

Wednesday, December 13

7:00 PM - Advent Evening Prayer via zoom

Thursday, December 14

8:00 AM - Morning Prayer, via Zoom

Saturday, December 16

4:30 PM - Barroom Messiah at Bistro La Cave, Camden

Rehearsal at 2:30 PM

Sunday, December 17 - Fourth Sunday in Advent

9:00 AM - Choir practice

9:00 AM - Adult education

10:30 AM - Worship in-person and online

Assistant: Fred Walker

Usher: Carol Brazier

Reader: Carolyn Ramm

Monday, December 18

7:00 PM - Men’s Alcoholics Anonymous Meeting

Tuesday, December 19

9:30 - 11:00 AM - Out of Office Hours

Atlantic Baking Company, Main St, Rockland

Wednesday, December 20

7:00 PM - Advent Evening Prayer via zoom

Thursday, December 21

8:00 AM - Morning Prayer, via Zoom

Sunday, December 24 - Christmas Eve

5:00 PM - Special Christmas Music

5:30 PM - Christmas Eve Worship in-person and online

Assistant: Ted Long

Usher: Bruce Cobb

Reader: Ollie Jones

Monday, December 25 - Christmas Day

Tuesday, December 26

No Out of Office Hours

Wed, December 27 - Friday, Dec. 29

Building Rental for Cox/Mendez wedding

Sunday, December 31 - Christmas Lessons and Carols

10:30 AM - Worship in-person and online

Assistant: Kim Murphy

Usher: Mimi Moore

Reader: Ted Long

Month of December

Altar Care: Jennie Dynesius

Flower Arranger: Betty Long

Acolyte: Jennie Dynesius

Note For midweek prayer via zoom - there is a separate Zoom link.

Email Pastor at office@nativityrockport.org if you would like the zoom link. Please also email Pastor if you do not have the Sunday link.

Please join us via Zoom (only) at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesdays for Advent Vespers. We began on November 29th and will continue through December on Wednesday the 6th, 13th, and 20th. We’ll once again be using "Holden Evening Prayer" by Marty Haugen (composer of the "Now the Feast" liturgy we use on Sundays in the summer).

This Advent, our services will incorporate themes of Refugia. Our musical leaders are Kim Murphy, Betty and Ted Long, Fred Walker, and vocal guest Gwen Sauvage, with special musicians Hans Akselsen II (Kristian), Ollie Jones, Ann Walker, Barbara Alberda, Carolyn Ramm, and Heidi Anderson.

Pastor Anderson will lead spoken sections of the service and members of our BTS Church Leadership Team will present short personal reflections. Pastor Anderson and Hans Akselsen did the video and sound mixing.

The “Zoom info” will remain the same for the four services and will be sent weekly via our regular email list. Copies of the service booklet were distributed to each Nativity household previously. If you did not receive one, or did not save yours (or saved it in a very safe place now unknown to you) check your email for how to get a copy. If you are not on our weekly email list and would like the Zoom info for these services please email offic@nativityrockport.org.

Holden Evening Prayer Text and music by Marty Haugen, b. 1950. Copyright © 1990 by G.I.A. Publications, Inc. 7404 So. Mason Ave., Chicago, IL 60638. International Copyright Secured. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted and streamed under license from ONE LICENSE, License #A-727691

Please help us decorate our worship space for Christmas Eve by donating a poinsettia. We will once again get our flowers from Longfellows Greenhouse for high quality plants.

The poinsettias will be available in two sizes: 6 1/2 inch plants are $14 each and 8 inch plants are $27 each. You will be able to take your poinsettias home with you following our Christmas Eve service.

Please sign up in the narthex by December 10 or call/email the church office.

The Mitten Tree is up! “What does that mean?” a new person or visitor might ask.

For many years Nativity knitters, crocheters, and shoppers (with generous contributions from folks in the community and as far away as southern Massachusetts) have filled a tree with hats, mittens, scarves, and sometimes even coats for kids and youth. The project was started by Mary Ann Hawkins and her daughter Katie more than twenty years ago. For many years the items have been distributed by the Salvation Army at their annual Christmas party. Since they have “leftovers” from past years, this year we are doing a “new thing.” All the winter warming things collected will be taken to local schools to be given to kids who come to school without the things they need to keep them safe and warm.

The tree is up and already decorated with some contributions! All contributions must be received by Sunday, December 17th. Thank you for keeping kids/youth in need warm this winter!

Sunday, December 24, we will gather both at Nativity and via Zoom for the 5:30 p.m. Christmas Eve Worship Service. There will be special holiday music at 5:00 (in-person and on Zoom). The service will feature Christmas hymns, the story of Jesus' birth, a brief message, prayers and candle lighting. Please join us. Zoom info will be emailed closer to Christmas. You are welcome (and encouraged) to share the Zoom info with family and friends via email, snail mail, or in person. For security reasons please do not share on social media. If you are not on our weekly email list and would like the zoom info for this service, please email office@nativityrockport.org

Please note: there is no 10:30 AM worship on December 24.

Sunday December 31, Christmas Lessons and Carols

Sunday morning December 31 will be a Christmas Lessons and Carols service at 10:30 AM.

Join Charlie and the choir for wonderful music of the season. This service is in-person and via Zoom using the regular Sunday Zoom info.

The Theotalk discussion group will hold its second meeting of 23-24 on Wednesday, January 17 at 6:00 PM via Zoom to consider the book The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions by Marcus Borg and N.T. Wright. The book is available on Amazon and from other sources.

Both authors are acclaimed biblical scholars who were in regular conversation about the Christian faith throughout their lives, but they came to have different understandings of what the Bible tells us about Jesus – hence the “two visions.” They share these two visions in eight discussions about Jesus birth, ministry, death and resurrection, as well as the implications of his life for us.

Everyone is welcome to participate in one or more of our discussions this year. About a dozen people are currently on the Theotalk mailing list, and if you would like to be added as a possible participant contact Ted Long (longte1507@gmail.com or 717-468-6472).

What is a carbon footprint and how can eating a vegetarian meal and/or volunteering with Window Dressers help to lower it?

The term carbon footprint is a metaphor for how much our lifestyle choices impact climate change. Those lifestyle preferences include how we choose to heat our homes, travel, eat, dispose of waste and much more. The footprint is calculated by adding up the pounds of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere as a result of our choices – including the release of gases that went into creating the items we consume. Every person, every organization, every process and every product has a carbon footprint. Carbon footprints are measured in tons of greenhouse gas. The most commonly discussed greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and hydrofluorocarbons. These gases surround the Earth like a blanket. That sounds wonderfully cozy, but when our Sun warms the Earth, heat is captured under the blanket and continues to warm our land and oceans. The blanket of gases prevents heat from escaping back into space.

Now, for the connection between vegetarian meals and your carbon footprint: livestock production produces way more greenhouse gas than vegetable production. Here is a quote from The World Counts: “Greenhouse gas emissions for different food types measured as grams of CO2-equivalents emitted per gram of protein produced.

• Beef: 62
• Pork 10
• Potato 1.7
• Wheat 1.2
• Legumes 0.2

The production of beef emits 250 times more greenhouse gas per gram of protein than legumes such as beans or peanuts. This illustrates how potent meat - especially beef - is for global warming.”

And the connection between our carbon footprint and volunteering with Window Dressers? Well, their insulating window inserts reduce the amount of fuel or electricity needed to heat our homes. Less fuel means a lower carbon footprint.

Here are a few places you might enjoy visiting:

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/small-swaps-climate-friendly-diet-significantly-reduce-carbon/story?id=104360020

https://www3.epa.gov/carbon-footprint-calculator/

https://www.theworldcounts.com/challenges/consumption/foods-and-beverages/environmental-effects-of-meat-production

I’m sharing with you as I’m learning,

Lynne Taylor for the Creation Care Team

Our December vegetarian recipes are courtesy of Betty Long and Laurie Power. (pdf files of the recipes are listed below this article)

Betty has sent two recipes:

Thomas Keller's Butternut Squash Soup with Brown Butter

Ina Garten's Crusty Baked Shells & Cauliflower

From Laurie we have the recipe for her Chile Egg Puff which you might have tasted at our Reformation Luncheon this year.

Thank you both, Betty and Laurie, for your vegetarian recipes! You are encouraging us in reducing our carbon footprints. A hard copy of each recipe is available in Nativity’s Library. The binder is labeled “Vegetarian Recipes”.

You are welcome to join Pastor Anderson on Tuesdays, 9:30 - 11:00 AM, for casual and spontaneous conversation. Come and go at whatever time works for you.

Dec 5 - Dot’s, Rt 1, Lincolnville

Dec 12 - FlipSide Coffee, Main St, Thomaston

Dec 19 - Atlantic Baking Company, Main St, Rockland

Dec 26 - No Out of Office Hours

Kathy Ash-Flashner leads Adult education and Bible Study before worship on Sundays. Adult education continues in December, each Sunday at 9:15 AM.

The Sustainability Work Group is now about half-way through the BTS project to building resilience in small New England congregations. As we noted in the October View, the project is organized around the theme of “Cultivating Refugia” in our congregations as sheltered places where religious life can flourish in difficult times to nourish new growth within and beyond our congregation.

The team has learned a great deal and deepened our understanding of how to nourish resilience, and we now want to begin sharing some of what we have learned with the congregation as a whole. To that end, we will incorporate thoughts about “Refugia Faith” into our Advent worship, and thereafter follow up with periodic reflections on these themes.

• Our Advent emphasis began last Sunday with Kim Murphy’s introduction of the Advent meditation booklet, All Creation Waits: The Advent Mystery of New Beginnings, by Gayle Boss. We hope many of you will find it a meaningful resource.

• During our Wednesday Advent services on Zoom, we will focus on several important aspects of Refugia Faith as a way to deepen our understanding of the significance of the Advent season for a resilient faith.

• Beginning in January, we will provide occasional Temple Talks about important lessons we have learned that can nourish resilience within our congregation.

In addition, we now believe we have learned enough to return to the project of looking at the practical ways we can move forward as a congregation in the years ahead. In so doing, we will highlight that our resilience as a congregation will involve both sustaining and enhancing some of the best of what we do and making changes to address new challenges, a signature learning from our Refugia project.

The Sustainability Work Group:

Pastor Anderson, Paul Hanna, Elaine Isakson, Ted Long, Kim Murphy, Marty Taylor, Ann Walker

Spend a reflective moment each day in December, as you follow the paths of our neighbors, a myriad of animals who quietly live near us, perhaps in our backyards.

"In twenty-five portraits depicting how wild animals of the northern hemisphere ingeniously adapt when darkness and cold descend, we see and hear as if for the first time the ancient wisdom of Advent: The dark is not an end but the way a new beginning comes."

On August 27th, we welcomed new and associate members to Nativity Lutheran Church. This month, we are continuing to highlight some of our new members.

Welcome to all of our new members: Annie Appleton; Aaron Cramp; Shelly Cramp; Kathy Ash-Flashner; Gretchen and Paul Hanna; Carolyn Ramm and Oliver Jones; David and Michele Paul;
Bruce and Sharon McCullough (Associates).

Shelly Cramp is a graduate of St. Joseph’s School of Nursing in 1986 and specialized in Critical Care; Oncology and Surgical Services.
She was born in Berks County, Pennsylvania and relocated to North Carolina, where she completed the last 10 years of her nursing career at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Shelly is married to her high school sweetheart, Jeff, who is also a registered nurse. They have four children and a 2 1/2-year old grandson. (Shelly is pictured above with her son Aaron)
Jeff surprised Shelly for an Anniversary trip several years ago, spending time in Asheville, North Carolina at their first bed and breakfast. This was the start of a dream come true for both of them. They are welcoming guests for their third season at the Captain Swift Inn, in Camden.

Dr. Aaron Cramp is a graduate of Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, completing his clinical studies at Purdue University.

Dr. Cramp was born in Berks County, Pennsylvania and relocated to North Carolina, where he obtained his undergraduate degree in biology and chemistry. Following his graduation from veterinary college, he moved to Maine and is currently residing with his family and three dogs, Sophie, Max, and Chloe and his cat, Pumpkin.

Dr. Cramp is excited to join the dedicated and professional team at Medomak Veterinary Services and he is extremely passionate about client education and preventative care.

Outside of work, he enjoys taking long walks with the dogs and surrounding himself with the scenic beauty of mid-coast Maine. He is an avid sports fan and you will find him cheering on the UNC Tarheels, as well as the Boilermaker’s of Purdue.

As part of the year-long Small Church Leadership Community program, 4 members of Nativity’s Sustainability Task Force attended a retreat in Pownal, Maine, where we visited the Tir na nOg farm. The farmer and minister Holly led us around to 15 different “resurrection stations” (similar to the stations of the cross), where we learned about the particular mission of healing that is happening on this farm, healing the soil, the animals, the environment, as well as the humans who dwell there. The phrase “world wide web” took on new meaning as we heard stories, writings and poems that explored the ways the many parts of our world are all connected. Being there helped us to take this in on a deeper level, as one piece of our exploration into how we as a congregation can move from being consumers into being healers in the world God has given us.

THANK YOU to all who bought food and donated money for our Thanksgiving baskets. 12

complete meals were distributed to Knox County Homeless Coalition client families and were

greatly appreciated. $160 was used to complete the shopping and at least that much will be

donated to KCHC for their continuing work.

Ann Walker

Pictured: KCHC staff person Lindsey picking up a Thanksgiving bag and turkey for a client on 11/22/2023

The Midcoast Community Band under the direction of Jo Anne Parker will be performing two holiday concerts in December. Jane Monhart, playing bassoon, is a member of the band. The first concert will be December 16th at the Odd Fellows Hall, 7 Elementary School Rd.in St. George starting at 4:00 p.m. The second concert will be on December 20th at the Thomaston Baptist Church, 212 Maine St. in Thomaston starting at 7:00 p.m.

Earlier in the month, on Saturday, December 2nd, the General Henry Knox Museum/Montpelier (20 High St., Thomaston) will be having an open house from 1-4 PM with free admission. From 2-3 PM, the Parker Quartet under the direction of Jo Anne Parker will play holiday music for visitors attending the open house. Jane is a member of the quartet which consists of soprano, alto, and tenor recorders, and bassoon.

3 - Stacey Shields

5 - Charlie Brown

6 - Jennie Dynesius

9 - Beccy Chamberlain

18 - Clair Waters

31 - Charlie Rowling

Editor's note: Did we miss your birthday? Please email your birthday date to kmusicorama@gmail.com so that we can add you to our monthly salutation.

• The Pastor’s Discretionary Fund: Please remember that an extra $5 or $10 each month may make a huge difference to a family in need! Please indicate any additional donations as "Pastor's Discretionary" when you mail in your monthly offering.
  
• Don't forget: One simple way to help care for creation is to download the weekly bulletin onto your smart phone or tablet and then bring that device to worship or use it when you zoom at home saving paper and resources. Need help figuring that out? Call Pastor for Android help or Denise Stadler for Apple help.
  
• Your aluminum pop tabs can help keep families with sick children close to each other and the care and resources they need. Look for the paper bag on the Social Ministry bulletin board in the Narthex. Place your tabs in the bag and take your container home and fill it again! The tabs are donated to the Ronald McDonald House.
  

....Medomak Valley High School for the loan of the handbells for this year! We are storing the bells for the high school AND get to use them. Win win for everyone!

Match the Person with the Interesting (unknown?) fact!

A. ....began skiing at the Snow Bowl in 1963

B. ....has ridden a cow

C. ....met their mate on match. com

D. ....likes to collect colorful stamps

E. ....works with adults with developmental disabilities

F. ....owned a sailboat

Find the answers here

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tS-9bAyYzVCbBe8EuKdFTO2CxXxwm5zLIR5tYGtgVyo/edit?usp=sharing

Connect with ELCA greater church

Read Bishop Eaton’s monthly article:

https://www.livinglutheran.org/

https://www.elca.org/Resources/Presiding-Bishop-Messages

A Note from your editor, Kim Murphy

Reminder - send articles and photos by the 20th of each month.

Email kmusicorama@gmail.com

Photos this month: Pastor Anderson, Elaine Isakson, Ann Walker, Kim Murphy, Shelly Cramp, Sue Dawson, Barbara Alberda, Hans Akselsen, Michele Paul, Background photo by Casey Horner on Unsplash, Coffeeshop Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash, Bible Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash, Poinsettia Photo by Jessica Johnston on Unsplash, Balloon Photo by Gaelle Marcel on Unsplash, Internet resources

Rev. Wendy J. Anderson

Sunday Worship (Sept -May) 10:30 AM

Summer Sunday Worship (June - August) 9:30 AM

Email: office@nativityrockport.org
Website: www.nativityrockport.org
Location: 179 Old County Rd, Rockport, ME, United States
Phone: 207-594-4665
Facebook: facebook.com/nativitylutheranchurch.rockport.maine