Church Events December 4

Advent Lessons & Carols Noon & 7:00 PM

December 8 Vivaldi’s Gloria 5:30 PM

December 11 Advent Lessons & Carols Noon & 7:00 PM

December 14 Christmas Board Game Party 6:30 PM

December 15 A Lutheran Witness on Love and Marriage 11:00 AM

December 15 Lunch and Caroling Noon & 7:00 PM

December 18 Advent Lessons & Carols Noon & 7:00 PM

December 24 Christmas Worship Services 4:30 PM & 7:30 PM

Advent Adventures

DECEMBER 2019 | ADVENT LUTHERAN CHURCH |

WWW.ADVENT-LUTHERAN.ORG

Pastor’s Pen By Pastor Anita R. Warner

Christmas carols, Advent wreaths, Christmas trees, worship with candlelight, and ginger cookies—whether they are family or Church customs, the many traditions associated with the Advent and Christmas seasons make this a special time of the year.

One of these ancient traditions is the O Antiphons: seven responses, or

antiphons, that are sung or recited to introduce the canticle of Mary (the Magnificat) at evening prayer from December 17 to December 23, the octave before Christmas. These antiphons are based on Isaiah’s prophecies and refer to the different ancient titles given to the Messiah:

O Sapientia (O Wisdom) See Isaiah 11:2–3; 28:29. O Adonai (O Lord) See Isaiah 11:4–5; 33:22. O Radix Jesse (O Root of Jesse) See Isaiah 1:1; 11:10. O Clavis David (O Key of David) See Isaiah 9:6; 22:22. O Oriens (O Rising Sun) See Isaiah 9:1. O Rex Gentium (O King of the Nations) See Isaiah 9:5; 2:4. O Emmanuel (God with us) See Isaiah 7:14.

These prayers, and this season, give voice to our human condition of longing, waiting, and restlessness. These prayers call us away from busyness and distraction to look for the coming of the Messiah, the Christ. These prayers invite us into solidarity with the places crying out for salvation in our own hurting world and lives, asking God to send Christ to come and save us.

This year in our congregation, we will have a season of Advent Lessons and Carols, based on the O Antiphons. The first three Wednesdays in December, we will gather for a simple service of scripture readings, songs, silence, and prayer. These services will be offered at 12:00 noon and at 7:00 PM. These six services (2 each Wednesday), which invite us to pause and pray and feel and process any emotion we carry, will take the place of the Service of the Longest Night (Blue Christmas).

We can bring these O Antiphons into our own prayers, as simple reminders throughout the day of the one whose coming we are joyfully expecting, as introductions to our own prayers of praise of Jesus, or as words of thanksgiving for God’s faithfulness throughout the ages and our lives.

Regardless of how you incorporate these ancient words into your Advent and Christmas prayer life, let them speak to you, with you, and through you as you pray for the life of the world.

Christ’s coming among us is that for which we long, a promise from God fulfilled, bringing a new dawn into a weary world lost in the night. Christ comes to all. Christ comes for you, as you are. I wish you Advent, Christmas and Epiphany seasons marked by hope, peace, joy and love.

Staff

Pastor

Rev. Anita R. Warner

pastor@advent-lutheran.org

Pastoral intern

Brandon Peck

vicar@advent-lutheran.org

Parish Associate

Rev. Lee Tyler

revtyler677@gmail.com

Director of Music & Worship Arts

Kyle Jones

kyle.jones@advent-lutheran.org

Admin/Ops

Sherry Quick

office@advent-lutheran.org

Communications Specialist

Eileen Arellano

eileen.arellano@advent-lutheran.org

Mailing Address

P.O. Box 607

Morgan Hill, CA 95038

Advent Lutheran Church

(408) 779-3551

office@advent-lutheran.org

www.advent-lutheran.org

Worship: Sunday 9:30 AM

Physical Address

16870 Murphy Avenue

Morgan Hill, CA 95037

The Spiritual Discipline of Gratitude

By Reverend Lee Tyler

Recently I received a note from my high school

boyfriend. He told me that he and his wife were

practicing the spiritual discipline of gratitude.

The note continued with him expressing his

gratitude for me as his first love. Needless to

say, I was reduced to tears, because we have

been friends for over 60 years, but I never knew

how I had impacted his life. Because of this

note, I decided to take a deeper look at gratitude.

Words of gratitude are part of the liturgy of

worship. We give thanks to God for God’s

abundant love. We give thanks for God’s grace.

We give thanks for family and friends. Gratitude

is a feeling of appreciation, and a way of

strengthening relationships. Gratitude is good

for us, good for our health and well-being.

(Gratitude is an affirmation of what is good and

in the world, which recognizes a source outside

of self.) Gratitude is woven into who we are as

human beings.

Scientific studies on gratitude have found the

benefits of gratitude to be better physical health

and psychological health. The studies included

keeping a gratitude journal or writing letters of

gratitude. The subjects reported increased

happiness and decreased materialism.

As a spiritual practice, gratitude helps us to

realign with God, because gratitude begets

humility, which begets God’s grace. The

pathway of gratitude is humility and grace in

which we experience the presence and power of

God. Yet, Christian gratitude is not about

“turning lemons into lemonade” or smiling

through the pain pretending everything is fine.

Jesus came not only to suffer for us, but also to

suffer with us by trusting in God’s redeeming

grace. Thus, gratitude becomes the power to

hope. Practicing gratitude is an everyday

treasure hunt.

To Advent with Gratitude

By Vicar Brandon Peck

It has been nearly three months since my

installation as vicar at Advent, and what a

welcoming community you are! I want to take

this opportunity to explain a little bit about how I

got to Advent and where this year fits into my

overall training as a potential word and

sacrament minister in the ELCA. I also have a

brief reflection on my experience thus far.

In 2016, I started a four-year-long Master of

Divinity degree program at Pacific Lutheran

Theological Seminary in Berkeley. The first

three years of this program consists of both

coursework and contextual education in various

congregations. These three years of study

culminate in a 12-month internship, which is

intended to be an opportunity to dive further into

various areas of ministry. During the internship

year, I have a lay committee, which along with

Pastor Anita helps to evaluate my time in the

congregation. Pending the completion of my

time at Advent on August 31, 2020, and if the

ELCA feels so called to confirm my approval, I

will be eligible for a first call. My time at Advent

has already been deeply formational, and all of

you are a part of this mutual experience of

learning and growth, and for that I am truly

grateful.

Grateful...a word I’ve been hearing a lot this

month, and naturally so with Thanksgiving on

the minds of many. One of the historical

Christian prayer practices that has always

resonated with me is the Examen prayer from the

Catholic, specifically Jesuit, tradition. It is a

prayer that emphasizes gratitude as one reflects

on the events of the day or a period of time,

paying particular attention to the consolations and

desolations, and God’s movement in one’s life.

Now that I’ve had some time to get settled in this

community, I’d like to offer a brief meditation, reflecting

on my experiences so far, while giving a nod to the Jesuit

spirituality. For the warm welcome of the people of

Advent Lutheran Church, I am grateful. I give thanks for

both affirmation and constructive criticism, for the

willingness to learn and grow together. I am grateful for

the witness to the gospel, and moments of true confession

and absolution. What a gift! I thank God for the sacred

presence in all our relationships together the last three

months.

Continued things like read a budget and help teach

confirmation. Your patience and forgiveness is

life-giving to me.

Reflecting on moments of gratitude as well as the

various experiences we’ve had together, and in

my confession, I hold tightly to the assurance

that God is with us in our time together. I want to

close this Examen with a look to the future. We

are on the cusp of Advent and Christmas. I

couldn’t be happier about spending this time of

preparation with you.

As we think about decorating the church and

spending time together, I also invite you to a

Christmas board game party at the house of

David and Valerie Chambliss, on behalf of the

intern lay committee. The festivities are

scheduled for 14 December starting at 6:30 PM.

Children welcome! Please let Valerie Chambliss

know if you plan on attending, and bring your

favorite board game and an appetizer or dessert.

Valerie can also get you directions to her home.

David and I received a wonderful welcome party

after my installation. Thank you to the lay

committee! I have had the privilege of visiting

with parishioners one-on-one and have had many

wonderful and meaningful conversations. I have

preached, heard Pastor Anita preach, and have

experienced the witness to grace from many of

you day in and day out. We partied together at

the Neighborhood Block Party, and we’ve

mourned and remembered together on All Saints’

Sunday. God was in both of those experiences.

I also want to take this time to ask for your

forgiveness. In the adjustment out of the

seminary to parish life, there may have been

instances of emails taking too long to get

responses on my part. There have been a few

miscommunications about fika schedule at the

coffee shop, times when I wasn’t there and some

of you showed up due to changes not getting

communicated widely enough. Some of you have

witnessed me stumble around as I try to do new

What: Christmas Board Game Party

When: December 14, 6:30 PM

Where: David & Valerie Chambliss’ House

RSVP: vjchambliss@gmail.com

What: Fika with the Vicar

When: Mondays 2-5 PM & Thursdays 9-12 AM

Where: Coffee Guys, 50 E. 3rd St.,

Come as you are able!

By Kyle Jones

I was introduced to the Christmas Service of

Lessons and Carols in high school. It quickly

became a favorite service and I loved how it

framed the liturgical year with the Tenebrae

service, like bookends. My appreciation of this

one hundred-year-old tradition only deepened

during my undergraduate years. I found its

liturgical format very comforting and its changes

in musical pairing very refreshing. This was

especially so, since our campus services always

happened during the rigors of winter-term final

exams.

The format of the service is an alternation of

scripture readings and Carols that, as explained in

the service’s Bidding Prayer, “mark the tale of the

loving purposes of God from the first days of our

disobedience to the glorious Redemption brought

to us by the Holy Child.” I found it to be most

curious that the Christmas story begins in Genesis

with the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of

Eden. The explanation which resonated with me

the most was a medieval English poem written

around 1400, Adam Lay Y -Bounden. The

medieval Christian ethos was that Adam along

with other significant Old Testament figures were

bound to neither heaven or hell until Christ was

crucified, and this idea is what inspired the text of

the poem.

This peculiar text (see below) is restless and dramatic, and the idea that the whole story was

entirely contingent on a stolen apple captivated me as a teen, and I looked forward to singing it every December.

What does this mean in modern English? Adam is

bound to neither heaven or hell for so long that,

without his noticing, 4000 winters passed. And

his captivity was simply because of the apple that

he took from Eve, as found in scripture. However,

if Adam hadn’t eaten the apple, then Mary

wouldn’t have been the Queen of Heaven, and

Christ wouldn’t have been born to ultimately

redeem us all on the cross. Therefore, we can

praise God and give God thanks that the

disobedience of taking the apple is a blessed time.

The Latin refrain ‘Deo Gratias’ or ‘Thanks be to

God’ is used to end the poem.

Often God’s will is made known to us and we

cannot receive it for any number of reasons. There

are so many examples in scripture where God

reaches out and the person is reluctant/fearful to

listen and respond with praise and gratitude. In

the Christmas story, there are many examples of

this fear dissipating into rejoicing. Joseph’s first

inclination, upon hearing that his espoused, Mary,

was with child from the Holy Spirit, was to

divorce her in secret. An angel appears to him

with the words, “Do not fear.” Joseph embraces

his wife and trusts in God’s plan. Mary’s

Magnificat in the Gospel of Luke certainly

provides us with a wonderful example of

responding with praise and rejoicing. God, the

Master Reframer, always finds a way to create

hope, peace, joy and love out of our fears and

brokenness. We simply must be willing to

receive God’s unconditional love with a confident

Adam lay y-bounden, Bounden in a bond;

Four thousand winter, Thought he not too long. And all was for an apple,

An apple that he took. As clerkes finden,

Written in their book.

Ne had the apple taken been, The apple taken been,

Ne had never our ladie, A-been heav'ne queen.

Blessed be the time That apple taken was,

Therefore we moun singen: Deo gratias!

From Darkness to Light (From Fears into Blessings)

From Darkness to Light (From Fears into Blessings)

faith and not an anxious fear. A friend in Florida

would frequently remind me, “There’s no sense in

praying if you’re worrying, and there’s no sense if

worrying if you’re praying.”

Last year, our music ministry presented Dan Forrest’s LUX: The Dawn from on High. This

exploration of Light is as figurative as it literal. The central movement, representing the Sun or

“Son,” is one of an unconditional love. A simple, but profound poem is set for voices only creating a very intimate and personal expression.

to embrace what the Lord had made known to them.

There are many psalms about having no fear.

Psalms/Music are powerful spiritual resources to

employ when responding to the crippling fears we

feel when faced with life’s difficulties. They en-

courage us to pray to God, praise God, trust in

God, hope in God, rejoice in God, give thanks to

God. For me, music is a sung prayer that helps me

with questions such as:

What difficulty might I be facing? What fears do these challenges evoke? How can God help turn my fears into blessings? What will be my song of praise and thanksgiving?

A musical example which has comforted and sustained me in times of fear is Johannes Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem. It is truly a requiem for the living. The texts Brahms chooses for the second movement evoke as-surance and are as follows: 1 Peter 1:24 For all flesh is as grass, and

all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower fall away.

James 5:7 Be patient therefore, dear brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, and has long pa-tience for it, until he receives the early and latter rain.

1 Peter 1:25 But the word of the Lord en-dures for ever.

Isaiah 35:10 And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with shouts of praise; everlast-ing joy will crown their heads: they will embrace joy and glad-ness, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God!

The literary device of allegory beautifully conveys the gift of unconditional love. The movement that

follows is an exciting and even boisterous expres-sion of praise and thanksgiving, “Gloria in Excel-sis Deo!”

On Sunday, December 8 at 5:30 PM, Advent’s mu-

sic ministry will once again collaborate with stu-dents and faculty from Valley Christian to present Vivaldi’s Gloria.. “Gloria in Excelsis Deo” is the

hymn of the angels as heard by the shepherds. These shepherds were simple folk who I imagine

are accustomed to a daily routine, they know what to expect, and know how to be prepared. That comfort of familiarity is suddenly interrupted by the unexpected. An angel of the Lord appeared to

them, resplendent with all God’s glory and they were happy? Joyful? No, they were terrified. The angel tells them “Do not be afraid. For I bring you

good news of great joy for all.” Then a multitude of heavenly host appear and praise God with “Gloria!” The shepherds then choose to leave be-

hind the familiar and responded with joy and haste

Even After All this time, The Sun never says to the Earth, ‘You owe me.’ Look What happens With a Love like that. It lights the whole sky. - Hafiz

Reconciling in Christ Together By Kris Andry

On Sunday, November 17, the congregation voted to approve a revision of the Core Values that was created four years ago by Advent’s Visioning group. The Core Values was updated to include a Bible verse and to welcome people to worship with us who might need to know that they are expressly valued and wanted by our church community, as Jesus commanded us when he said to “love one another.” The full text of the revision is listed below.

Reconciling Works (RW), an independent Lutheran organization headquartered in Minnesota, oversees the Reconciling in Christ (RIC) designation awarded to churches in the USA and Canada. Being listed as an RIC church means we can be searched on the Reconciling Works website with details about our LGBTQIA (lesbian gay bisexual transgender queer intersexed allies) makeup. Information such as the leadership at church and the content of the sermons is covered on the RW church profile. Personally, when my family moved here 6 years ago, RW was the first place I went to find a church. It was very helpful to know where we would blend in and where we wouldn’t. The RIC process at Advent began, really, as the visioning process made clear what our values are; and was deepened when we had an anti-racism workshop two years ago. It had been on the “to do” list for quite some time when we finally decided at our council retreat in February 2019 that the time had come. It was time to find out if Advent was ready to invite the LGBTQIA community to openly worship at Advent Lutheran. Pete McElheny and I co-chaired the committee. The process began with learning more about RIC. I attended a leadership workshop led by Reconciling Works, and Pete and I fleshed out the committee over the next several months. We were thrilled to recruit Kathy & Nace Panzica, John & Kathy Hopkins, Jacqui Kanode, Janel Jannusch, Chris Paulsen, and initially

George Crowe. George eventually had to leave the committee due to time constraints. There were some who were asked to be on the committee who turned us down due to fear of highlighting their “otherness” or that of a loved one. Of course we completely supported and respected their identity and privacy. Pastor Anita was a great support, educator and friend to the cause; but not a committee member, as it was important that she be available to help answer questions and give guidance to church members during the process. We had our first meeting in February of this year and figured out that the best and most direct way of contacting everyone at Advent was to have a RIC table in the (lobby/gathering area) frequently over the next several months. A letter went out to all of Advent’s members outlining the process. We had several open question-and-answer meetings after church in order to address concerns from our Advent family. The meetings were well-received and gave us good insight as to how everyone was feeling about this journey. In July, the committee drafted a revision of the Core Values in order to satisfy the requirements for being a RIC church. The next step for the congregation was to edit the committee’s draft. Over three Sundays in September, we had an open forum after worship in Berkland Hall with the congregation to figure out what we wanted it to say. Sometimes it was fun and easy, correcting grammar and choosing word usage; and sometimes we had to leave and mull things over for a week to really figure out how we wanted to say something. The committee led the discussions but it was a very democratic and conversational process. It got a bit “heavy” emotionally sometimes for some of us. I think I needed a nap after that second meeting! But in the end we had a fantastic statement that made it clear that we welcome all to worship with us. The statement was displayed on the wall under the original Core Values during October and November until the vote. Now that it has passed the vote, we have notified RW and started the process to be listed on their website. They will send us a certificate to display and a packet of information

soon. Ashlei Cramer with RW said they have been receiving a lot of new congregations in the past few weeks. There must be something in the air! This was a labor of love for the whole congregation. The committee put so much time, effort, compassion and consideration into every step. It was very important to us to be available and approachable. We wanted to learn as much as we wanted to lead. We tried to have a rough draft that included not only members of the LGBTQIA community, but anyone else we thought would need to be welcomed in order to feel safe. Then taking it to the congregation required quite a few of you to question what you really felt was right and what you felt the Holy Spirit was guiding you to do. We consulted the Bible, learned more about the teachings of Paul and others, studied the words of Jesus, and prayed to God for wisdom. This was not an easy process for many people and we’re very sad to have lost any who did not feel like this was a Christian journey they could support. Pastor Anita had a tough job in trying to educate and spread Jesus’ new commandment while also comforting those who suddenly felt lost on their own spiritual path. To everyone who struggled or is still struggling with this journey, know that you still have a home at Advent and friends who want to be part of your “village” as you work through your feelings. We can pray for each other as we take this next step together. In this season of thankfulness (shouldn’t every season be about that?!), I would like to acknowledge the very hard work, love and support from everyone on the committee, and the wonderful show of support we received from so many people in the congregation. On Sunday, vote day, I had barely slept. I teared up a couple of times during church because it was all very real all of a sudden. This was the day that the congregation was voting whether or not to welcome families like mine into the fold. Really, it was a vote over whether or not I could continue to feel welcome. A myriad of feelings rushed through me when we heard the vote had passed. I’m a task-oriented person but I forced myself not to go straight to the computer to try to fill out the form or consult Reconciling Works. I took the day just to be happy and feel the love from my Advent family. Jesus’ new commandment filled the hearts of our congregation. It was a good day.

A Lutheran Witness on Love & Marriage

December 15, 11:00 AM

Following our Reconciling in Christ affirmation of welcome this November, we will have a conversation led by Vicar Brandon and Pastor Anita on how our welcome might be extended to include marriage. The resources of our Lutheran history and theology can be brought to bear on contemporary concerns around marriage. All are welcome in this conversation.

Advent Lessons & Carols

December 24 4:30 P.M. & 7:30 PM

New this year, we will have a simple service of lessons and carols on Wednesdays at two different times, Noon and 7:00 PM. These services, less than 30 minutes in length, will include prayer, scripture readings and carols based on the O Antiphons, and silence. All are welcome.

Christmas Eve Worship

Christ is born among us! The 4:30 PM worship service will include a sermon message, candlelight, carols, a puppet show, and communion. The 7:30 PM service will include carols, a sermon message, choir, candlelight and communion.

December 4, 11 & 18 Noon and 7:00 PM

Advent Lutheran Church

P.O. Box 607

Morgan Hill, CA 95038

408-779-3551

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED