Presbyterians for Earth Care Nov. 30th Advent Devotion

November 30^th

Romans 15:4-13

Natalie Moon-Wainwright

This passage talks about the steadfast endurance of God. The end of the passage refers to the root of Jesse. I love The Message translation of these verses taken from Isaiah:

There’s the root of our ancestor Jesse,

    breaking through the earth and growing tree tall,

Tall enough for everyone everywhere to see and take hope!

Oh! May the God of green hope fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with hope!

When I was young, choosing our family Christmas tree was often a family outing to a tree farm. When we moved to the Sierra Foothills of California, I remember choosing a tree from our 130 acres of woods.

One year, my parents were combing the property looking for a tree. They went in separate directions and came back with the same thought: a manzanita tree would make a perfect Christmas tree with its smooth red bark and spacious green branches. Indeed, it was beautiful with all the lights and generous places to hang ornaments.

It’s appropriate that we bring trees into our homes at Christmas time. Trees, especially evergreens, have been a meaningful part of our lives throughout history. They’ve symbolized everything from eternal life to protection from evil. Throughout the Bible the symbol of a tree is used as a symbol for the longed for Messiah, among other things. These days we have a wood spiral in our house that we use over and over for our holiday tree.

God is described as steadfast, like a strong tree would be, providing green hope, joy, peace. May the steadfast endurance of God be present in your home in this advent and Christmas season.

O God, remind us to honor the trees that provide shelter for so many creatures, including us. Remind us how dependent we are on trees for clean air, shade, and food. Amen.

Action: What have your traditions been around Christmas trees? How have they changed through the years? How can you honor the sacredness of trees in this season?

Your donation towards our work is needed and appreciated.  You can give online through our secure website presbyearthcare.org/giving or by mail to P.O. Box 3851, Allentown, PA 18106.

Mindy Hidenfelter

Coordinator

Presbyterians for Earth Care

www.presbyearthcare.org

Find us on Facebook
Twitter: @presbyearthcare

Instagram: @presbyearthcare

WCC NEWS: WCC invites all to World AIDS Day prayer service

On 1 December, World AIDS Day will mark more than 40 years since the first outbreak of the epidemic; however, in 2021, every two minutes, an adolescent girl or young woman (15-24 years old) acquired HIV. Participants light candles during a July 19 interfaith prayer service, held at the Roman Catholic Emmanuel Cathedral in Durban, South Africa, during the 2016 International AIDS Conference. Photo: Albin Hillert/WCC 28 November 2022 The HIV epidemic is fueled by inequalities that exclude the vulnerable communities and impede progress against AIDS. These inequalities are product of unfair societies. Working in order to eliminate them requires the full collaboration of all actors, including the faith community. The World Council of Churches, in observance of this day, invites people to pray and confirm their  commitment to a sustainable HIV response. You are invited to join the World AIDS Day prayer service in the chapel in the Ecumenical Centre. We will also remember those who died without access to timely medication and care, due to stigma and discrimination. Time: 1 December, 08:30 AM CET Join in person:  Ecumenical Centre, 150, Route de Ferney 1218 Le Grand-Saconnex, Geneva, Switzerland  Join online: Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81445670121?pwd=VStLMWdLenlmSlc0cytLZ1VGY3Urdz09 Meeting ID: 814 4567 0121 Passcode: 463859 Link to the event World AIDS Day 2022 Order of Prayer See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 352 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC acting general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, from the Orthodox Church in Romania.  Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches 150 route de Ferney Geneve 2 1211 Switzerland

2022 Advent Resources from the AMEC Publishing House

2022 Advent Resources

Advent Sermon Guide to Preaching Advent,” by Reverend James Wesley Dennis III Advent Candle Litanies “Hope: The First Sunday of Advent”   “Peace: The Second Sunday of Advent”    “Joy: The Third Sunday of Advent”   “Love: The Fourth Sunday of Advent”     Advent Media Covers Advent Image Advent Logo (png file) Advent FB Header Face Book Banner (png file) Powerpoint Front Advent Power Point Cover (png file) Powerpoint Slide  Advent Powerpoint Slide (png file) Advent   Social Media Format (png file) Advent Hope  Media Format (png file) Advent Peace  Media Format (png file)   Advent Joy   Media Format (png file) Advent Love   Media Format (png file) Advent Christ  Media Format (png file) Not on our list? Join Here The News Digest contains selected articles from the newspaper. Click below to get full access! Buy Here

Share Tweet Forward The Christian Recorder is the official newspaper of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and the oldest continuously produced publication by persons of African descent.   Bishop David R. Daniels, Jr., Chair of the General Board Commission on Publications Rev. Dr. Roderick D. Belin, President/Publisher of the AME Sunday School Union Dr. John Thomas III, Editor of The Christian Recorder Copyright ©  2022The Christian Recorder, All rights reserved.

Presbyterians for Earth Care Nov. 29th Advent Devotion

November 29^th

Isaiah 59:12-13

Collette Nies Von Hanna

Growing up in northeast Louisiana, the bayous are often lined with Bald Cypress trees with long strings of epiphytes hanging down (better known as Spanish moss). Playing on the banks of Lake Darbonne or the Ouachita River, I would jump from knee to knee, using them like pedestals, looking for tadpoles and more importantly staying clear of water moccasins. Decades later, in New Braunfels, Texas, less than a mile away is Cypress Bend Park. A park that has massive 400 year-old, Montezuma Cypress trees lining the Guadalupe River that dwarf anything, or anyone near, as they are 20 feet around. Throughout Scripture, trees are used in parables, to enclad the inside of the temple, for carving of weapons, to symbolize holy entrances, and in the crucifixion and resurrection, and so much more. Trees are mentioned in the Bible more than any other living thing, other than humans. And in Isaiah 55:13, the iconic Cypress replaces the thorns from the fall as God’s everlasting sign of salvation replacing judgment. Nature once again takes part in redemption as it also took part in the Noahic covenant. Repeatedly creation sings and claps their hands and here ushers humanity out of Babylon into divine communion. God called God’s people to turn their backs on Babylon and to so with joy and be led forth with peace. For the oldest living things on earth join in on this celebration of transformation. We know that trees communicate with all different types of species of plants, insects, and animals through mycorrhizal networks and have the ability to see through photoreceptors, so why is it sometimes difficult for humanity to imagine creation praising God? Often humanity’s worldview of the Holy Spirit and God are limited to self-centered relationships, however over and over scripture reminds us of creation taking part in the covenants of promise and redemption. And even today, communing with the majestic Cypress trees growing near the river, I am reminded that they are God’s sign that we will never be abandoned or cut off and that we may praise the Almighty together.

Action:  Spend some time listening to the sounds of a tree. Really listen. Discern different forms of wisdom in creation that God has for you.

Prayer: Creator God, as we look inward and out into the world to seek and know You, may we know the thing for which we were sent and do so in joy and peace, through your Son Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit, Amen

Your donation towards our work is needed and appreciated.  You can give online through our secure website presbyearthcare.org/giving or by mail to P.O. Box 3851, Allentown, PA 18106.

--

Mindy Hidenfelter

Coordinator

Presbyterians for Earth Care

www.presbyearthcare.org

Find us on Facebook
Twitter: @presbyearthcare

Instagram: @presbyearthcare

Presbyterians for Earth Care Nov. 28th Advent Devotion

November 28^th

Genesis 8:1-19

Robert A. Bryant

This text’s opening declaration that God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and all the domestic animals is the turning point of the entire flood story. It is among the most hopeful words of scripture. After God’s heartbroken lament over a rebellious humanity that abandoned God’s call to serve and preserve creation (Gen 2:15; 6:5-6), and after God’s terrible judgment upon sin with a flood (7:6-24), God remembers. God’s mercy triumphs over sin and judgment.

To say that God “remembered” does not mean that God had forgotten. In the Bible, God’s remembering is an expression of God’s identity and conduct as the Lord of creation who establishes life and keeps covenants. God desires that life flourish upon the earth (Gen 1:28; 8:17). Now that the world is cleansed of sin and recreated, a new beginning is at hand with Noah as a new Adam able to care for all living things and their habitats and with an earth ready for life of every kind to flourish.

            This text reminds us that the earth is not our domain; it is the Lord’s (cf. Ps 24:1). It also reminds us that God’s judgment occurs in the realm of God’s mercy. In mercy, God does not abandon humans to themselves. In mercy, God provides fellowship with God and our fellow creatures, “with birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth” (v. 17), with all the “families” of every living thing (v. 19).

 

Prayer: Dear Lord, in this Advent season of hope, enable us to hear your word to care for your world and all that is in it, so that we—like Noah and his family—may reach out our hands to all the families of your earth, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

 

Action: Bless a human and non-human neighbor today with a tangible act of care.

Your donation towards our work is needed and appreciated.  You can give online through our secure website presbyearthcare.org/giving or by mail to P.O. Box 3851, Allentown, PA 18106.

--

Mindy Hidenfelter

Coordinator

Presbyterians for Earth Care

www.presbyearthcare.org

More Light Presbyterians - A Reflection for the First Week of Advent

Throughout the Advent season, members of the MLP Board of Directors will provide weekly reflections via email and social media. We hope these words will inspire and awaken you to the hope, peace, joy, and love of this season. Today's reflection, "hope(lessness)," is provided by Avery Arden (they/ze): This first Week of Advent centers around hope. I don’t know about you, but I struggle with hope — especially after horrific, hateful events like the shooting at Club Q in Colorado. Thus I was relieved to learn a few years back that when I do experience hopelessness, I don’t need to shove that feeling aside or pretend it’s not happening. It is not sinful, or a failure of faith, to feel hopeless.   I learned this from Miguel de la Torre’s book Embracing Hopelessness, which argues that hopelessness can be a “desperation rooted in hope denied” where we have nothing left to lose and therefore we are freed to do whatever it takes to achieve justice. When things feel hopeless, when achieving justice seems impossible, de la Torre recommends an ethics para joder — the Spanish F word — an ethics that “screws with the screwers.” Basically, if we can do nothing else against unjust systems, we can become a massive thorn in their side. A person who embraces this ethics of joder “constantly disrupts the established norm, shouts from the mountaintop what is supposed to be kept silent, and audaciously refuses to stay in [their] assigned place…” Doesn’t that sound quite a bit like Jesus in his life, death, and resurrection?  This Advent, will you join me in pondering how we might mess with the powerful who maintain this mess we’re all in? And as we learn to live with the kind of hopelessness that is an urgent desperation, our hope against hope can be in the God who entered the world as an infant to teach us queer, subversive ways of achieving justice and peace for all. CLICK HERE TO VIEW AVERY'S VIDEO RECORDING OF TODAY'S REFLECTION. Make a gift to MLP!

Contact Us More Light Presbyterians hello@mlp.org