Happy New Year

     December 3rd is the day the Church starts a New Year, and it is a day of great joy and anticipation. This is the first day of Advent, a season of waiting and hoping– looking to toward the Manger, awaiting the celebration of the birth of the Christ Child!
     When this new Church Year starts, what might you do to mark the occasion? Are you interested in starting a new spiritual discipline? Or, are you ready to make a renewed commitment to participating in worship and Sunday School more often? I hope you’ll consider making some sort of New Year Resolution for your spiritual life, starting on December 3, 2017. Doing so will help you connect more deeply to the God who loves you more than you could ever know. And, being more connected to God brings a joy in life that is often difficult to describe.
     Here are just a few possible ways you might resolve to be more deeply connected to God. You may think of your own, instead. You can do more than one if you’d like. But, the most important thing (beyond trying at least one of these!) is to commit only to a reasonable amount of change. You don’t want your church-related New Year’s Resolution to go the way of most people’s resolutions...nowhere.

Read the whole book of Mark now, and then read the upcoming readings for each week in worship ahead of time. We will be reading from Mark for the majority of this year, and it is the shortest gospel. The readings for the following week can be found in your worship bulletin. If you want to be able to look up the readings yourself,
click here*. On this resource page, you’ll even find suggested readings for each day!

      Commit to worshiping at least one more week per month than you currently do now.
     
      Commit to attending Sunday School at least one more week per month than you currently do now.

      Commit to growing your financial generosity towards the church by 1-3% of your weekly or monthly wages.
      If it would be helpful for you, know that signing up for electronic giving is an option and it helps many people 
      stay on track.

      Commit to intentional service towards others at least once per month or more. Feeding Lents is
      a great place to start off!

      Commit to praying daily for others. You can use our congregation’s prayer list (found in the bulletin) if you
      would find that helpful.
 
      Explore and try a new prayer practice. Some meaningful practices include Centering Prayer, Lectio Divina,
      Prayer Labyrinths (either finger or full-sized), or even praying while doing something else that grounds you
      (like coloring, painting, knitting or walking.)

You might have other ideas. Get creative! If you want some support from me, or if you have questions
about how to get started, just reach out...I’d be happy to walk with you!

With Hope and Gratitude,
Pastor Lorin
*If you are reading the print version, here is the web address for the weekly readings resource:
http://www.elca.org/Our-Work/Congregations-and-Synods/Worship/Lectionary/YearB