- St. Matthew's Nativity window: In memory of Sophia & William Hedlund

Christmas Gifts
By the Rev. Blair Pogue

I am not a person who knits, sews, or makes crafts, so it surprises me to remember that the first time I made my dad a Christmas gift on my own (not a gift made at school), it was a leather comb holder. The previous year my parents had given me a "Western" Christmas kit that included pre-cut leather pieces with holes on the sides, colored strips of plastic to lace them up, metal stamps with designs on them, and a hammer to press the stamps into the leather.

I was so excited to make that comb case for my dad! I stamped half moons and stars all over it, and then laced it together using a string of brown plastic. My dad was so enthusiastic about the comb case that I made him a leather wallet the next year (from the same kit), and yet another leather item the year after that.    As we approach Christmas I remember how wonderful it felt to make my dad something with my own two hands, to think about him as I stamped the crescent moons and stars into the strips of leather. It's easy to get pulled into the present insecurity game as we look around for gifts for friends and family. Will they like my gift? Will my gift convey how much I love them or value their friendship? This is a dangerous and ultimately unwinnable game. How could a gift ever convey our feelings for and deep appreciation of another person?

In Jesus' birth and life God gave us the ultimate gift. It is a gift we can never match or repay, a gift of pure grace and unconditional love. God sent Jesus into the world so that we would truly know what God was like - and how God desires for us to live. Jesus' birth is a gift we can only receive. Gratitude for the life and hope Jesus brings then touches every area of our life.

This Christmas, I encourage you to make time to sit in front of a manger scene - in your home or elsewhere. Think about Jesus' birth, and what his birth and life have made possible in your life, and in the lives of others. And then I encourage you to make time for a walk - in your neighborhood or another neighborhood in the Cities, perhaps a neighborhood you are concerned about. As you walk, pray for the neighborhood and the people who live there. See each person you greet and/or pass as holy, delightful to God. Every woman could be Mary, every man Joseph, and every baby Jesus. And remember that they too are part of this great and beautiful story, the story of God and God's people, the story of a people so precious to God that God was willing to send his son to them, in great vulnerability.

2015 Christmas Services at St. Matthew's
  • Christmas Eve, Thursday, December 24: 4:00pm - The Living Creche -- All ages are welcome to a relaxed Godly Play re-telling of the Christmas Story by the Rev. Blair Pogue. Children are invited to come in costume or try on one of ours!  RSVP to Terese Lewis if your children are interested in participating.
  • Christmas Eve: 10:00pm Candlelight Service with full Choir and sermon by the Rev. Blair Pogue.
  • Christmas Day: Friday, December 25, 10:30am Service, with communion and sermon by the Rev. Dwight Zscheile.

Please invite family and friends to join us for these wonderful Christmas services.
Advent Contemporary Lessons & Carols: December 20 
 
On December 20 at 5:30 p.m. we will host a candlelit service of  "Advent Lessons & Carols," a traditional Anglican service reflecting the two themes characteristic of Advent: looking back to Christ's birth and forward to his coming. St. Matthew's version of this service will begin with a meditative chant, as the darkened sanctuary is illumined by candles. Next comes the "Bidding Prayer," which seeks to prepare our hearts and minds to hear God's message and to intercede for the needs of the world. The service continues with scripture readings, interspersed with a variety of songs, both meditative and celebratory, led by our Sunday evening music ensemble.
 - Flag of Zimbabwe                                                                                                        
Zimbabwe Liturgy Begins January 10

Beginning Sunday, January 10, we will offer a Zimbabwe liturgy, using prayers and songs from Zimbabwe at our 10:30am service and continuing on January 17, 24 and 31. To celebrate and learn more about this nation, please come to our all ages gathering at 9:15am January 10 to hear a presentation on culture and history by Kennedy Nyenya and Edward Chidothe.  Following the service, stay for a festive coffee hour with food from Zimbabwe. 

Every year during Epiphany, St. Matthew's features global liturgies (a different country every year) to honor and celebrate our worldwide faith community. 

Candle
An Advent Reflection
(From Brian MacLaren's We Make the Road by Walking) 
 
On Christmas Eve, we celebrate a new beginning. We welcome the dawning of a new light....The real point of it all, according to John, was life, vitality, aliveness - and now that Jesus has come, that radiant aliveness is here to enlighten all people everywhere.
 
Some people don't see it yet...but others welcome the light. They receive it as a gift, and in that receiving, they let God's holy, radiant aliveness stream into their lives. They become portals of light in our world, and they start living as members of God's family - which means they're related to all of God's creation. That relatedness is the essence of enlightenment. 
 
What do we mean when we say Jesus is the light? ... Jesus' birth signals the beginning of the end for the dark night of fear, hostility, violence and greed that has descended on our world. Jesus' birth signals the start of a new day, a new way, a new understanding of what it means to be alive... Aliveness, he will teach, is a gift available to all by God's grace. It flows not from taking, but giving, not from fear but from faith, not from conflict but from reconciliation, not from domination but from service. It springs up from our inner-most being like a fountain of living water. This new light of aliveness and love opens us up to rethink everything - to go back and become like little children again. Then we can rediscover the world with a fresh, childlike wonder - seeing the world in a new light, the light of Christ.
Please Note: Holiday Hours in December-January
  • The St. Matthew's office will be closed December 25 - January 1.
  • There will be no Sunday School, Faith Forum, Evening Service or dinner  Dec. 27 or January 3.
Looking Ahead: Calendar Highlights
  • December 20: Advent Lessons and Carols, 5:30pm
  • December 24: Living Creche at 4:00pm for all ages. Evening Candlelight Service: 10:00pm with full choir
  • December 25: Christmas morning service, 10:30am
  • December 27 & January 3: No 5:30pm service or dinner
  • January 3: Financial Peace University course begins with Dwight Zscheile
  • January 10: Zimbabwe Celebration at 9:15am, with prayers and music from Zimbabwe at the 10:30am service through January.
  • January 24: Annual Meeting: 9:00am in the parish hall
 
Please share your news and photos with us: tidings@stmatthewsmn.org 

Visit our website for the prayer list, calendar and sermons