Happy St. Nerdnuk’s Day!!!!!!

🎄Happy St. Nerdnuk’s Day!🎄

(Monday After 2nd Sunday of Advent)

Pastoral Prayer (Christmas Eve) Athens First UMC

[Our church celebrated two Christmas Eve services which included a children-friendly puppet & glowstick service at 4:30 pm, and a traditional candlelight service at 7:00 pm. For the sermon, click here. The pastoral prayer below was shared at the 7 pm service. A big thanks to the choir, instrumentalists, greeters, ushers, audio/visual helpers, skit writers, puppet performers, and staff who put in so much extra time to provide these services. Merry Christmas to all!]

Jesus, Emmanuel, welcome to our world. Welcome to our world of so much beauty. 

 

As you grow older, your parents will show you the green fields of Galilee. They will introduce you to the vivid colors of the lilies of the field. They will take walks with you by green pastures and still waters. They will tell you unbelievable stories about your many faith ancestors; stories about Abraham, Sarah, Deborah, Ruth, Naomi, David, Isaiah, and all the prophets. They will teach you songs of the Psalmists; songs of thanksgiving and songs of praise that point us to a loving God who created this world and called it good.

 

But they will also tell you about the Romans and many other kingdoms of the world who have oppressed your people, including many stories of how Israel has not been faithful in being the people God has called them to be. You will hear about the glory days of your ancestor, David but also how his kingdom split in two leading to internal fighting and a divided kingdom. You will be taught Psalms of lamentations where the Psalmist will cry out, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me.” And there will be people telling you to fight against the Romans and resist. And others will tell you that nothing can be done and that there is little hope.

 

Jesus, Emmanuel, welcome to our world of so much beauty but also of so much pain, brokenness, longing, and suffering. This is the world in which you are born.  Some things have never changed.

 

But your name is Jesus. Your name is Emmanuel. You are the the promised Messiah, the long awaited King who will usher in a new kingdom of righteousness, justice, and peace. 

 

As we prepare to light and lift our candles in honor of your birth tonight, we pray that your kingdom would shine through each one of us, a kingdom where all are welcomed, a kingdom where those in low estate are raised up, a kingdom where the prisoners are set free, a kingdom where love overcomes hate.

 

Jesus, Emmanuel, we want to be part of your kingdom even as we pray the prayer that you taught us to say together, “Our Father, who art in heaven.”

Happy St. Nerdnuk Day!

Do you know who St. Nerdnuk was? I would guess not. One of my seminary professors had created this fake saint day for the church calendar. He came up with the idea of having a St. Nerdnuk Day because it was my professor's way of reclaiming Christmas.

As the story was told, my professor didn't like it when family members gave practical gifts to each other for Christmas. He created this new pre-Christmas Feast Day to be the day when we give the practical and utilitarian gifts to each other so that Christmas can be reserved for more special gifts.

Some examples of practical gifts? Toasters, oven mitts, underwear, cooking utensils, coasters, pillows, pens/pencils, etc. These types of gifts are meant to be given on St. Nerdnuk Day. The more special and personal gifts are to be reserved for Christmas.

This professor has since passed away and I don't remember the exact details of St. Nerdnuk Day. I'm sure he had a special date for it in December. I just don't remember which day. As a way of honoring this professor's creative way of reclaiming Christmas, I have taken it upon myself to establish the Monday after the 2nd Sunday of Advent as St. Nerdnuk Day.

Since that would be today, I apologize for not giving you any time to purchase, wrap, and deliver practical/utilitarian gifts to your kin. Maybe there will be some "Day after St. Nerdnuk" discounts tomorrow if this article goes viral by the end of the day. Or, be my guest and go to a department store tomorrow and ask the clerk if you can get 15% off the toaster oven so you will have this to give away next year on St. Nerdnuk.

Actually, I'm a little surprised that I even remember the name of this made up special saint day. I'm not sure if this would be the correct spelling for St. Nerdnuk. I'm spelling it like it sounded when he first told me this story. I often wonder what St. Nerdnuk looked like. Maybe the picture above on the oven mitt looked something like him. This could become the new logo for St. Nerdnuk Day.

Whether or not you choose to celebrate St. Nerdnuk Day is totally up to you. Hopefully this new Feast Day will remind us that we are to save our best gifts for Christmas Day. As our church seeks to reclaim the true meaning of Christmas this year which is all about offering our gifts to be a blessing to a broken and hurting world, let's remember St. Nerdnuk Day.

If he actually lived, St. Nerdnuk probably would be famous for this quote, "Remember, Christmas isn't about buying each other new oil lamps or parchments. Christmas is about giving a generous financial gift toward your local church's special Christmas missions offering." - St. Nerdnuk, North Africa, 4th century (I just made this up but it sounds historically plausible.)

Happy St. Nerdnuk Day! 

[This post is in loving memory of Dr. James Nelson, Professor of Church History, United Theological Seminary.]

Christmas Eve Pastoral Prayer - Athens First UMC

[Our church continues to celebrate the good news of Christ’s birth during these twelve days of Christmas which will conclude on January 6 (Epiphany Sunday.) Below is the pastoral prayer that was shared at our Christmas Eve services. For the Christmas Eve sermon, click here.]

God of light, thank you for always lighting the way for us and especially for sending us Jesus Christ who is the light of the world. Thank you for all of the candles around the Advent Wreath that remind us that you are always shining the light of hope, peace, joy, and love not just at Christmas time, but every day of the year.

Whenever we face disappointment, grief, sadness, loneliness, confusion, or pain, help us to remember this night of lights. Remind us of this night when we lit the Christ Candle and how beautiful it is when your church shines your light together. 

Thank you that Christmas is real. Hope is real! Peace is real! Joy is real! Love is real! Christ is real!

Tonight, as we lift your light as we sing “Silent Night,” we lift up those who are in need of hope; those who are anxious about the future, those who are hungry, those who are without shelter, those who have experienced disappointment. 

We lift up those who are in need of peace; those who are in places of war and conflict, those who are serving in the armed forces and away from their families, those experiencing broken relationships.

We lift up those who are in need of joy; those who are in prison, those who are tired; those who are ill. 

We lift up those who are in need of love; those who are separated from their families, those who find it hard to forgive themselves, those whose hearts are hardened.

On this holy night, O God, we lift up the light of the Christ Candle on behalf of all these needs as well as others that are on our hearts and minds this night. Amen.

Happy Belated Birthday of Jesus Day (Epiphany)

Today (January 6) we celebrate the concluding 12th day of the Christmas Season. In our western Christian liturgical calendar, we conclude the Christmas Season with the story of the visit of the Wise Men who brought gifts to the Christ Child. Yes, it's actually more than just a day to remind us to begin taking down our Christmas decorations.

For this Sunday (January 8), don't be surprised if you find that Jesus has quickly become a young adult who is ready to begin his public ministry (Baptism of the Lord Sunday.) The liturgical calendar sometimes will fast forward the life of Jesus to help us include the major events of Jesus' life and ministry

When factoring in the time frame of when Herod killed children two years of age and under (Matthew 2:16) in an attempt to do away with the Christ Child, the Wise Men most certainly didn't arrive on the scene until well after Jesus was born. Even though Wise Men are standard figurines in nativity displays, their visit was actually separate from the manger scene.

The good news of Christmas is that the Messiah has come...

By including Epiphany Day as the concluding day of the Christmas Season, we are reminded of the light that the prophet Isaiah prophesied in the Old Testament and how kings will come and present gifts to the long awaited Messiah. Isaiah is careful to tell us that the coming of the Messiah will lead the Gentile world to come bearing gifts. The good news of Christmas is that the Messiah has come not only for the people of Israel but also for the whole world.

Epiphany..."Belated Birthday of Jesus Day"

So, actually, Epiphany can be given the name, "Belated Birthday of Jesus Day." Epiphany reminds us that it is never too late to offer our gifts and our worship to the Christ Child.

Happy Epiphany!

My Most Memorable Christmas Eve Service

Christmas is a special time for many of us. Attending church on a Christmas Eve and holding a lit candle while singing "Silent Night" offers a unique experience like none other.

One year, the Christmas Eve service we had worked so hard on didn't go as we had planned. First of all, the service started ten minutes late because several of the worship leaders hadn't arrived on time. The soloist who was supposed to come on stage near the beginning of the service never appeared. The bulletin listed the name of a former pastor as one of the leaders of the service. The main microphone hadn't been turned on making it difficult to hear what the worship leader was saying. Even the children's Christmas play in the middle of the service had confusing parts and it was difficult to hear the lines.

As we stumbled our way through the service, we finally made it to the end when it was time to light our candles. As the congregation began to sing, "Silent Night" each worshipper raised their lit candle into the darkened sanctuary. In that moment, nothing could rob us of the wonder of that moment. Somehow, we had forgotten about the microphone that didn't work and the bulletin with several mistakes. We were awe struck by the holiness of that moment.

Things didn't go as planned when Jesus was born either; an untimely birth while Mary and Joseph were traveling away from Mary's home, no vacancy signs all over Bethlehem, and a jealous king who felt threatened at the news of a newborn king. But none of those things prevented Mary from pondering and treasuring that holy moment when Christ was born.

After the benediction and as people began to leave the Christmas Eve service, I was surprised to hear several people say what a wonderful service that was. Were they just being nice? No, it was just that like Mary, they allowed the wonder of Christ's birth to overcome all of the other distractions around them.

The Christmas Eve that I thought would be good to forget became the one that I will always cherish and remember. Praise God!

What If You Were in a Small Group with Mary, the Mother of Jesus?

Our church is in the process of preparing to launch new small groups in early February. These small groups, each consisting of 3 to 12 people will be "sharing groups" where people take turns sharing their "closest to God" moments with each other. "Closest to God" moments refer to those times when we experienced God's presence in a very real way in the course of our day to day living.

As we prepare to launch these new share groups in our church and as we approach the Christmas season, I began to wonder what it would be like if Mary, the mother of Jesus was in one of these groups. Maybe the conversation would go like this:

Small Group Facilitator: Welcome everyone to our small group meeting this evening. Help yourself to the cookies and punch that are on the coffee table. Like we've been doing each time we meet, let's go around the room so everyone will have an opportunity to share where they felt closest to God since we last met. Who wants to begin? Mary, let's begin with you. What was your closest to God moment since we last met? And by the way, congratulations on the birth of your child!

Mary: Thank you for keeping Joseph and me in your prayers. My "closest to God" moment was when I gave birth to Jesus who is God in flesh. He is the long awaited Messiah and the one who Isaiah prophesied would be known as "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. This is why we named him, "Emmanuel" which means "God with us."

Small Group Facilitator: Wow, that certainly was a "closest to God" moment, Mary. Thank you for sharing. So who wants to go next? Bill, what was your "closest to God" moment since we last met?

Bill: Uh, I think I'll pass.

This fun little small group simulation shows how unique and incredible the Christmas story is. You can't get any closer to God than Mary did when she carried Jesus in her womb and gave birth to the savior of the world. That literally was a "closest to God" moment!

Even though Bill couldn't top what Mary had to share since the whole "God incarnate story" is really amazing, the truth is that we all have "closest to God" moments to share with each other. Think about the events of your life this past week. Where was God present in your day to day routine?

Was God present in the voice of the person who called you out of the blue one day and offered an encouraging word just when you needed it? Was God present with you when you said "hi" to a young mother and her little girl as you were getting on the elevator and the little girl surprised you when she responded with the words, "I love you?" Or how about the time when you were having breakfast with some friends at a restaurant and after someone shared a troubling situation, everybody got quiet, and somebody in the group offered to say a prayer for that person?

These just aren't hypothetical examples! They all happened to me!

I know, I know. None of these are nearly as dramatic as a young lady giving birth to the savior of the world. Who would want to follow what Mary shared in that small group. I think I would have passed on that one, too! 

God isn't just present in a burning bush, a lowly manger, and an empty tomb. God is also present in more subtle ways throughout our day to day living.

The story of Christmas isn't just a story about a miraculous virgin birth. It's a story that reminds us that "closest to God" moments happen all around us, if only we open our hearts to see them.

Having said that, here's a little word of advice. The next time you attend a small group meeting at church, don't sit next to a guy named, Moses. He might bring up something about parting the Red Sea. You might want to pass on that one, too.

Christmas Sweater Sunday Highlights! - Sunday, December 28

It was another banner year for Christmas Sweater Sunday at Lancaster First United Methodist Church! Enjoy these photos from today's worship services!

Ugly Christmas Sweater Prayer (Sunday After Christmas Day)

Sunday After Christmas Day Prayer (Contemporary Version)

Lord, on this Sunday after Christmas Day, we thank you that we can continue to live out the Christmas spirit by wearing our ugly Christmas sweaters to church. Some of these sweaters have puffy large snowmen, some remind us of a Perry Como Christmas special, and others even include blinking lights. Remind us that all Christmas sweaters are beautiful in their own special way. May they all all remind us of the celebration of the birth of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Christmas Eve & "Eve-Eve" Candlelight Worship Schedule

Tuesday, December 23 - (7:30 pm)

Wednesday, December 24 - (5:30 pm, 8:00 pm, & 11:00 pm)

Sermon - "Reclaim Christmas"

Features - Candlelight Services

Sacrament of Holy Communion - Offered in Our 2nd Floor Chapel Prior to Each Service

Scripture - Romans 8:28-30 & Luke 2:1-20

Theme - During the month of December, we have been focusing on what it means to reclaim Christmas. It involves being open to what God wants to do in and through us in sharing God's healing love with the whole world. May this be a year that we reclaim the good news of Christmas.

Merry Christmas from the Church Staff!

This is how a typical church staff looks right before the busy Christmas season. Ha! 

Top Row (L to R) - Dustin Roberts, Dan Kemp, Jill Warner, Sandy Roberts, Clarence McCoy, John Coen, & Joe Palmer
Bottom Row (L to R) - Pastor Cheryl, Lisa Schenck, Deb Silvia, & Pastor Robert


Wait, here's a much better picture. Merry Christmas from the church staff! We are so blessed and honored to serve First United Methodist Church!

Ugly Christmas Sweater Sunday Controversy

As we approach our church's 2nd annual Ugly Christmas Sweater Sunday (the Sunday after Christmas) a controversy is brewing. There seems to be some discussion over what title to give this new Sunday on the church calendar.

Ugly Christmas Sweater Sunday 

OR 

Christmas Sweater Sunday?

We certainly do not want anyone to feel left out of Christmas sweater fun if they honestly believe that their sweater is tasteful rather than ugly. Let me just say that as United Methodists, we embrace inclusiveness. We have a big tent where many sweaters are welcomed into God's house.

Having said that, there are particular sweaters that are noticeably tackier than others. Examples include a very dainty Christmas sweater that a burly man steals from his wife's dresser drawar and wears on Ugly Christmas Sweater Sunday.

There is also what I would classify as the Perry Como Christmas sweater that is several decades out of style.

And let's not forget the homemade Christmas sweater complete with a string of lights, puffy snowmen, and sad looking Christmas trees.

If any of these above Christmas sweater styles falls outside of your definition of ugly, I apologize. I'm just say'n that if a poll was conducted, most regular church attendees would probably agree with me on this distinction.

So all of this leads me to want to keep the word, "ugly" in the title. Some have suggested we change the title to "tacky." I can live with that but the word ugly is a little more head turning for me. We need that little extra oomph for a Sunday that is typically not all that well attended.

UCS also provides a nice acronym for this new liturgical Sunday. CS feels a little too short for my liking.

We will continue to pray about the title of this important Sunday during the Christmas Season. Whatever you want to call it, during the Christmas Season, let's celebrate the birth of our Lord for all its worth! After a long penitential Season of Advent, we are called to rejoice, celebrate, and have some fun together! Christ is born! The Savior has come!

The good news of Christmas is meant for everyone, even those of us who have very little fashion sense.

Happy Ugly Christmas Sweater Sunday!

Reclaim Christmas - Don't Forget Jesus' Birthday!

You would think that since our church's Advent and Christmas focus this year is to reclaim Christmas that I would not have forgotten to include Jesus in our December birthday announcement at a church program last night.

The whole point of our reclaiming Christmas theme is to remember that Christmas is about Jesus' birthday and not about us. Disclaimer: This does not mean that people with December birthdays, especially December 24/25 birthdays should not celebrate their own birthdays. It just means that we should remember that Christmas is about the celebration of Jesus' birthday.

Last night's epic fail reminds me of how easy it can be for us, even those of us in the church, to not keep Jesus as the focus of the season. By keeping Jesus as the focus, this doesn't necessarily mean to sing Christmas carols 24/7. Reclaiming Christmas means that we always keep in mind why Jesus came in the first place.

God sent Jesus to redeem and renew the world and we are called to join in the fun! We are called to shine the light of Jesus into any darkness we may encounter in our day to day living. I think of the darkness of unemployment, the darkness of sickness and pain, the darkness of racism, the darkness of greed, the darkness of grief, the darkness of despair, etc.

This is why we hold those lighted candles and sing "Silent Night" on Christmas Eve. God invites each one of us to take the light of the nativity and shine it wherever we go.

Last night's epic fail of not remembering to include Jesus in our December birthdays reminds me that reclaiming Christmas is not always easy. The pull of our culture to make Christmas all about us surrounds us at every turn.

The good news is that God's invitation to reclaim Christmas also surrounds us at every turn. Should we buy gifts for each other this time of year? Sure! Should we indulge a little and eat Christmas cookies, peanut butter fudge, and other goodies that aren't good for us. Sure!

But let's not forget to shine the light of Christ in a world that is broken and hurting! Let's offer God's love to those in need. Let's be generous as we support mission projects throughout the world like "Imagine No Malaria." Let's not forget that Christmas is about Jesus' birthday. Let's remember to include Jesus in the list of December birthdays.

Let's reclaim Christmas!

Happy St. Nerdnuk Day! - Reclaim Christmas

Do you know who St. Nerdnuk was? I would guess not. One of my seminary professors had created this fake saint day for the church calendar. He came up with the idea of having a St. Nerdnuk Day because it was my professor's way of reclaiming Christmas.

As the story was told, my professor didn't like it when family members gave practical gifts to each other for Christmas. He created this new pre-Christmas Feast Day to be the day when we give the practical and utilitarian gifts to each other so that Christmas can be reserved for more special gifts.

Some examples of practical gifts? Toasters, oven mitts, underwear, cooking utensils, coasters, pillows, pens/pencils, etc. These types of gifts are meant to be given on St. Nerdnuk Day. The more special and personal gifts are to be reserved for Christmas.

This professor has since passed away and I don't remember the exact details of St. Nerdnuk Day. I'm sure he had a special date for it in December. I just don't remember which day. As a way of honoring this professor's creative way of reclaiming Christmas, I have taken it upon myself to establish the Monday after the 2nd Sunday of Advent as St. Nerdnuk Day.

Since that would be today, I apologize for not giving you any time to purchase, wrap, and deliver practical/utilitarian gifts to your kin. Maybe there will be some "Day after St. Nerdnuk" discounts tomorrow if this article goes viral by the end of the day. Or, be my guest and go to a department store tomorrow and ask the clerk if you can get 15% off the toaster oven so you will have this to give away next year on St. Nerdnuk.

Actually, I'm a little surprised that I even remember the name of this made up special saint day. I'm not sure if this would be the correct spelling for St. Nerdnuk. I'm spelling it like it sounded when he first told me this story. I often wonder what St. Nerdnuk looked like. Maybe the picture above looked something like him. This could become the new logo for St. Nerdnuk Day.

Whether or not you choose to celebrate St. Nerdnuk Day is totally up to you. Hopefully this new Feast Day will remind us that we are to save our best gifts for Christmas Day. As our church seeks to reclaim the true meaning of Christmas this year which is all about offering our gifts to be a blessing to a broken and hurting world, let's remember St. Nerdnuk Day.

If he actually lived, St. Nerdnuk probably would be famous for this quote, "Remember, Christmas isn't about buying each other new sandals and camel saddles. Christmas is about giving a generous financial gift toward your local church's special Christmas missions offering."
- St. Nerdnuk, North Africa, 4th century (I just made this up but it sounds historically plausible.)

Happy St. Nerdnuk Day! 


[This post is in loving memory of Dr. James Nelson, Professor of Church History, United Theological Seminary.]

Photos from Ugly Christmas Sweater (UCS) Sunday - December 29

Here are photos from our Ugly Christmas Sweater (UCS) Sunday (December 29.) I can see that Lancaster First UMC is a pioneer congregation in helping UCS Sunday become a new liturgical holy day for the Christian calendar. 

Thank you everyone for making this year's UCS Sunday one of our best ever! Make sure you put your sweaters back in the corner of the closet next to the mothballs so they will be ready to go for next year's UCS Sunday.