In my kitchen, there is a built-in nook that houses two appliances: 1) our microwave and 2) our toaster.  Both toaster and microwave are slightly broken but not broken enough to replace.
The microwave came with the house.  It is not a high-end microwave nor is it cheap.  What is its main offence?  It is stinky.  I have tried to clean that little machine in every conceivable way.  I have tried all the internet hacks and various cleaning methods.  But the only thing that actually works is keeping a coffee mug filled with activated charcoal pellets in the microwave when we aren’t using it.  If guests come over and want to heat up their coffee, they discover our charcoal mug waiting for them in the microwave.  We quickly explain it away telling them to just set it on the counter and carry on.  Do I wish that we didn’t have a stinky microwave?  Yes!  Do I wish that we didn’t have to constantly take a mug full of charcoal in and out of the microwave to use it?  Yes!  But I have learned to be content with what we have since the microwave still works in every other way.
Then there is the toaster.  The toaster was a wedding present.  Once again, it is not a fancy toaster nor is it a cheap toaster.  It is a good toaster that does exactly as it is intended to do.  The one problem it has is that the plastic bit for the lever broke off when we moved into our house.  Now one has to push down on a thin metal lever to push the bread down.  The toaster works just fine - it is just uncomfortable to use!  I have seen other people with our exact toaster and no one else has had this problem.  My solution?  I have a dowel rod that lives next to the toaster that I use to press the lever down.  Do most people need a dowel rod to use their toaster?  No.  Does the toaster still do what it was designed to do?  Yes!  Do I wish there was a way to attach a piece of plastic to the metal bit again?  YES!  But for now, I am content with my "toaster stick".
As Thanksgiving Day approaches, followed by a season of consumerist shopping, I am asking myself this year, “What do I need to live a good life?”  There are many products that advertisers SWEAR will change my life.  Commercials depict people that are happy because of sales, low prices, and abundant gifts.  Influencers will explain why the products they are promoting are must-haves for the season if you want your family to have the PERFECT holiday season.  When I encounter these things, I think about my stinky microwave and slightly broken toaster.  I could replace them – I do have enough money to do so – but they won’t revolutionize my mourning routine, bring me ultimate happiness, or bring joy to my family gatherings.
The things that folks shared this past Sunday that they were grateful for were all things that had an ineffable quality to them: family, friends, health, peace, music, & community.  These are all things that don’t have a price tag.  They are things we value but cannot buy at a store. They are the types of things that Jesus tells us to store up in heaven where thieves cannot break in and steal them.
So, as we give thanks this Thanksgiving, let that thanksgiving be our guide for this season, that we might be content with what we have and that we might value the people in our lives more than the things and sales we encounter.
Happy Thanksgiving! 
Pastor Chris

Whew!  Did I not warn you all that the Gospel of Luke was a doozy?
It has been fun to return to the lectionary for a time.  While I enjoy putting together sermon series and constructing a larger narrative that flows from one week to the next, I was reminded how important it is to read the gospel stories in sequence to see how Jesus shaped his own narrative (and how the Gospel writers then shaped his message).

But for now, we will be taking a break from the lectionary to jump into A Sanctified Art’s Advent series called, “What Do You Fear?”  This series focuses on how Mary, Joseph, their family, and their friends lived in uncertain times.  Much like today, they had to find hope in a world that felt dark and frightening.  And yet, despite their fears, God was able to break into their lives with hope and light that cast out the darkness.

As a part of this series, we will have some additional ways to engage with the Advent story (click on them to download):

1. An Advent Devotional.
   We will be printing these next week, so please sign up for one or email the office to reserve one.  Extra copies will be printed, but we would like to have an estimate number.
2. An Advent calendar for adults (PDF) and a coloring Advent Calendar for kids (plus instructions). These can be printed at home, but we will print many of each in the office on 11x17 paper.
3. Original liturgy for worship by the creative team at A Sanctified Art.
4. Original art for the bulletins and that will be displayed in the service and online.
5. Original poetry that will be included in the weekly email and on social media posts.

This series will take us through the end of the year and to Epiphany Sunday on January 6, 2026.  After Epiphany, we will be returning to the Lectionary and diving into the Gospel of Matthew until Lent.

However - for this week, we have our joint Hanging of the Greens Worship Service at 10:00a.m. with decorating afterward.  As a part of this service, we will be inviting in-person attendees to write down on a notecard their answer to the question, “What are your grateful for?”  This will be read out loud by the liturgist later in the service

If you are worshiping online, we invite you to submit your answer to the question, “What are your grateful for?” in one of the following ways:

1. Comment on the YouTube Livestream
2. Email the tech team at [email protected]
3. Text Pastor Chris
4. Text someone you know is attending in-person worship and have them write your answer on a notecard for you.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me and ask!
 
Blessings,
Pastor Chris

When do Christmas decorations go up in your family?  When growing up in my family, the Christmas tree and stocking went up on Thanksgiving or the day after.  This choice was less about stopping the slow colonization of the calendar by Christmas season and more about who had the knowledge about how to put up the 1990 artificial Christmas tree.  My dad was the keeper of the knowledge of how the branches linked into the tree stand and Thanksgiving Friday was a day when we knew he would be home to do it.  So, the whole family pitched in after turkey day to decorate the house.

Knowing that my tree won’t be going up for another few weeks, it was humorous for me to read my text messages before service on Sunday after it had snowed.  My in-laws had blissfully left us to the snow as they flew to Hawaii.  We were sending them pictures of sleet and snow and they sent us pictures of palm trees.   My youngest sister-in-law responded by saying, “yeah… mom and dad the Christmas tree might be up when you get home.”

Christmas displays are already up in stores.  Christmas music is already starting to creep in at the edges.  Many of us are breaking out the warm sweaters and winter boots.  We are already in the early stages of preparing for Christmas…
… but how do you prepare for Advent?

It is odd to think about preparing for Advent because Advent is the season when the Christian Community prepares for the coming of the Christ Child.  So, preparing for Advent kind of feels like preparing to prepare.  It is a little silly.  And yet, by the time Advent begins, the Christmas season will be off like Rudolf leading the reindeer.  So, it is worth spending some time now to think about what we want out of the Advent season this year.

This Advent Season, we will once again be joining in with the A Sanctified Art Curriculum.  Their theme for this year is, “What do you fear?”  As a part of their curriculum, we will, once again, be making available their Advent Daily Devotions.  This Sunday, we will provide a sign-up sheet for those who would like a printed copy.

In addition, we will be preparing our space for the season in a slightly different way this year: we have a joint Hanging of the Greens Worship service planned for November 23rd at 10:00 a.m.   This service will be a non-traditional service during which we begin to decorate the worshiping space for the season of Advent.  Decorating the rest of the building will continue after the service (and some coffee, hot chocolate, and cookies!).

So, get ready to be ready!  It is time to prepare to be prepared.  The seasons are changing, and we change with them.

One of the values that I hold very strongly to is, “If you didn’t participate, then you don’t get to complain.”  The one caveat to this being if you are not allowed to participate… then you get to complain about being kept out of the process.  But, generally speaking, if the process is fair, you have a chance to participate, and you decline to participate, you don’t get to complain about the results.

For me, this will take the form of me delegating a task or responsibility to someone else and that person doing that task/responsibility differently than I would have (or would have liked it to be done).  In that case, the price for me not having to do it is that I don’t get to criticize how it gets done.  If Logan takes on a chore in our household, does it in a way I deem inefficient (or simply it doesn’t conform to how I do that chore), and I don’t have to take care of that chore, I don’t get to complain about how it gets done.  Other times, I delegate tasks to members of Session or to committees.  To be honest with you, I can often do those delegated tasks faster if I do them myself.  The price I pay for not doing those delegated tasks myself is that it will likely involve more steps, it will take longer, and I am not in control of the results.  But then again, I didn’t have to do them.

I maintain this opinion when it comes to group decision making.  This is why we have had so many town hall discussions over the past few years about the budget, our committee structure, and the ministry focus; so that as many people as possible had an opportunity to learn, understand, and voice their opinions.  By not participating in those discussions, it is a cue to me that you have delegated your opinion to the resulting opinion of the majority.

In all of this, what will get under my skin faster than anything are people who complain about our government and the decisions it makes but have not participated in the most basic level of choosing who comprises our government leadership.

So, if you want to be able to complain about the choices that government officials are making, GO OUT AND VOTE TODAY.  I know that many people would not consider this a major election year, but policy begins at a local level.

After I wrap up here at church, I will be going to my polling station and voting for one City commissioner and one person to sit on the board of the Library.  Just two items, but they are still important.  AND I want to maintain my right to complain about the city I live in.

Blessings,
Pastor Chris