Merry Christmas!

We rejoice today in Word and in song. 

Luke 2: 1-20 
In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,

‘Glory to God in the highest heaven,  and on earth peace among those whom he favours!’

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.’ So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. 

May we be blessed by the reading of this word. Amen.

Rev. Dollie recorded a stunning version of ‘O Holy Night.’ It can be found here on her YouTube channel (which also has other wonderful music!).

(and if you didn’t get a chance to watch the UCC Christmas Pageant for Christmas Eve, it remains a treat today too) 

Wherever and however this day finds you, together we give thanks for the presence of love Incarnate! Merry Christmas and the peace and love of Christ to you today!

Amen

Hello friends and Happy Christmas Eve!

In a year characterized by isolation, it’s a gift to know that we are a part of a big, diverse, loving family. We give thanks for our United Church of Christ family around the country and for this soul-nourishing Christmas service, which captures the moods of the season. 

In words and in song, it acknowledges the joys, challenges, humor, and love of this moment –  and it immerses us in the spirit of God among us. 

In observance of this rather different Christmas Eve, we invite you to watch this lovely service all the way through at a time today (or tomorrow!) that works for you – or, if you wish, pause after the singing of Silent Night, and watch the last few minutes closer to Epiphany.

Also, I mentioned in church last Sunday but neglected to put in the after-church check-in: White Birminghamians for Black LIves will hold their monthly vigil tomorrow – Christmas Day – from 11:30 am – 1 pm at Avondale Park. COVID precautions in place. All are welcome. This is holy work indeed. 

Happy Christmas Eve and Merry Christmas to all! God loves you and your church loves you – on this and every day!

Amen

Rev. Jennifer 

Yesterday the United Church of Christ posted a series of more than 40 prayers in observance of the National Day of Prayer. Some of you may have seen them on UCC social media or as I shared them on Beloved’s Facebook and Twitter pages. The prayer from the Rev. Dr. Susan Frederick Gray read “In this holy time, when we are physically distant and yet our interconnectedness is undeniable, help us to feel the great web that holds all of us.”

We as a congregation are connected by the bonds of faith, mutuality, and care. The web of that connection has always been evident when we’ve gathered in person – and it has been at least as apparent and meaningful in our recent time of exile from familiar spaces and routines. 

This time has not been easy – and, I say with a smile, it has not been perfect – but we have continued to develop ways to connect through various safe means for worship, fellowship, activism, prayer, study, and other expressions of our kinship with the planet and with one another as God’s people. 

We are a faithful, loving, and interdependent people, in the good times and in the difficult ones.

In recent weeks I have been praying, thinking, and researching about the question of resuming in-person worship. I have been watching the disease trends in our state, listening to the political and ideological debates, and reading long threads of discussion among faith leaders from all over the country.

Over the last two days, I have been in conversation with the other clergy within our congregation, with Vince Perry as our Music Ministry Team Coordinator, and with our ad hoc Community Health Ministry Team. I have also paid attention to the choices made by our elected officials at the local, state, and national levels. 

After much prayerful consideration about all of these matters, I am writing to you this afternoon with my strong recommendation that our 5 pm Evening Worship remain exclusively online until such time as it is safe for all of us – even those in particularly vulnerable categories because of age, chronic health condition, or caregiver status – to gather in person together. 

This is a difficult decision for many reasons. We are all eager to worship together within the walls of our wonderful building. Yet with COVID still a significant threat, it remains unsafe for us to do so in any practical way – and especially unsafe for some members of our community.

I say this with the awareness that such a time frame will likely be measured in months – possibly many months – rather than in weeks – and that such a decision casts us beyond all of our usual navigational markers other than God Godself. 

As hard as it is to envision continuing to do this work in this way, I find it untenable to make our primary expression of church life a gathering that we have to tell some people to stay home from for their own safety. 

I cannot see being the church together – our church – if we do not practice embodied solidarity with one another and most especially with those who are most vulnerable, even when it is not easy. 

Either we are in this together as a community or we contribute to the sort of privilege-based exclusivism that we have historically worked so faithfully to avoid. 

With the clarity that would come from such a decision for ourselves, we can continue to put our primary energies into improving and sustaining online (live Zooming, recorded for YouTube, website, and social media) opportunities for engagement, to the work of connection through phone calls, emails, texts, and Messenger, and to coming up with any other safe modes of communication, connection, and broader community that we might creatively devise.

It is also potentially possible that much smaller groups from within the church might begin to gather in some organized way for reading and prayer at some as-of-yet-undetermined point during the summer.

THIS IS SO HARD – it is all so hard – and it is a further grieving for us all. I am deeply saddened to have to make this recommendation. But I make it resolutely and believe without hesitation that it is the necessary step.

Please let me hear from you. I’d like to hear how this recommendation sits with you. I want to know how you are doing. I definitely want to know if you need anything.

And I want you to know that you are loved. God loves you. Your church loves you. And I love you. This passage from the 8th chapter of Paul’s letter to the Romans has been my steady guide in these recent weeks and I hope you too know its powerful reassurance – “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Let us dwell in that peace as we continue to find our way forward.

Amen – and blessings to you all,

Rev. Jennifer

Hi friends,

We have been worshiping online now for the last 5 Sundays.

Like so many of you, I deeply miss gathering in person. At the same time I am grateful for the meaningful ways in which technology connects us – as imperfect as it may be.

I know there is talk in some sectors of relaxing restrictions, in particular to encourage the return of commercial activities. And yet there is much that we do not yet know – and what we do know suggests that Beloved would be wise to continue to hold our gatherings online.

After consulting with our ad hoc Community Health & COVID Planning Ministry Team, I announced in church last night that we will continue to gather online rather than in person at least through Memorial Day. We will re-evaluate in mid-May to determine whether those restrictions would prudently be extended further.

It’s been a joy to see so many of you – and even some new folks – in our Zoom worship and prayer services and other meetings. There will be information about some additional methods of connection coming up in the days ahead.

I’ve also been in touch with many of you over this past week to ask about your prayer needs – and I know there’s a lot going on – some of it joyful, some of it painful, and for so many of us characterized by a sense of unease about both the present moment and what lies ahead. Please keep calling, texting, emailing or messagering me to let me know what’s going on with you – and I and the church as a whole appreciate your prayers as well.

None of this is easy. If it were a choice, we would choose a different way. But the certainty in all of it is that we go through each and every day surrounded by God’s love – and we continue to do our best to live lives of compassionate, engaged faith, wherever we are and whatever we are doing.

I’ll send out our weekly update later today, but first wanted to make sure that you heard about this decision directly. If you have questions or need further information, let me know.

We are all strengthened by our bonds of community – and strengthened always in the spirit of this Easter season. Let us continue this work of caring for one another and for the world.

peace and blessings,

Rev. Jennifer