This Sunday, we begin the process of collecting Christmas Offering gifts and pledges, as well as our Impossible Prayer Requests.  Have you been thinking about what to give and what to ask?  I have. I’m wrestling through what else we can afford to give, and what I am bold enough to ask for.  I have a couple impossible requests for me and our family and and a few for our church.  I am doing the impossibility test.  Is it scary?  Is it hard? Is it impossible apart from God acting…I do know this — It is scary.  I am trying to trust in our God who is big and bold and willing to act for those who trust in Him.  Still scary.  We hope you will join us whether this week or in the weeks to come.  On Sunday we will have red envelopes on the chairs of the sanctuary.  There will be a card to write down your impossible request, as well as a pledge or gift card for this years offering.  You can also give your offering in the envelope as well.  During communion you can bring your envelope to the table and place it in the basket.  We will gather these and begin praying.  Your request can be anonymous or named; it can be impossible or slightly so, just ask, asking is abiding.  If you aren’t with us this week, or if you need more time to pray and think through things, we will be collecting pledges and gifts into next year.  You can also give online and share your request through the church app as well.  It’s going to be a great Sunday. We will be baptizing Oliver Marquez, as well as having the Marquez family lead us in our Advent Liturgy.  We will sing some Advent and Christmas songs, and talk about praying the impossible for our relationships, our marriages, our families.  We will talk about our longings for partners and friends, our hope to stop feeling so lonely or being so foolish.  Can’t wait to see you all on Sunday.  

As part of all of this, I wanted to take a few words and explain some of what we will be doing with this years offering.  This week I wanted to share about our benevolence fund.  Our deacons oversee a part of our budget that helps bring mercy and justice to those in need.  We have helped with attorney’s and food, clothes and rent, gas and temporary shelter or housing.  We have helped those who are homeless and those who are sick.  We have given to those going through a season of tragedy and those who just lost a job.  The benevolence budget is a huge help to anyone in need.  This year we are hoping to begin the process of working towards a larger and larger benevolence account.  We are hoping to see increases here each year and are praying the impossible that we will have a $50,000 benevolence fund in the years to come.  Almost $7000 of this years Christmas offering will be added to our existing benevolence fund.  And this money will assist the deacons in their work of providing mercy and justice to anyone in need.  Next week, I’ll begin sharing about a few of the staff additions we are hoping for in 2019.  Don’t forget to be reading through your Advent Devotionals.  There have been some great pieces on prayer and trusting God with the impossible.  

~Rev. Justin Edgar