December 3, 2025

Turning and Mending

(Again)

Scripture readings

for Sunday, Dec. 7

Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19

Romans 15:4-13

Matthew 3:1-12

Being on the receiving end of sharp language can be heartbreaking. Indeed, words can wound—or worse. John the Baptizer, a key figure in our Advent narratives, finds himself at odds with other religious leaders of the time, and uses the tool he has (language) to call attention to their broken relationship. It’s unclear what exactly led to this prickly, pointed exchange between John and the Pharisees and Sadducees, but there is a growing chasm between them.

“Prepare the way of the Lord,” John cries out in the wilderness, echoing the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah cried out in his own day centuries prior, testifying to God’s desire to mend the world (though the world seemed to be at an end). Perhaps John repeats Isaiah’s plea in order to remind the people of his day of God’s intent for all things: for the world to be mended, healed, made right; for the reign of heaven to be revealed on earth, here and now. Often, however, mending brokenness requires honesty first about the wounds that have been inflicted and the death that has been wrought. With John’s painful honesty, his strained relationship with other leaders of his time takes a step toward healing, toward justice, so that a new beginning might take hold. This is a starting point, as difficult as it may be.

Every Advent, as the church year begins again, we hear the familiar call: Repent. Turn back to God. Repentance is no easy thing, but thankfully, God draws us back to this imperative, year after year, day after day, hour after hour. With infinite mercy, once again God invites us to turn toward healing, toward justice, toward the righting of the world, one relationship at a time.

From sundaysandseasons.com.

• For our community of faith as we seek to do God’s work in the world.

• For those in our congregation and community who suffer silently with illness, financial burdens, and family obligation.

• For for all those affected by illness and those who care for them.

• For Marty Hunt, Ann Saar, Judy Kelly, Kay Marker Magneson, Roy Pihl, George Balcom, Thom Shagla, Brenda Wagner, Ellé Terreberry, Dawn Arnet, Mark Kiendl, Tyler LaChapelle, Heather Miller, Bryan Dahlberg, Lois Rumfelt, Nick Johnson, James Dieter, and those serving in the military and law enforcement and their families, including Sean Pecuch, Ben Wickerham, Paul Hebert, and Nicholas Hebert.

• For the ELCZ Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe and ELCZa Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zambia.

PRAYER REQUESTS

Names will remain of the Prayer List for a month - at which

time it will be taken off unless, or course, there is still a continued need

for our prayers and we’re asked to keep the name on.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

WE WELCOME BACK FRANN WILSON THIS WEEK.

CALENDAR

Dec. 7

Dec. 8 & 10

Dec. 10

Dec. 11

Dec. 12

Our Transition Pastor is Pastor Timothy Hoyer.

His Cell Phone is

(716) 490-5731 in case of an emergency.

His office hours are Thursdays 1-3 pm.

Good News

"Everything done in this world is done because of hope," said Martin Luther. Things are done in the hope to make things better.

Of course, people hope in different things-- better life, better health, better ways to feed more people.

To hope for mercy, for forgiveness, we put our hope in Jesus because he died and rose for us. We celebrate Jesus being born with all the fun and joys of Christmas. To get all that fun and joys, we do things to get to that fun and joy. We put up lights, we decorate Christmas trees, we listen to Christmas music, and we get presents for one another.

To get all that mercy and forgiveness, God made the road from heaven to us a straight road, smooth, make the rough places plain (like paving Second Street). To prepare the way for Jesus, for his peace, we get to be merciful to others. "Bear fruits that befit repentance." That is, as we make things better by making it easier for others to know there is mercy, that there is forgiveness, that there is kindness in life.

Peace,

Pastor

Pastor Hoyer

TRANSITION TEAM NEWS……

The transition team at St Timothy continues to work on gathering information from you to be able to complete the MSP (ministry site profile) which is a prerequisite to calling a new Pastor for our church. THANK YOU to everyone who has been so helpful and patient in filling out forms, answering questions, and sharing ideas and insights about ourselves and our church collectively. Your input and involvement has been so very valuable and important in this process. We are almost there, and need just a little more of your help.

One of the final pieces we need to address, surround St. Timothy’s Purpose, Giftedness, and Mission. This involves thinking about how our congregation understands its purpose when thinking about God’s call for us to help and serve others. Next Sunday, we will gather your input and responses during a discussion, to the following questions:

Through the lens of God’s call to mission and service- what is our purpose.

(Who are we and why are we here?)

What are our gifts and resources for fulfilling these purposes?

What are the missions that hold the most promise for continued development of

our church and our ministry? (priority in mission and service)

We thought providing the questions ahead of time would help all of us work together to come up with the best information. We hope to compile and share some feedback with you all after Christmas!

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 7 IS THE LAST DAY TO ORDER

It’s that time of year to order Christmas flowers for the altar. The cost is $10.00. Please fill out the form and return with your $10. You could also choose to make a donation to St. Susan’s.

Advent Fest Dec. 7 following worship. Join us

for lunch, decorating the church and our traditional

carol sing. Bring a dish to pass.

Caring and Sharing Group will meet Wednesday, December 10th at a new time, 2:30pm. We will be finishing up our December project for distribution next weekend!

5 Loaves & 2 Fish Backpack Ministry

25/26 School Year

Packing December 16 at 7:00 pm

Our 5 & 2 packing is well underway for the school year as we pack backpacks for our Bemus Point and area school students. We can't thank our volunteers enough for all you do to make this happen! If you're looking for a wonderful way to give back to your community, please consider volunteering 1 time a month packing bags of food for area students. We're done by 8:00 pm!

Fun Fact: We have over 40 volunteers at each pack night!! Many hands make light work.

We continuously collect food items for the 5 & 2 Ministry. Bring your donations and place in the black bin in church narthex. Lists detailing items needed are also available in the narthex. Monetary donations welcome! Contact Gale-Svenson-Campbell for details gales1949@gmail.com

If you can volunteer, please contact

Gale Svenson-Campbell at the link above. Thank you!!