Announcements- December 5, 2018

 Walker Community United Methodist Church

Our mission is to nurture spirituality, build caring community & work courageously for peace with justice and mercy.

Hello Walkerites, Friends & Visitors

Here are the announcements.

No one has signed up for communal singing, bread and juice or hospitality treats.

Walker Events & Other Public Events at Walker

All meetings and events listed are at Walker Church unless noted otherwise See our website calendar  www.walkerchurch.org for happenings further into the future. For more information office@walkerchurch.org

Prisoner Support Letter Writing: Thursday, December 6th 6-8pm in the conference room. Write letters to build and sustain relationships with prisoners in Minnesota and beyond. Open to all. FFI Bailey Riley rileyb16@gmail.com

Ukulele Yuletide Ball: Friday, December 7th at 7-9pm in the sanctuary. Bring your ukulele, dancing shoes and singing voices or all three. Santa, Elvis and Stump the Band. You gotta see it to believe it. David West FFI (612)419-6849.

Dance for Women: Dance for women to build community Saturday, December 8th 7-10pm in the sanctuary.

Janet Skidmore will be singing excerpts from an original score by Sarah Miller in a performance at Macphail Center for Music on Sunday, December 9, at 1pm in the sanctuary.  Lyrics to the score are taken from the Song of Solomon. The performance is free.

SOMETHING TO PONDER BEFORE THE ALL CHURCH MTG SUNDAY DEC 9TH 11:30 AM

-Bring a snack to munch on as the session will begin at 11:30 and end at 1:30- 

Hello all! we hope that you will join us once again to put our collective minds together and work on where we stand, who we are, and where are we going.  Chapter 2, or is it Chapter 32?  Walker has been coming together and going down separate ways for a long time.  However, to make the right choice for a new minister we need to at least begin to answer those questions.   In the next paragraph you will get an outline of what we will be talking about.  I hope everyone straps on their thinking caps and comes prepared to “dig in.” ‘

This strategy is adapted from a piece written by Melinda Conness in 2013.  She was part of the MN Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship dealing with transition.  They created a framework for fellowship defining it as an agent for enriching the self, the fellowship and the wider community.  These concepts were given the headings Within, Among and Beyond

I think these could be viewed within the classic analogy of the three legged stool. All three legs need to be given equal weight so the stool with be balanced, be useful, and serve our purpose.

When the legs of the stool are out of balance those trying to use the stool feel unsettled.  They feel anxious because the stool cannot be relied upon to hold them up. . To me, this misalignment of the legs of the stool, the disparate time and energy we spend among our three core areas, is a huge potential source of unhappiness. What say we are about, Within, Among and Beyond, and what we actually offer to those who find us, and those of us here, is very different.

Are we directing our time, talent and treasure as we stated we would in our vision? Are we directing our resources as people expect us to?

Sunday Celebration

December 9, 2018

Greeters: Janet Court and Margo McCreary

Communal Singing led by ?

Communal Reading

Our mission is to nurture spirituality, build caring community & work courageously for peace with justice and mercy.

Opening by Al Hildenbrand

Second Sunday in Advent

Reader: “In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel from heaven stood before them, and the glory of the divine 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'” (Luke 2:8-10).

Reader: Today we remember the shepherds, workers for the common good, steadfast watchers isolated and alone, far from the warmth of home, doing the job no one wants. And yet God saw them, God valued them, and God declared the greatest news of all to them alone.

People: Today we give thanks for the shepherds among us, back-breaking laborers on whom our economy stands, those we overlook or rarely see, yet rely on for our very survival, the ones who have much to teach us about watching for God in the darkness.

Reader: On this second Sunday in Advent, we light the second candle as a symbol of the shepherds, agents of the gospel and redeemers of the world.

(Light two purple candles.)

O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer Our spirits by Thine advent here;
And drive away the shades of night,
And pierce the clouds and bring us light.

Rejoice! Rejoice!

Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

Lao Tzu followed by 5 minutes of silence

2 MitchellWhen people see some things as beautiful,
other things become ugly.
When people see some things as good,
other things become bad.

Being and non-being create each other.
Difficult and easy support each other.
Long and short define each other.
High and low depend on each other.
Before and after follow each other.

Therefore the Master acts without doing anything
and teaches without saying anything.
Things arise and she lets them come;
things disappear and she lets them go.
She has but doesn’t possess,
acts but doesn’t expect.
When her work is done, she forgets it.
That is why it lasts forever.

Poetry by Jesse Watkins

Welcome, Announcements & Offering

Reading:  Luke 3:1-6 by Jan Werness

1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene,

2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.

3 He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,

4 as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

5 Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth;

6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

Sermon by Pastor Walter Lockhart

Special Performance by the Walker Singers: “And the glory of the Lord” from the Messiah by G. F. Handel.

Circle with Joys & Concerns & sharing of bread & juice by ?

Hospitality Time Thanks for set-up by the Hospitality Committee, Treats by ?

Monday Morning Coffee now meets 10AM until noon at Selam Coffee House, 3860 Minnehaha Ave

Community Meal & Food Giveaway:  Tuesday, December 11th, Doors open & food giveaway at 5 pm.  Meal served 5:30 to 6:45pm.  Free, everyone welcome.  Volunteers are needed, please sign up!

Walker Singers Rehearsal: Tuesday, December 11th at 7pm in the sanctuary.

Snow White by Classics Lost n Found Theatre: Classics Lost ‘n’ Found Theater Company is proud to present an original adaption of Snow White, written by Steven LaVigne.  Co-directed by Dawn Linnell and Steven LaVigne, this is not the Disney version! Dancing bears!  Bad puns! Corny jokes!  A bratty Snow White and a Prince who thinks he’s a dwarf!  A good fairy in drag! Please join us for this free-wheeling holiday panto! Four performances only! Friday, December 14th at 7pm, Saturday, December 15th at 3pm and 7pm and Sunday, December 16th at 3pm in the sanctuary. Tickets are $7 for adults, and $5 for students or seniors. Tickets can be purchased at the door 1/2 hour prior to performances. General seating only. For more info, contact (612) 724-4539.

ABC Pancake Breakfast: Pancake breakfast fundraiser to raise funds for political prisoners who are still serving lengthy sentences for participating in the Ferguson uprising. Saturday, December 15th 10am-2pm. FFI Bailey Riley rileyb16@gmail.com

Sarah Dagg Massage: Monday, December 17th and Tuesday December 18th. By appointment only, please contact Sarah 218-831-9570.

Community Meal & Food Giveaway:  Tuesday, December 18th, Doors open & food giveaway at 5 pm.  Meal served 5:30 to 6:45pm.  Free, everyone welcome.  Volunteers are needed, please sign up!

Walker Singers Rehearsal: Tuesday, December 18th at 7pm in the sanctuary.

Winter Solstice Party w/ Naye Strunes Klezmer Quartet: Saturday, December 22nd in the sanctuary. Live music and refreshments. Free, open to all. Donations go toward free community meals at Walker.

Blue Christmas Service: Sunday, December 23rd in the sanctuary.

Walker Christmas Celebration: Monday, December 24th in the sanctuary.

Christmas Community Meal & Food Giveaway:  Tuesday, December 25th, Doors open & food giveaway at 5 pm.  Meal served 5:30 to 6:45pm.  Free, everyone welcome.  Volunteers are needed, please sign up!

No Bayou Bridge Pipeline Fundraiser: Saturday, December 29th 7-9pm in the sanctuary. Silent auction and presentation. FFI Jacqueline at office@walkerchurch.org

Walker Community Announcements

Just because it isn’t ready for release isn’t to say you can’t gift your relatives and friends this Christmas with the Walker Church music CD, “The Sound of Walker.” We will provide a greeting gift card mailer in quantity for your use that announces an anticipated release date. Then the CD, when it’s ready, would be mailed (or delivered) by you to those you gave the gift-to-come cards to. Please let me know many cards you’ll need:  Jesse Watkins (612) 296-3723.

Celebration Band Playing Songs out of the Walker Songbook! Friday, February 1st 6-8pm in the sanctuary. More details to come.

Events Elsewhere

Minneapolis City Council Meeting – Final Vote on Municipal ID Friday, December 7 8:30 am – 10:30 am

Minneapolis City Hall Room 317 Get there early to get a seat to be there for the final vote to create a Minneapolis Municipal ID – an important victory for the democratic rights of all residents of Minneapolis regardless of immigration status, gender identity, housing stability, etc. We want to have a big public presence supporting Municipal ID for all!  December 7th event: https://www.facebook.com/events/282914102361648/?event_time_id=282914112361647

Minnesota Warmth, Not ICE: Public Forum Against ICE Expansion Saturday, December 8, 2018 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm Pillsbury United Communities 420 15th Ave S, Minneapolis Come to a forum featuring personal testimony about immigrant detention and statewide organizing to prevent a new immigrant detention center in our state. Join the fight to stop ICE expansion in Minnesota! Featuring speakers from Release the Minnesota 8, the Elk River Sanctuary Committee, and more. December 8th event: https://www.facebook.com/events/587386971720318

Honduras Refugee Carava Forum/Solidarity Event Hosted by Minnesota Caravan Solidarity / Minnesota en Solidaridad con la Caravana Sunday, December 16, 2018 at 3:30 PM – 5:30 PM CTUL Building, 3715 Chicago Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55407-2610 Why have people walked from Central America to the US border to seek asylum? What can we do to provide support and solidarity?  Presentations, music, poetry, candle-lighting, video, history exhibit.food and inspiration. Free event. Material Aid option. Español. https://www.facebook.com/events/711573749225719/

Ongoing Walker & Walkerite Groups

Sunday Celebration & Children’s Sunday school:  Sundays 10:30 am

Chalice Circle:  Sundays 9 to 10 am in the Meditation Room. We listen to music, meditate, read a passage on spiritual growth, and discuss our thoughts and feelings using the circle method. All are welcome! Come once or many times!

Coffee Gathering: Mondays 10 to noon at a local coffee shop.  FFI Pastor Walter Lockhart.

Community Meal & Food Giveaway:  Tuesdays, Doors open & food giveaway at 5 pm.  Meal served 5:30 to 6:45pm.  Free, everyone welcome.

Walker Singers: Tuesdays 7 to 8 pm led by Jim McCreary

Initiates: 3rd Sunday of each month 8:30 to 10:15 am in the conference room. FFI Lou Tofte or Howard Kranz

Men’s Potluck Brunch: one Saturday of each month at someone’s home.

Women’s Potluck Brunch: 4th Saturday of each month at someone’s home. FFI Nancy Larsen

Open Flow Forum:  1st Thursday of each month 7 to 9 pm.  A group of artists with disabilities FFI Tara Innmon or Kip Shane

Health & Wellness Services at Walker by Walkerites

Alice Browne’s Music Therapy & Sound Healing:  By appointment.  Contact Alice 612-860-6644 abmermaid@gmail.com

Sarah Dagg Massage Therapist:  Two days each month between 9 am to 5 pm by appointment. Contact Sarah 218-831-9570

Other on-going groups meeting at Walker that are open to all

East Lake LOL AA:  A mixed, open AA group that meets every Wednesday 6:30 to 7:30 pm

Rosen Movement:  Wednesdays 9 am to 10 am for simple movement with music.  Open to all, come any week, cost:  $5 to $10.  FFI Phyllis Wiener wienerphyllis@gmail.com

Aware Dance:  Wednesdays 7:15 to 9:15 pm Free style movement with music.  Cost $10-15  FFI Facebook Aware Dance & Movement

Hoop Twin Cities:  Thursdays 6:30 to 8:30 pm Free hoola hooping for all ages  FFI hoopjeans@gmail.com

Queer Birth Project:  2nd Saturday of each month 10 to noon.  LGBTQ new parent support group   www.queerbirthproject.com

Bluegrass Jam:  Last Monday of each month 7 to 10 pm.  Free, come to jam or listen.  FFI Roy Vanderwerf revanster@gmail.com

Dance for Women:  2nd Saturday of each month 7 to 10 pm in the sanctuary.

Neurodiversity Group:  2nd Thursday of each month 7 to 9 pm led by Paul Johnson. Free emotional support for adults on the autism spectrum and their family & friends. Pljohnson46@yahoo.com

Northern Mississippi Prisoner Support Group:  1st and 3rd Thursday of each month 6 to 8 pm.  Write letters to build and sustain relationships with prisoners in Minnesota and beyond. Open to all. FFI Bailey Riley rileyb16@gmail.com

Norwegian Folk Dance: 1st & 3rd Monday of each month 7 to 9 pm in the Sanctuary. Rehearsals open to all, free.

Stop Line 3 Climate Justice Group:  Some Tuesdays 7 to 9 pm in the conference room.  FFI Al Sherwood stopline3mpls@gmail.com