SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT

Message from Pastor Mori 

Ravenswood Fellowship United Methodist Church The Weekly Newsletter    Message from Pastor Mori Dear Ravenswood Fellowship Family. A few weeks ago, I received an invitation to the baby shower of an RFUMC couple. Since this was my first time going to someone's baby shower, I was very excited. The baby shower was delightful and full of beautiful moments. I thank God to have this chance to meet their family and friends and I that I can be there to celebrate with them.  From the baby shower I learned about the beauty of waiting. Parents are preparing and they are waiting for the arrival of their newborn with love and blessings. Before the baby shower, I didn't think about the meaning of "waiting." For me, "waiting" is a boring time which I want to skip like waiting at the doctor's office or in traffic or waiting in line at the coffee shop.  As I saw the young parent's eyes full of expectation and joy, I learned that waiting could have a different meaning. We wait to be heard from God and Advent is waiting. Advent is waiting for the coming of the Christ child, who is our savior.  I look at the December calendar which is filled every day with full schedules and found myself losing these moments of waiting. What makes me to do all of these ministry agendas? Why am I doing all of these things? Maybe I just forgot what I am waiting in Advent. If you also feel that time is going too fast and you feel like you are losing out on a chance to wait, then please read this poem and think what is the meaning of waiting and Advent.  Advent Oratorio Paul Spicer & N.T. Wright   Come, Lord, and cleanse us from our sin; Your new, glad work in us begin. Remove our idols from our sight; Let us in you alone delight. Prepare us for your coming reign By washing us from every stain; Make known to us your holy Name; Let us no more turn back to shame. Call us to you from every land, And guide us with your powerful hand; Show us the path that we must tread, Let us by you with joy be led. Implant your Spirit in our heart, That, with your Breath, new life may start; Take from our flesh the heart of stone, Let us rejoice in you alone. For your own sake your love display, That we may worship and obey; Rebuild the wild and desert place; Let us acclaim your sovereign grace. So this week, I want to ask you how are you waiting? Where and to what is your waiting leading you?  This season I hope we have a space for our stillness and a place to focus on listening to the Word of God. And let's think about how God is calling us to practice waiting and for what we need to wait.  Blessings Rev. Ji Eun (Mori) O Siegel   Give on PayPal   Community Info & Links                                   Christmas Eve Worship Service                         RFUMC Christmas Eve Service  In-Person and Zoom Online Friday December 24 3:00 PM      Advent Book & Prayer Group Thursday December 09 7:00-8:00 PM  Join Zoom Meeting                   https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84317823899.  Meeting ID: 843 1782 3899     Christmas Potluck Luncheon Sunday December 19th following worship service.                                                 (picture- original resource : https://www.florisumc.org/event/xroads-christmas-potluck/) Please join us for our Christmas worship service (10:30 am) and our annual Christmas Potluck Luncheon directly following service.  Bring your favorite dish to share.  All food donations are welcome!  We will feast on all the delicious food.  If you would be willing to volunteer to be a server or on the set-up/clean-up crew, please let the church office staff know.   We appreciate all donations and all volunteers.  Here is sign - up link for potluck.                           Order your Christmas Poinsettia! We are taking orders for poinsettias. ($15) They will be delivered to the church on December 17th and will adorn the altar in the sanctuary during the Christmas week.  Many thanks to Marlynne Nishimura for taking on the task of securing the orders and handling the delivery from the florist.  To place your order, please click here, or contact the church office at (773) 561-2610.  The deadline to order will be Dec 15.              Discussion Series Explores What it Means to be United Methodist     Tuesdays through Dec. 21   "Tuesdays at the Table: Should I stay? Or should I go?" is a new discussion series for United Methodists, presented by the Connectional Table (CT) in cooperation with general agencies and contributors. Weekly segments will explore topics aimed at helping viewers better understand their faith, their church and themselves. The sessions will premiere every Tuesday at 10:00 am CT on Facebook, and will also be available for later viewing at UMC.org/ComeToTheTable and the UMC YouTube channel. For details, click here.                           Put your Holiday Spirit into action by stepping up to support Kids Above All's Holiday Gift Drive 2021. You can help make the holidays joyful and bright for all the children they serve in a variety of ways, including sponsoring children, volunteering in their toy room Dec 1-13, and/or ordering online to help stock their pop-up toy store. If you would like to help, contact Deaconess Catherine Inserra at 847-224-2870 or cinserra@kidsaboveall.org.   Emergency Rental Assistance Program   Applications for the next round of Emergency Rental Assistance Program will open at 10 a.m. on Monday, December 6 for households that experienced a financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including a loss of income or increased expenses such as a reduction of work hours, unemployment or time taken off to care for oneself or loved ones who were ill or vulnerable to COVID-19. Tenants and landlords may apply online at Chicago.gov/RentHelp through 11:59 p.m. on December 18. In-Home Vaccinations Available In-home vaccination is available to all Chicago households, with anyone age 5 and up is eligible to receive a vaccine. Up to 10 people can be vaccinated at a time, so Chicagoans can invite family, friends, or neighbors to their home to be vaccinated together. Appointments are available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. To make an appointment for in-home vaccination, call (312) 746-4835 or register at Chicago.gov/AtHome.  Paid Research Opportunity for Chicago Parents   If you have a child aged 5-11, the Chicago Department of Public Health would like to ask you to participate in a virtual focus group! Qualified individuals who complete a full 90-minute online discussion session will earn $50. You just need access to the internet on a selected day in December via computer. Focus groups will be hosted in English and Spanish and will take place from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. the week of December 13. We look forward to hearing your thoughts. If you would like to participate, click HERE and please share this with the other Chicago parents or guardians. If you have questions about the research, please email healthychicago@cityofchicago.org. We have made a few changes to the church Leadership List as it was in 2020.  If you would like to verify which committees you may be part of, please click here.  Please let Pastor Mori if you see any errors.                         Upcoming Meetings Trustee Committee Meeting  Sun Dec 05 11:30 AM  Advent Book/ Prayer Group  Thu Dec 09 7:00 PM                                                                                                           Sermon by Phone service                                                                            If you do not have computer access or cannot access our Sunday worship service through a smart phone, we now have a sermon by phone service, which is available at any time! The phone number is (773) 219-0861.  You can listen to a recent version of Pastor Mori's Sunday sermon and it's free!                                             RFUMC Building Ministry                                                                                 Ravenswood Fellowship UMC Dec 2021 Calendar Here   Church Room Reservation Form (to request use of the common areas of the church Click Here                                                   After Covid-19 Updates.    Read about the Phases for Re-Opening here. Is that document too long? Read the summary version here. Chicago is currently in Phase 5. Click here to view phase 5 recommendations. Chicago Reopen guidelines Here Cook County Depart of Public Health Facebook https://www.facebook.com/CCDPH                                                                                                  Links for Worship  \                                   Join Zoom worship by going to this link at 10:30 AM on Sunday: https://zoom.us/j/806489040. Or call in at 1-312-626-6799 (Meeting ID: 806 489 040).  Let's boost our worship! Please sign-up for Worship service Bible reader Sign-Up here. December Scriptures and sermon titles are here Young People's Bible Study. Ages 12-18 are invited to join the Zoom discussion of Jesus stories at 9 AM on Sunday mornings. Join the Zoom call here (Meeting ID: 828 2305 3546, One-tap mobile+13126266799) Want prayer? During our Prayers of the People, we will read your prayer requests. Submit your prayer requests here. Download. Get your bulletin here. Having trouble? Try logging off and logging back on to Zoom during the video. Or simply log off and call in.  Missed last week? Check out the Facebook Live video on our page here.    Give on PayPal Our mailing address is: 4511 North Hermitage Ave. Chicago, IL 60640 Contact us at: ravfelumc@yahoo.com (773) 561-2610 Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

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