Advent is a time of expectation, a time where we keep vigilant watch for the coming of Christ because “…you do not know when the time will come.” (Mark 13:33) Our Advent prayer vigil is an opportunity for you to practice the discipline of watchfulness. Friday, December 18 our sanctuary will be open from 9:00AM-2:00PM.  A sign-up sheet will be at the side vestibule entrance.  People may come for as long as they are able.  You may come as an individual, couple, small group or family.  More than one person or group may be present at the same time.  If you would like to come for the traditional 30 minute period, that will be fine as well.  This is a great opportunity to enter more fully into our journey toward Bethlehem.

This serves as official notice that we will conduct a congregational meeting immediately after worship on Sunday, December 20.  At this meeting you’ll get a chance to see and comment on the 2016 budget before it is formally adopted by the session. 
              We also will elect officers to the class of 2016, allowing new officers to attend their January meetings, and then they’ll be installed at a later date.  The Nominating Committee has a proposal for discussion as well that could reduce the sizes of both boards of Deacons and Session, which would require amending our by-laws. 
The session values your input and seeks to be responsible stewards of your money. Copies of the proposed budget will be available at least one week prior to the meeting.  Please make every effort to attend this meeting.

December 2015 Pastor's Point of View Article

WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR?
Advent is a season of expectant waiting and preparation
for the celebration of the nativity of Jesus at Christmas. 
 
What are we waiting for? 
For thousands of years the Jewish people waited for the coming of the Messiah.  God answered the longing in their hearts, but did not send the Messiah they expected!  Not a mighty warrior...instead a humble, humiliated man who died with these words on his lips:  “Forgive them Father, they (us too?) do not know what they are doing.” 
 
What are we waiting for? 
In these United States of America, we are waiting for Christmas, a day filled with lavish gifts, hearty meals, and the loving embrace of family.  But for so many Americans—that day has yet to come. 
 
What are waiting for? 
The long-awaited Messiah who God sent to his people, Jesus of Nazareth, announced that he was ushering in a world of peace; a world where the poor would be blessed, the blind would see and the oppressed set free.  Yet, this world is overflowing with violence and poor, blind, oppressed people! 
 
What are we waiting for?
When I, your pastor, asked myself that question before writing this article, these words came to me:  “And now faith, hope and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
The Messiah who God sent to Israel was not the Messiah they expected.  The world we live in is not the world Jesus envisioned.  Yet the world we live in, the bodies we inhabit, the families we are part of; this all we have.  No denying how messed up this world is.  No hiding from it.  Let’s turn and face this screwed up world that God loves.  Take a deep breath and say an even deeper prayer.  
 
What are we waiting for?
I wait for faith, hope, and love to be born in my heart and yours and in the hearts of people around the world.  And I mean the whole world!  Christians, Jews, Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, atheists, Confucianists, etc….etc….After all, God did not send Jesus for Christians to cling to.   God sent a Jewish man to the Middle East, a man of grace, peace, and justice, a man destined to die for the sins of all people, a man to be embraced by the whole world, and his name will be Christ the Lord.
 
May your advent be blessed and your Christmas merry!
 
Pastor Michael

You should have received a letter from Stewardship Ministry Team chair Paul Ohori. 
Here is an excerpt from that mailing if you did not receive it:

​“How does our renewal in God change the way we listen to God’s words?  How do we respond?  We close our worship service with the words Sending God’s Word into the World.  That is a quite a commitment!  During the rest of the week, do we reflect on His words and act accordingly?  Do we make positive changes in our relationships with others?  In Reinhold Niebuhr’s Serenity Prayer, we ask God to give us serenity to accept what cannot be changed, the courage to change what can be changed and the wisdom to know one from the other.

In this season, let us pray for wisdom to better understand the needs of our church and others and make positive changes in our stewardship - the act of responsibly overseeing, protecting, and preserving what we value.   Paul Ohori. 
 
Note: there will not be a luncheon after the stewardship worship service this year.

Women’s Choral Festival Returns to FPCE
Sunday, November 8
3:00PM, Sanctuary
 
The FPCE Music Ministry is pleased to once again host the regional Women’s Choral Festival in our sanctuary this month.  Last year’s event was very successful, filling the pews with singers and audience members, and filling the church with beautiful music. 

This festival began as an outreach event by the University of Pittsburgh Women’s Choral Ensemble in an attempt to get college & university ensembles sharing music with each other.  At the time, it was held at Heinz Chapel on the Pitt campus.  Over the years, it has expanded to become a celebration of all types of women’s vocal ensembles, including high school and community choirs.  It has been held at Pitt, Seton Hill University, and now for the second year at FPCE as part of our Music Ministry’s Concert Series.  (Incidentally, we’d like to expand the series to include more than this festival and the ESO concert.  Share your ideas!)

Participating in this year are the following groups:  Duquesne University Pappert Women’s Chorale, University of Pittsburgh Women’s Choral Ensemble, Czarica Milica Serbian Women’s Choir, Belle Voci community choir, and the North Hills High School Women’s Choir.  We hope you’ll join us for this free event!