December 11, 2022

Nomofomo

• Our Advent giving emphasis this year focuses on gathering clothes for our partners at the Clothes Closet at Trinity Presbyterian. Trinity's Clothes Closet is now in serious need of jeans of all sizes, winter clothes of all sizes, and any baby and toddler clothes. Anything will help - Just please make sure the clothes have been cleaned prior to donating! You can bring your donations to us at the Ice House, to Sunday morning worship, or to the donation bin that will be at Merge Coffee by EMU now through the end of December.

  (Trinity's Clothes Closet started as a House Church missions program in the basement of a community member's home, and now it has grown to being open every Wednesday inside Trinity Presbyterian Church. Before COVID, UKIRK (the Presbyterian campus ministry) volunteered there every 3rd and 5th Wednesday of the month. Now that RISE and UKIRK journey together, we have continued that legacy and volunteer there every 3rd and 5th Wednesday. This is a way for students to get out of their "JMU Bubble" and experience the rest of the Harrisonburg community, and a key way some of our students stay connected!)

• Requests for care and/or prayer can always be sent via e-mail to cares@riseharrisonburg.org, texted to 833-803-0868, or submitted online via our RISE Cares form.

• Connect:

  • If you would like to connect more deeply with RISE, you can start by submitting this short form to Get Connected!

  • Sign up for texting services:

    • Text “RISE” to 833-803-0868 to join the primary list and receive weekly community updates and alerts

    • Text “RISEcares” to receive prayer requests, care needs, and community concerns and celebrations

  • Please continue to check social media/the website for all updates and information!

Why do pronouns matter?

RISE believes that God has open arms and so should we. We celebrate our diverse community and want to love and affirm all persons. As a community, we seek to challenge our own biases around gender expression and identity, and we recognize that at times, our biases can harm others. Everyone is made in God’s image; therefore, we are called to wholly love, respect, and seek to understand various gender identities and the ways they enable us to more fully be in relationship with one another and our Creator (who transcends any particular gender identity or construct). 

Because of our desire to do no harm and mend God’s creation together, we encourage you to introduce yourself using your pronouns along with your name in new settings! You may notice members of staff and leadership modeling this practice, because we want all persons to feel welcomed, including our transgender and nonbinary siblings.

Advent Wreath Reflection

JK Ancell

Song

Brent Holl

“O Come, O COme, Emmanuel”

O come, O come, Immanuel,
and ransom captive Israel
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear.

REFRAIN:
Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel
shall come to you, O Israel.

O come, O Wisdom from on high,
who ordered all things mightily;
to us the path of knowledge show
and teach us in its ways to go.

REFRAIN

O come, O Bright and Morning Star,
and bring us comfort from afar!
Dispel the shadows of the night
and turn our darkness into light.

REFRAIN

O come, O King of nations, bind
in one the hearts of all mankind.
Bid all our sad divisions cease
and be yourself our King of Peace.

REFRAIN

Theological Exploration

Alexis Owens
Chris Zepp

Share YOUR questions or text them to 833-803-0868

• Advent is new for quite a lot of people: What are the major themes of this season? Why has the season of Advent been lost through the years (how has it become “pre-Christmas”?)

• This is the 3rd Sunday in Advent, and it’s often known as “Mary’s Sunday.”  Before we hear the scripture (which is often called The Magnificat), we will read a piece written by Sandra Reisinger. Sandra wants us to “see” a different Mary before we hear the scripture…

Reading

~by Sandra Reisinger

Let’s take time to engage our imaginations and challenge our assumptions about Mary…

Who was this girl, Mary? Would she have stood out in the crowd? Why did God choose her? Here’s what we know … she was in her teens. Let’s say sixteen. Right about the time for acne to cover her brown skin. That’s right. She wasn’t white like many of the nativity scenes and icons and artwork insist she was. While she hurried to see her cousin Elizabeth, did she trip over the hem of her clothes and fall down onto the dusty road and scrape her knees and elbows? Did she forget her toothbrush for her stay in her hurry to reach Elizabeth? Why do we assume she was feminine, “pure” and perfect? She was a young woman and pregnant. What is the first thing you think when you hear of a teenager who is pregnant? Do you think that about Mary? Maybe you should. Perhaps we should not make assumptions. Back in Mary’s day, assumptions could have led to stoning and death. Do our assumptions today cause harm? Imagine Mary, scared shitless, crying, her young face furrowed in worry and fear, running to the protective arms of her older cousin, Elizabeth, until they concocted a nuanced story - so that maybe she could stay alive.

How is Mary trapped in history, and in our minds eye, so we do not truly see her and honor her story?

Luke 1:39-45 (CEB)

39 Mary got up and hurried to a city in the Judean highlands. 40 She entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 With a loud voice she blurted out, “God has blessed you above all women, and he has blessed the child you carry. 43 Why do I have this honor, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy. 45 Happy is she who believed that the Lord would fulfill the promises he made to her.”

46 Mary said,
“With all my heart I glorify the Lord!
47     In the depths of who I am I rejoice in God my savior.
48 He has looked with favor on the low status of his servant.
    Look! From now on, everyone will consider me highly favored
49         because the mighty one has done great things for me.
Holy is his name.
50     He shows mercy to everyone,
        from one generation to the next,
        who honors him as God.
51 He has shown strength with his arm.
    He has scattered those with arrogant thoughts and proud inclinations.
52     He has pulled the powerful down from their thrones
        and lifted up the lowly.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things
    and sent the rich away empty-handed.
54 He has come to the aid of his servant Israel,
        remembering his mercy,
55     just as he promised to our ancestors,
        to Abraham and to Abraham’s descendants forever.”

• How do we usually imagine Mary (the imagery we’ve seen throughout our lives really does influence how we “see” her)?  How have our images of Mary influenced the ways we view others (especially women and girls) throughout history?

• What do you hear Mary saying in the scripture reading? What is she saying about who God is and the nature of God? How does she “see” a new (or mended) creation?

• How does Mary see Elizabeth (and vice versa)?

• How does our sense of sight sometimes limit us? How does the way we “see” sometimes differ from the ways God sees? How is God’s vision different than ours?

Share YOUR questions or text them to 833-803-0868

RECOGNITION

SONG

Brent Holl

“The Virgin Mary”

~West Indian Carol

The Virgin Mary had a baby boy (x3)
And they say that His name is Jesus.

REFRAIN:

He come from the glory,
He come from the glorious kingdom.
He come from the glory,
He come from the glorious kingdom.
Oh yes, believer! Oh yes, believer!
He come from the glory,
He come from the glorious kingdom.

The angels sang when the baby born (x3)
And they say that His name is Jesus.

REFRAIN

The shepherds came where the baby was born (x3)
And they say that His name is Jesus.

REFRAIN

The wise men came where the baby was born (x3)
And they say that His name is Jesus.

REFRAIN

Final BLESSING

Caroline Palmore

Go, be people who see,
May your sight be a blessing
May it be healing,
May it be kind, and loving and embracing,
May you see with Christ’s vision
The vision that sees each one in their wholeness
Of their own identity
Given to them with Love and purpose
By the God who created us all. 

Amen.