A year ago, after the death of three long time parishioners, I wrote as follows: Let us allow God to break our hearts open, so that we become willing for a new reality to emerge, one in which Marge and Bill and Penny inspire us to comfort one another and to reach out in welcome to those who come new to our parish. While 2010 brought challenges enough (I think especially of the death of Bruce Burrell and the ongoing health issues of several parishioners) a new reality is emerging at St. Mark's.

The Sunday before Christmas was a great example. The pageant allowed our middle school parishioners to take the lead as we reflected on the miracle of Emmanuel, God with us. Younger children did an excellent rendition of sheep, wandering as the spirit moved them. Then they all gathered around the table for the story of the Great Thanksgiving. There was lots of enthusiasm and participation by long term members and by those who have recently arrived. Clearly the Sunday School classes are engaging the children and youth of the parish in the meaning of the Gospel for our lives. I asked a grade school child, visiting for the first time, what he thought; "It was fun!" he said emphatically.

After the service I had two meetings. The first was with the Pastoral Care team leaders as they reviewed the care which had been given and the care that was now needed. In a short space of time this team has emerged as a strong resource for parishioners and visitors. We are organizing our selves to comfort and care for one another in an amazing way. The next meeting was to gather a new team to participate in a Leadership Development Institute, to help us build relationships in the parish and strengthen our ability to serve the needs of the world. New members are stepping up to make this possible. I believe that Bruce, Marge, Bill and Penny are proud of us.

Sunday 1/16:  Sunday Brunch hosted by the Pastoral Care Team

Tuesday 1/18: Pizza Night

Tuesday 1/25, 6:00 pm Philip Major's ordination

Tuesday 1/25, 5-9 pm: People Helping People Flatbread fundraiser

Sunday 1/30:  Annual Meeting

In case this winter mimics last year, with many stormy Sundays and you wonder if there is a church service, you can  do any of the following: 

       Phone the church at 781-272-1586 to hear a recorded phone message.
       E-mails will be sent if time permits.
       Listen/watch WBZ News Radio 1030 AM and WBZ-TV channel 4
       Website will be updated at www.saintmarksburlington.org

If you question whether or not to attend church on a stormy Sunday, please consider your safety above all else.

Do not be afraid; for see - I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people:

To you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.

 This will be a sign for you:

You will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.

- Luke 2:10-12

Christmas is a time of great joy for many of us. Some of us take  joy in giving and receiving gifts. Some of us take joy in the company of our friends or our families. Some of us take joy in any story about a baby, especially a story with lots drama and interesting characters.

The good news delivered by the angel is about a different kind of joy. It's not intended just for the shepherds, or just for some of us; it is good news of great joy for all the people. The good news is that God is with us! Jesus' story tells us that God is with us in all parts of our lives: as infants, as children, as adults, and even as we are dying.

But the good news of great joy really has to do with the fact that Jesus was fully loved by God and by Mary as a newborn infant. This gets to the heart of the great joy because Jesus, the newborn infant, had not accomplished anything, did not own anything, and did not have throngs of friends and admirers. God loved Jesus not because of anything Jesus had done, not even because of what Jesus would do, but simply because Jesus was God's child. The good news of great joy is that God loves each one of us, not for what we accomplish, but simply because we are God's children.

Many young children seem to understand this because many children receive a similar kind of love from their parents. But as we get further away from being children we hear the message that our value is based on our success. Success in school, in work, and in friendships can be very helpful, just like a house is very helpful. But just like an empty house is a lifeless shell, the value of our lives is not actually found in anything we accomplish. As adults, we often have to rediscover and even fight to understand that we have value because we are loved, and that we can be loved only for who we are, not for what we have done.

This is why St. Mark's church is in the center of my life today. St. Mark's is a family of God's children, a family of people who share the great joy of God's good news with each other and with the world. Each person and each family in our church faces challenges, both large and small. Sometimes we succeed and sometimes we fail. But this makes no difference when we come together. When we are together we say to each other: You are fully loved, you are fully accepted by God, not because of what you have done, but because you are God's child!

Thanks be to God!

Philip

We are working with the town about getting a barrier to put in front of our new sign.

The property committee has come up with a three year plan for property repairs and upkeep.  This comes to approximately $23,000.  Some will come from the Barbara McCarthy Memorial Fund.

Philip's ordination is going to be at 6pm on 1/25/11.  A reception will follow.  A sign up sheet will be posted for food. A basket will be available for contributions to People Helping People

Snow closings will be announced on WBZ radio, our answering machine and our web site.

Our annual meeting will be 1/30/11.

Please if you have comments, suggestions and/or complaints-Please speak to a Vestry member.  Remember we are here to serve all.

That's it for now

God Bless

Don

Any other children from grades two and upward are warmly invited to join us. They can give it a try by coming to practice with us to see how they like it. We rehearse after each Sunday service until 11:30am.

Our Youth Choir will be singing one of our favorite anthems, "Behold That Star", for our January 2nd Story Sunday. This will be their first of many anthems during the Epiphany season, so stay tuned!

I would like to thank both of our Choirs for all of their hard work in preparing for the Christmas Eve services, for singing extra anthems and for leading the congregational singing during the services. I would also like to thank Eleanor Bronder-Major, who added so much to our Advent and Christmas Eve services with her beautiful flute playing. We are fortunate to have so many contributing their time and talent as part of our worship at St. Mark's.

Susan Dearborn 

The Sunday school will be reaching out to Department of Children & Families (DCF).  The DCF's primary job is to protect children.  Sometimes this calls for taking children out of unsafe homes in the middle of the night.  They do not have time to pack a bag or even grab a special toy or stuffed animal. 

As our outreach, we would like to present gifts to the children who get taken from their home and need to leave their things behind.  This would include new stuffed animals, blankets, toys, dolls, diapers, bottles, pacifiers, formula, and clothes of all sizes - something that can bring comfort and security to a child who has gone through a traumatic experience, or help with the costs the DCF incurs to take that child in.  Please bring the item(s) you would like to donate to the church by 1/10/10.

- Tracey Healey

                        Donations using citing loved ones - $455
                        Open plate donations on 11/14     - $100
                        Outreach Committee                   - $500

This donation was used to purchase Canteen Coupon Books which will then be used to cover the everyday needs of the veterans at the hospital.

- Betsy Figenbaum

On January 25th, from 5:00 to 9:00 pm, People Helping People is holding a fundraiser at Flatbread Pizza. A percentage of any pizza you buy, to eat there or bring home, goes to People Helping People. While many of us will be at St. Mark's for Philip Major's ordination, if you do not plan to attend, please consider having pizza for dinner that night. Click here for directions. For those of us at the ordination, a basket for donations to People Helping People will be available at the reception.

Phillip Major will be ordained at St. Mark's on Tuesday evening, January 25th at 6:00 PM. The women's group will be hosting the collation immediately following the service. There is a signup sheet in the Narthex for anyone that would like to bring an appetizer or dessert. We will also be looking for help with set up and cleanup. We are thrilled that Phillip has joined us at St. Mark's and look forward to a wonderful evening filled with good food and great fellowship.

If you are unable to attend due to transportation issues, please feel free to contact me and I will make arrangements to have someone pick you up and take you home. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact:

          Linda Kelley at 781-883-8972 or email Linda  or

          Rosemarie Tieri at 781-272-1558 or email Rosemary or

          Judy Gustafson at 781-229-2688 or email Judy

Linda Kelley

Our multigenerational Pizza Night returns in January with a program of  activities and fellowship for all ages. Our theme for January is caring for our bodies through exercise. God calls us to be stewards of all of creation, and one good place to grow our practice of stewardship is in caring for these amazing bodies that God has given us. Good exercise is a special challenge for us in the winter months, so our program will include three different ways to stay active and build physical strength through indoor activities. We have included activities designed for our young children and for our elders because winter can be an especially challenging time for the youngest and the oldest among us. We look forward to seeing you at Pizza Night on Tuesday, January 18^th!

- Philip Major

How does this work? It is easy. Signing up for flowers is a great opportunity to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries or in thanksgiving or to honor a loved one who has passed away.  All you have to do is put your name next to the date of your choice, fill out an envelope found at the bottom of the chart and turn it in to the office before Thursday of that week so Donna can include the information in the bulletin for that Sunday and also add names to the prayers of the people. The cost of one arrangement is $15.00.  Each Sunday we use two arrangements.

If you would like to take the flowers after the worship service, notify the Altar Guild, otherwise they will be given to members of our congregation who may be housebound, in hospitals or otherwise unable to attend church.

The Altar Guild will provide either plants, cut flowers or silk flowers for the Sundays where no one has signed up. Altar Guild members are Janet Lyna, Emily Howser, Linda Kelley,

Sally Cassidy, Sue Heidbrink and Betsy Figenbaum.

The Massachusetts High Tech Council, a consortium of over 100 high tech companies, annually recognizes those companies notable for their philanthropy/commmunity service (based on a percentage of revenue in either money or hours/kind that the company provides in community service or whatever). The company I do the most contracting for, a small technical communications firm, won that recognition this year, and I was invited to the awards breakfast. The panel discussion was about how to maintain and build a service  focus in the face of hard economic times, and why.

As I was also taking a class on building missional congregations, that is congregations whose reason for being is their work in the world, I found the similarities and contrasts fascinating. In terms of "how to", these these companies have it figured out. Their list of ways to build and maintain a service focus read like a list I might have written, based on the courses I've taken at EDS. Perhaps most interesting, though, was the mix of caring and pragmatism. Some of these companies, such as the one I contract for, were founded by people with a genuine concern for the world. And, they also recognize that in order to attract the best employees, they must have a community service focus. As one said, to the agreement of all in the room, the best people graduating from college or graduate programs want to work in an environment that combines professional satisfaction with making the world a better place.

LECTORS

 CHALICERS

Holy Eucharist and Church School both begin at 9:30 am on Sunday. Church School children join the congregation at the peace. After service we have coffee hour in the parish hall.

Morning meditation is held on Tuesdays from 7:00 to 7:30.