What are we waiting and hoping for?  In John 11:11 Jesus says “Our friend Lazurus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to wake him up.”

The Christmas Advent season is a beautiful time of year. Love and joy, service and singing abound and many people wake up, reigniting their relationship with God. For those who have been asleep to God’s presence and love, this month can wake up many. Fran gave beautiful examples of the way God makes his presence known to her everyday. His presence is everywhere when our eyes and heart are open. Yet at times the beauty of his love all around is easily missed. We are sleeping. All relationships ebb and flow. My relationship with God is no different. Our relationship deepens every time we bear witness to his presence.

My family’s hope is that this season as we work to look beyond the commercialism we reawaken to the unending presence of God. He never leaves us. We leave him thru distraction, indifference, hopelessness and fear. Our hope for those that may be reawakened is that they stay the course beyond this season and make their season of love for God, a lifetime of love.

What are you waiting and hoping for this Advent season?

What wakes me up to God’s presence? Morning sunlight reminds me that a new day is beginning and God will guide me through it if I ask for help. Welcoming a new baby into our family lets me know that God wants and loves people in his world. Caring hugs, loving words, shared laughter or tears tell me God is close by embracing me, too. Readings like the 23rd Psalm, beautiful music and thoughtful prayers are God’s special messages. A gorgeous sunset or bright moonlight shining on a snowy backyard, revealing one small rabbit, are signs that God ends my day offering peaceful rest and will watch over all of His creations throughout the night.  God is ever present.

What wakes you up to God’s presence?

Many members of WCUC give a lot of time, money, and effort to the wider community. In recent years we’ve tried to do a better job of recognizing and celebrating this generosity, which is an extension of our ministry together. John has been working hard to launch a program to provide opportunities for real-life experience for high schoolers in Concord and Carlisle.  Read more about his Community Connections program here!

Assistants in our multiage classroom listen, play,and pray with elementary-age children. Here is Rhonney’s story:

I have greatly enjoyed working with the children in our Sunday School program over the years. I love the spontaneity and creativity of children.  You never know what they are going to say, or how they will interpret a lesson or project. When Emily was in that age group, it was wonderful getting to know her peers. Now I am volunteering to get to know the next generation. I hope the newer, younger families can experience the same connection and support from members in different phases of their lives as I have. I want these children to feel nurtured by a wider church community and have them grow up feeling known, supported and loved at WCUC. 

On Sunday, November 10th, Annie shared this reflection during worship.

The year was 1943. The United States was at war. I was 21 years old and life was dull. All the boys had gone off to war; no dates, no dances. The WAVES, a newly formed branch of the Navy, sounded interesting, exciting. I decided to join.

Boot camp, Hunter College, Bronx, NY was not like any camp I had ever been to. It was march, march everywhere. Physicals, aptitude tests, lots of shots, uniform fittings, classes on Navy history and protocol. I qualified for communications training, was sent to Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, to learn Morse code. Next order: San Francisco, where I would do coding at the Federal Building.

In September 1994 my high school boyfriend, who was in the Seabees, arrived in San Francisco to be shipped out to the Pacific. After a whirlwind courtship we decided not to wait until war ended to be married. A Navy chaplain performed the ceremony on Treasure Island, San Francisco Bay.

Perhaps you would like to hear how I announced my marriage to the Northern Pacific Fleet. My duty was broadcasting weather to the fleet at scheduled times. The report was punched out on tape in Morse code. It was never done in plain language. When not sending the actual report we were to practice on a dead key. I was waiting for 2am to send the weather, so on a dead key I practiced: Hi, Annie Rand Fay. It was fun, a new name, sounded good. At 2:10 the chief of the watch came over and said, “Your transmitter is running wild.” Glancing at the clock I realized I’d been on the air ten minutes. I was scared. What would the brass do to me? I imagined spending years in the brig in Portsmouth, N.H.. Fortunately the captain of the station was in Washington. My error was overlooked.

What did I learn from two years in the WAVES? Tolerance of others whose backgrounds and ideas were different. Respect for rules and authority, knowing they were for everyone’s welfare and safety. Caring for my WAVE buddies. I knew God was with me always. I came home safely, older and wiser. Thanks be to God.

On Sunday, November 10th, Bob shared this reflection during worship.

Today is the 238^th celebration of the birth of the United States Marine Corps at Tun Tavern in Philadelphia in 1775.   Semper Fidelis!

I joined the Marine Corps on the 2^nd of October, 52 years ago.  The seven+ years I spent in the Marines are important to me.  I learned much in boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina.  I learned to conduct myself as a gentleman and to conduct myself as an armed combatant and to determine when each was appropriate.  I gained self-confidence.  I learned how to operate and repair radar sets and a computer. These skills helped keep me employed for the next 25 years in the evolving computer industry.

I was a member of an infantry battalion that was part of the 9^th Marine Expeditionary Brigade, landing at Danang, South Vietnam on 8 March 1965.   This was the beginning of “combat” operations in Viet Nam.  We guarded the perimeter of the Air Base at Danang and occupied hills 327 & 268 to the west.  I was one of two radar technicians located hill 268.  When our radar became inoperable, we sent it for repairs and became S-2 scouts and went on guard duty and patrols in the area.  Streambeds were often used as trails to get through the jungle.  During this process, we became food for the leeches that lived in the water or dropped on us from the trees.  My battalion was relieved on 20 June 1965 and we returned to Camp Hansen, Okinawa and to the U.S. in August.

I became an instructor in electronics & the operation, maintenance & repair of artillery tracking radar sets & a computer attached to one of them, at MCRD, San Diego. I made Staff Sergeant in July 1967 & was a radar team leader at Camp Pendleton, CA.  I was discharged on 28 December 1968.   The skills and attitude I developed in the Marine Corps have enabled me to make a living, attend college and have been useful in my career.

It was some time after my service that I began my faith journey.  I was living at the YMCA in downtown San Diego and happened to attend an informal meeting there.  After the presentation, the pastor invited us to his church.  A week or so later I went and later joined, the North Clairmont United Methodist Church.  There I met people who became important to me, Dorothy & Keith McMahon and others.  When my job took me to Los Angeles, I transferred membership to a church there and later, to Acton, MA as well.   I have been attending church fairly regularly since.  Church and the search for understanding God have become very important in my life.

As we miss our beloved Edna, I give thanks for her vibrant spirit and am consoled by one of her parting gifts to all of us: an insistence that we sing “A Mighty Fortress” with the organ at full volume during the celebration of her life! Please keep her family and friends, and this whole congregation in prayer, if you are not able to join us on Thursday at 11am.  You can also read the amazing obituary that Edna wrote herself.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E896vJ98Qf4]

“Open hearts and open minds,” is how Andrew describes West Concord Union Church. A resident of Ayer and a long-time massage therapist in Concord, Andrew was recently baptized at WCUC after a period of soul-searching and spiritual exploration. “Now that my two sons are in college and my parental responsibilities move away from the day-to-day concerns,” says the Ayer resident, “I have a strong need to express, explore and deepen my spirituality in a community of open-minded and good-hearted persons. I have found that community here.”

Andrew’s renewed focus on his spiritual life lead him to join the Sunday morning Bible study, where he is “encouraged to question and explore personally difficult scriptural passages through open, honest and compassionate dialogue.” As he contemplated baptism and membership, Andrew reflected on the wisdom of his parents leaving that choice to him. “It was time to explore and deepen this yearning,” Andrew recalls, “because if the community is open hearted and open minded there is an acceptance and comfort to be gained in its combined wisdom and divinely inspired grace.”

West Concord Union Church has been a part of Edna’s life since childhood. She has enjoyed all aspects of providing fellowship at the church, including preparing church suppers and helping with funeral arrangements. She is good friends with a group of women her age from the church who get together often. She enjoys the music at WCUC as well as Hannah’s sermons and says that the addition of the elevator has been “wonderful” since it allows her access to the church’s many events.

Edna’s family has lived in West Concord for about 100 years. First her aunt and uncle moved here to work at the Boston Harness Shop, which was owned by Harvey Wheeler. He built many of the houses on Cottage Street so that his workers could walk to work from home, which is what Edna’s aunt and uncle did. She spent summers here with them when she was a girl and liked the area so much that when she retired in 1986, she “moved up here the next day.”

Edna grew up in the Bronx, NY where she married and raised her daughter. She worked at Albert Einstein Medical College in New York for 25 years. She was an avid traveler when younger, and that sense of adventure has continued. She went up in a hot-air balloon to celebrate her 80th birthday!

Betsy and Larry, with their three children, Ethan 9, Sara 7, and Toby 4, came to West Concord Union Church in December 2012. And they stayed; because, in their words, this is a community where all can “come as they are.” There is spontaneity in worship, they don’t need to be perfect, and their children are accepted as full members of the church family who can offer their own prayers in worship. They remember last season’s Maundy Thursday service as a perfect example of the way we “do church.” What started out one way evolved and changed as more children did their own thing and adults chimed in until the evening became one big, noisy, joyous celebration of God’s surprising good news!

Both Betsy and Larry grew up in the Greater Boston Area and were raised in the Roman Catholic Church. They are grateful for the warm welcome that they received right away from Rev. Hannah and from all the members.