FELLOWSHIP FOOTNOTES

Newsletter of Hamilton Bible Fellowship
December 2007

     If in the general festive round of singing and decorating, giving and receiving, cooking meals and family gatherings, we ask what is behind all this and what keeps it going all over the world, among all classes of people quite regardless of whether they believe or not, the answer is simply, “a birth.” Not just “birth” in general, but a particular birth in a small Middle Eastern village in datable time - a named baby, Jesus - a birth that soon had people talking and singing about God, indeed, worshiping God.
     Birth, every human birth, is an occasion for local wonder. In Jesus’ birth the wonder is extrapolated across the screen of all creation and all history as a God-birth. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” - moved into the neighborhood, so to speak. And for thirty tears or so, men and women saw God in speech and action in the entirely human person of Jesus as he was subject, along with them, to common historical conditions . . . . That God was made incarnate as a human baby is still not easy to believe, but people continue to do so. Many, even those who don’t “believe,” find themselves happy to participate in the giving and receiving, singing and celebrating of those who do. Incarnation . . . this is what started Christmas. This is what keeps Christmas going. - from God With Us: Rediscovering the Meaning of Christmas, by Eugene Peterson.

      I have been thinking about incarnation, lately - about how Jesus is incarnated in us. The real evidence of his presence is in the fruit of his Spirit in us. People are drawn to this, when it begins to happen, as they are somehow intuitively drawn to the celebration of Jesus’ original incarnation. The Christmas season gives us an opportunity peculiar to this time of year to affirm this evidence with our speech, to explain that we really believe the words of the songs and the stuff of the celebration. Of course, this assumes that we are engaging the Spirit (Paul calls it “being filled”), producing in us psalms, hymns and spiritual songs (worship), mutual subjection (giving) and the various aspects of fruit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control (Ephesians 5 and Galatians 5). All of these evidences are characteristics associated with the Christmas season (and hopefully beyond!). I encourage you this year to promote them - and, to add to them, words. All people seem to enjoy this celebration! May yours be good this year.

NEWS AND PRAYER UPDATES:

Pray for a good end to the semester for students and teachers, for those finishing abroad and all those going abroad next semester. Pray for all the traveling to be done by HBF folks at the end of the month.

Pray for health needs for: the Truppners, the Towers, the Goodwins, the Davises, Jean Deiter, John Hubbard, and others connected with HBF folks.

Continue to pray for resolution of the Coxes’ legal and financial issues related to the Rhodes estate.

The Colgate Chamber Players concert at our building last Sunday was fantastic. They performed pieces by J. C. Bach, Beethoven, Dvorak and Mendelssohn. Director Laura Kulgherz was impressed by the acoustics of the auditorium, and I though it sounded fantastic! They will certainly be back, and perhaps in a couple of years we will provide one of the venues for the Chenango Music Fest in June.

We are thinking about having a Christmas Eve Service, possibly at 4:00, as no other congregation has one at that time and it would free up the evening for other activities. We could certainly advertise it, to open it up beyond HBF (as so many of you are gone by then). Contact Putter with your thoughts.

THE QUOTE CORNER:

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members
of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the
word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish
one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns
and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.
Colossians 3:15-16

COMING EVENTS CALENDAR:

He Sent Us an Angel, a Christmas play by our own young folks (and one not young folk) will be presented on Saturday Dec. 8th at 7:30 and Sunday Dec. 9th during the morning worship. Come 30 minutes early on Saturday to hear the local Suzuki players perform!

Sunday Dec. 9th at 6:30 is the Annual HBF Christmas Dinner, this year (first time!) at the building. The cost is $3.00 per person (over 10), it is for all ages. There will be a short program following. If you are interested in helping decorate for this weekend’s events (probably Saturday morning), contact Susan Nolen.

Thursday Dec. 20th 7:00 at First Baptist Church is the Annual Christmas Mourning Service, presented by all the Hamilton area clergy. If you know, or are, someone for whom this is appropriate, please encourage them to attend. It has been very effective and sensitively done in the past years.

December birthdays: 9 Jen Murray; 21 Corey Nolen