Weekly Announcements: Week of Jan. 19th

Semi-Annual Meeting Set for January 26th
On January 26th, we will have our Annual Meeting of the congregation between services. We hope you can attend!

God Squad Update
After a brief time for re-grouping in January, God Squad will resume on February 5th at the usual time, 5:30 to 6:45 pm, if we find additional adult helpers. At the time of this writing, we are still in need of two people to assist on an every-other week rotation until April. The age range for classes are grades K-3 and 4-6. If you are interested in helping to make this very successful program possible, please contact Julie at 468-1968 or stpaullutheranchurch@hotmail.com. Thank you for your concern for the faith formation of our young ones! In Christ, Pr. Joel

Family in Need – Household Items
Thank you for donating items last week to a local family in need. At this time, they are still in need of a twin bed. The other requests have been met, thanks to your donations and those of the community!

Start Collecting Canned Goods 
Don’t forget to start collecting items for the MultiPurpose Center. We will be celebrating the Souper Bowl of Caring on February 2. We’d like to report a really huge amount to the national organization.

Poinsettia Wrap-Up 

Twila has paid the bill at Banks Floral for the poinsettias. If you have not yet paid, the payment in cash to Twila would be appreciated.

Devotions in February  

St. Paul congregation will be responsible for devotions at Care Centers North and South on February 2.

Blood Drive & Blood Pressure Checks
St. Paul is hosting a community blood drive on Tuesday, January 21st, from 2:00 to 6:30 p.m. Schedule your appointment online at www.lifeservebloodcenter.org, or call 800-287-4903. This Sunday, the 19th, is also our Sunday for offering free blood pressure and blood sugar screenings between worship services here at church, sponsored by the Health and Wellness Team.

Join Our St. Paul Team for Live Healthy Iowa
Our Health and Wellness Team invites you to join us on a Live Healthy Iowa team for the next 10 weeks, from January 27 to April 4th. Over that time, you will be asked to track activity minutes and/or weight loss. For $20, participants receive a challenge t-shirt, weekly activity, nutrition and recipe tips via e-mail, a personal online tracking package, unlimited access to healthy recipes, health tips and more, opportunities to win individual prizes and team incentives, a one-year subscription to Lifestyle magazine, etc. Talk to Lori Blythe, Jim Nelson, Niki Anderson or Sara Thalacker if you are interested.

Second Sunday in Advent

So..... change. Not a comfortable subject. I mentioned today a change at the church, the resignation of our Ministry Coordinator, Julie Feirer. That's a big one. Also, we have some changes coming soon in our town, and you may have changes in your life or in the lives of those you love. Of course there are some changes that are welcome, but many others, not so much. 

The Buddha said that ALL is change; all is in flux. Even from moment to moment, nothing is the same. He did not say where the change was going, or it’s end, only that it is, and is constant. And when you think about it, much of the suffering we cause to ourselves and others stems from our desire to resist that force. 

In our text this week, John the Baptizer comes on the scene to say change is coming. It’s not a comfortable message! He talks about wrath, and the ax lying at the tree, ready to chop. It’s a call to repentance – a change of mind and perspective about people's lives and world. And they come out to him and believe him. They find a kind of renewal in this ritual he brings to them called baptism, which offers a hopeful view of the future.

A couple weeks ago I shared a rather dismal view of the future – the readings were apocalyptic, which is a healthy perspective to consider now and then. Because unlike the Buddha the Biblical Prophets including John the Baptist and Jesus – say the change is headed somewhere. It’s not just change for change’s sake. Sometimes that somewhere is frightening: like the Titanic sinking, and there’s a warning call, like John the Baptist today, saying the ax is ready to swing. Where there was once a majestic poplar, soon there will be but a stump. But we’d be remiss if we stopped there. In the old testament reading of Isaiah there’s an axed stump, but look closely! There are shoots coming out! And all of those shoots are brimming and bursting with potential life and hope.

We simply do not know when either is going to happen – the ax or the shoot. We just know both are inevitable.

Nobody says this better than Frank Capra’s “It’s a Wonderful Life” – a movie a watch almost every year about this time -- starring a guy who’s been in a John Wayne film or two, Jimmy Stewart, as George Bailey, regular joe, small town businessman, but a good man – his whole life is all about making sacrifices for others, and as director of a building and loan bank he makes risky loans to people and trusts in their innate goodness. When an honest money error lands him on the edge of bankruptcy, and worse, possible scandal and criminal charges, he ponders ending it all – that’s when some divine intervention comes in, and he’s given a chance to see what life would be like if he hadn’t ever been born. What if he hadn’t helped all those people in mundane yet significant ways, - with loans to build their businesses and homes--  if he hadn’t made interventions which at the time he thought nothing of; if he hadn’t made certain self-sacrificing decisions. That world is before him. And he does not like what he sees. Suddenly in comparison the world of his real life blooms with significance – AND when he returns help comes from unexpected places.  That’s repentance!

While John the Baptizer  proclaimed disaster – which did happen: Jerusalem would be a smoldering pile of ashes within 40 years -- he also saw beyond the stump to the shoot. And that takes repentance. And for us too. Jesus, it turns out, is less of an axe-swinger and more of a hope bringer. Jesus himself was cut down, but the ax, or the cross, did not have the last word. The tomb miraculously empty did. Just as in the case of George Bailey, we can see God at work to bring about change, but the change that gives a fresh start and a healing space. Just as we look forward to the great day when God restores everything to the immortal hope that is stirring in God’s breast, which Isaiah foresaw: lions and lambs together; the cow and the bear, grazing. Cosmic restoration.

We may not see the grand vision yet. But you have already seen it in miniature in your own life. Maybe just in little shoots. Or if not you know it’s coming. It’s not just a vain hope, it’s a proven reality. So for any George Baileys out there, repent, change your mind, to see the wonderful life before you.

In Christ. Amen.