December 18, 2018
A Christmas Greeting From the Hopkins
Loved Ones,
It was a rainy Friday morning after Thanksgiving. Our house was abuzz with preparations for our 40th Anniversary celebration planned for the next day when two year old Dayton spoke excitedly as he looked out the kitchen windows toward the street, “Wook Hop Pop, Wook! Id a gowbedge tuck! Id a dean un!” If you need help interpreting two year talk what he said was, “Look Hop Pop, Look! It’s a garbage truck. It’s a green one!’
There is very little in life, be it the excited words of a two year old beholding the wonder of a garbage truck, the happenings of the world around us or the signs of the Christmas season, that does not require interpretation. How we engage in work of interpretation can shape our world even as it reveals our hearts.
We trust that you will interpret this brief greeting as a sign of our appreciation for you being an important part of our lives. We trust that you will interpret it as a sign that for you and yours, we desire peace and all good things.
When it comes to appreciating the many symbols of Christmas we all are wired a little differently. Some of us revel in the scent of a fresh tree, some find the greatest joy in the twinkling lights on the homes in our neighborhood, some find deep peace in a crèche displayed on a fireplace mantle, some are moved by the bright stars on a clear evening. Whatever your favorite, may you interpret these as signs that we are surrounded by a love more profound than we can ever imagine, a love embodied by a baby in a manger, the song of the angels, the wonder of the shepherds and the gifts of the magi.
As Dayton might put it “Wook, wook! Kwidmas id tuming. I wike it. It habby.” Please interpret as you see fit.
Karen and Jim
Prayers of the People:
Thanksgiving with Marie Johnson that she has returned home, Jim Jeffery for his brother Walton (health), Kay Baxter for Jamie, Don Dresser (health), Dale Edmondson for the Baptist witness in the Philippines, Thanksgiving for the Seafarers Ministry of the Golden Gate, Gloria and Phil Meads for Billy Jean, Matthew and Joan (health), Jewelle and James Gibbs, Julio Cash, The incarcerated and their families, The elected leaders of our communities, our state, our country and our planet, Thanksgiving for the leadership of the LABC Church Council in 2018, Thanksgiving for our Sponsor a Family ministry, All who are grieving, All who live with mental and physical illness, Paige and John for Cordia (health), Mary Karne and family, Alice Butler and Larry Sims for Weldon Miles, Jim H. for John and Carol Townsend, Jo Robinson (health), Mary Anderson (health), Brian Byamukama, Carol Ash for her family, Barbara Bowman for her family, Sandra Dunn (health), Jamie Reid (health), All migrants and refugees, All who are grieving, All who are separated from loved ones
Invitations to Worship and Serve:
- Help deliver Sponsor a Family gifts and dinners; drivers are especially needed. Friday 12:30-3:00 (meet at church)
- Sunday Worship, 10:00 a.m. The theme of our worship moves toward Christmas as our children help us enter into “The Story of Christmas” and we celebrate the Dedication on Isabella Bette Pancoe Gurney with her parents Jennifer and Chad
- Christmas Eve Worship, 6:00 p.m. A beautiful service of music, candles and spoken word