ADVENT 2007

Prayers and Petitions:
A Call for Advent Prayer and Action

Peace lamp reports

Be sure to also view related pictures on our photo gallery.

God of peace, Christ of peace, Spirit of peace, You are calling us to be peacemakers. Today we light this candle as a reminder of our calling.

P. S. Our Prayer/Peace Vigil has moved from the Hively's Peace Pole in the parking lot, to the Elkhart Civic Plaza. We decided to keep on meeting -- no matter the weather. The number of those gathered has ranged from 4 to 16. Some persons come consistently; others have come once or twice.

Blessings,
Linda, Hyde Park Mennonite Church in Boise, Idaho

Another exciting break thro: In Jan. we will begin planning for a March/April peace workshop (!). A (very small) Quaker church held one about a month ago. Since then, we have met w/ them three times discussing how we can further explore these ideas. Since they got the ball rolling, we figured we would host the 2nd one. SO.....any thoughts, ideas, guidance you care to throw our way would be greatly appreciated. This is very new territory here, but it is beginning to feel like fertile ground. Hallelujah!

Teresa
peace advocate,
Asheville Mennonite Church
Asheville, NC

We are a small congregation in a small conference and your support and encouragement mean a lot to us. God bless and sustain you in this vital work.

Peace and joy,
Eve, Gainsville MC, Florida

Our petition sheets completely filled up. We probably should have had more available. We faxed them to our senators.

Joy in Christ,
Clarence, First MC, Newton, KS

Emma, Perkasie Mennonite Church, Perkasie, PA

So our visual display person created a relatively dark scene in the desert with a mountain. There was a big rock on the one side and one green plant on the other. In the center on a raised platform sat the peace lamp. Our pastor lit is as part of his message about Christ bringing light into the world. (We used the prayer both this past Sunday and the one before during our sharing time prayer.) The effect of the lone flame burning in the midst of the darkness was a wonderful contrast. Thank you so much for providing this for our congregation. We have moved it just outside the sanctuary and it will be burning every Sunday as people enter the sanctuary to worship.

Patty, Toledo Mennonite Church

GATHERING

Our Advent materials were written this year by a worship team from New Mexico. They have used the familiarity of desert and mountains to visually support the themes that come from the scriptures used during Advent.

Getting ready can be deeply personal and it can include reaching out. Today we will reach out in our Other's Offering to a family with limited means who have a big opportunity. Mennonite Church USA is also asking us to reach out to the countries of Iraq and Iran on this day by lighting this oil lamp (light lamp) and remembering that God calls us to be fools for Christ; praying for peace when the surge is for more military action can look foolish but if we believe that the Holy Spirit is truly capable of wooing people to Christ we can do no less. May the light from this lamp remind us that as long as we live, we are called to be servants of the Lord. Christ himself said that we would do greater things than He did; let us not shrink from serving and even loving our enemies into the kingdom.

During lunch you will also have an opportunity to sign a petition urging our Senators and Congressman to support a path of diplomacy with Iran. During World War II too many Christians kept quiet about the removal of Jews from their neighborhoods and a great horror evolved. If you feel led to speak for an alternative to military action, the petition will be on the table by the door. Anyone can sign it but if you are under 18 you must also list your age.

Next Sunday I will be using the wolf and lamb coloring pages and word finds as handouts for our children and I will be reading your prayer from the weekly prayers. I will also be highlighting the story of Issa Mousleh and showing olive wood carvings.

Thanks for helping to make this Advent especially meaningful.

Mary Lou, Concord Mennonite, Knoxville, TN

During my sermon entitled "Come, Let us walk in the Light of the Lord", I used the Isaiah 2 passage. As I was preparing my sermon, I mistakenly typed, "Come, let us walk in the light of the world." I was "horrified", so I quickly thought I typed, "no, the Lord." Instead I made another error and typed, "Not, the Lord." This became a foundational illustration as we often gain perspective of the way to walk, not from the Lord, but from our culture, because our culture becomes so much a part of us.

The Peace Lamp was lit during the sermon as we prayed for peace in Iran. Following the sermon, I took it to the back of the sanctuary and put it on the table with the petition as we sang, "O healing River".

I was encouraged when the Wednesday morning prayer group remembered to include peace for Iran and Iraq in their prayers, even though I forgot to bring the lamp into the room. The lamp will be a symbolic reminder to continue to pray.

Thank you also for both your written and picture resources. They were very helpful.

Judy, New Holland, Pa

THANK YOU for sending a Mennonite Peace lamp to Manhattan Mennonite Fellowship.

We have given it to Doug Hostetter, who will carry it with our peace greetings to Iran later this month.

We did already have a peace lamp, and we are lighting it in our Advent services.

Last evening we signed Iran peace petitions to be sent to US senators Schumer and Clinton. Twenty-nine people signed.

Our service was especially meaningful because we had the visit of a young Iranian couple who are on an around the world bicycle tour for peace and ecology (www.rmc4peace.com), coming through New York just this week. I hope other Mennonite communities will be able to connect with them as they make their way south & west over the next 5 months, biking and planting trees for peace.

We are holding peace prayer meetings at 7pm each Wednesday this month. Thanks for providing great resources!

Sylvia

Thanks for your continuing work for peace and justice in our broken world. May such efforts help turn our world toward life and justice.