On occasion when I was growing up in upstate New York, Halloween was an affair complete with snow. This year in northern Illinois we had a rather dramatic display of that possibility as we began the darker half of the year in the northern hemisphere.
Don’t forget that Saturday is the night when you turn your clocks back an hour.
November Worship
On November 3, we will celebrate Memorial Sunday. The rest of November will be a blend of stewardship and thanksgiving themes. In a sense, honoring those who have died before us, those who have partially shaped who we have become, is an expression of how they have stewarded who they were.
November Intergenerational Labyrinth Walks
Our November intergenerational labyrinth walks will occur at 9 am on Sunday, November 3 and Sunday, November 17. New walkers are encouraged to join us.
United Church of Christ Thank Offering
We are currently collecting gifts for the UCC Thank Offering. If you didn’t receive a Thank Offering bag in worship last Sunday, make sure to pick one up this week. Between now and November 24, you can fill your bag with change, bills, or a check. This is a noisy offering as we will toss our gifts into a loud metal pail on 11/24. The Thank Offering has its roots in the women’s groups of the Congregational Church in the 19th century. Whenever these groups met, women contributed a few cents (They were known as Cent Societies). Over time these collections funded both local congregations and bold mission efforts. The modern day Thank Offering continues this support.
Looking Ahead to December
During Advent, December 1-24 this year, we will Dwell in Hope, and open a liturgical year that will focus on hope. The Mayfield Fellowship will have its December meeting on Thursday, December 12, noon, at Toma and Duane’s. Mark your calendars. Complete details will follow in an upcoming memo. Don’t forget that this meeting includes an ingathering of new or gently used board books for the Children’s Waiting Room at the county courthouse.
The very least you can do in your life is to figure out what you hope for.
And the most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it from a
distance but live right in it under its roof. (Barbara Kingsolver)