Dear Church Family,
We spent the rainy Sunday afternoon getting our house decorated for Christmas.  It is always fun because so many of our decorations hold personal meaning.  We have several homemade creches given to us by a dear friend who is a master crafter.  We have angels, and snowmen, bell ringers and Santas, given to us by friends in former churches.  The Haviland ornaments on the tree depicting children were collected by Lynn’s mom. My mother’s needlework “Merry Christmas” hangs prominently on the family room wall.  We have numerous ornaments marking special occasions in the  lives of our family, from our daughter in laws’ time teaching in the Marshall Islands to Toby’s origins in Korea.  Josh’s love of baseball  is marked and the grandchildren have made their own contributions.  Animal ornaments are a visible presence and even Lynn’s childhood baby rattle has a spot on the tree.  Nearly every decoration in our house is filled with love and has a story to tell.  Decorating the house  provides an occasion to remember and give thanks for special people in our lives..  Perhaps decorating does that for you too. 
The third Sunday in Advent is called the “Joy” Sunday.  We’ll light the pink candle on the wreath and sing “Rejoice, the Lord is King.”  The sermon is “God’s Strange Comfort” and the texts are Isaiah 61:1-3 and Mark 1:1-11.
Stay healthy!  There’s a lot of nasty stuff  going around. 
See you in church
Rich 
P.S. The Anderson family  has written a beautiful brief biography of  our dear friend Bruce which is posted on our church website    https://thefv.cc/community/current-events/