 Greetings, friends. Welcome to CTUCC Conference Cast for December 22, 2014, the regular podcast of the Connecticut Conference of the United Church of Christ. Whoever you are and wherever you may be on life's journey at this very moment, you are welcome here. This special Christmas edition of Conference Cast features this meditation from the Rev. Kent Solati, Connecticut Conference Minister. Kent loves the story of the birth of Jesus as Luke tells it in the second chapter of his gospel. Sharing the reading of this text with me today are the Rev. Mary Nelson Abbott, the Rev. Davida McAllister, the Rev. Tamron Moorland, Karen Zeal, and of course the Rev. Kent Solati. In those days, a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea to the city of David called Bethlehem because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child and she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth and laid him in a manger because there was no place for them in the inn. In that region there were shepherds living in the fields keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them and the glory of the Lord shone around them and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, do not be afraid. For see, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people. To you is born this day in the city of David a Savior who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you. You will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger. Suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly hosts praising God and saying glory to God in the highest heaven. Glory to God in the highest heaven and on earth peace among those whom God favors. When the angels had left them and gone into heaven the shepherds said to one another, let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place which the Lord has made known to us. And so they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the child lying in a manger. When they saw this they made known what had been told them about this child and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. The shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen as it had been told them. I know this passage by heart. Yes I have this passage memorized. It might be an occupational hazard having read it aloud in front of packed churches on Christmas Eve countless number of times. It might be that it is from a deep love of this story from Luke that gives the account of the birth of Jesus that my memory will not let it go. It might be that I simply love the poetry of this account but even deeper still the story that it tells. It is embedded in my very soul. For me my Christmas must include both hearing this account from another voice and my reading of this passage aloud even if it's only in my own office where no one else is listening. One of the common delights of Advent and Christmas is the music that accompanies the season of waiting and watching. We sing O come O come Emmanuel with longing in our hearts. We wait with great anticipation to belt out joy to the world and O come O ye faithful and to light candles while singing Silent Night during the 11 p.m. Christmas Eve service. This music touches us deeply and invites us into the mystery and wonder of God's arrival as Emmanuel, God with us. While many of us have our own favorite hymn or carol probably not many among us would choose number 153 from the new century hymnal. It is from the Iona community in Scotland and it employs the tune of Scarlet Ribbons to convey its message. It's titled Who Would Think That What Was Needed. The first verse proclaims who would think that what was needed to transform and save the earth might not be a plan or army proud in purpose proved in worth who would think despite derision that a child should lead the way God surprises earth with heaven coming here on Christmas Day. That verse captures for me the essence of Christmas Day the God of all creation surprises earth with heaven. That's a type of surprise I'm quite sure we would all welcome into our pain and our heartache into the violence and the suffering God surprises earth with heaven into our grieving and misunderstanding into the judgments and the inhumanity God surprises earth with heaven into our brokenness and alienation into the recognition that all is not right in our world God surprises earth with heaven so let us not lose heart let us be surprised yet again by the unspeakable gift of Jesus Christ born among us to reveal God's love for all humanity let us be like the first shepherds who after encountering Jesus went back home glorifying and praising God for surprising earth with heaven here is a Christmas prayer God you surprise us with heaven open our hearts open our souls open our minds this Christmas season to your extravagant love in Jesus glory to you in the highest heaven and peace on earth amen welcome to this Christmas edition of Vantage Point in the next few moments you'll be hearing from members of our staff who will be bringing greetings from their hearts about this season of Christmas we are grateful for this staff and the ways in which the ministry of the Connecticut conference is carried out I'm blessed to work with them so here now the members of our staff bringing to you this conference our greetings hi i'm tim hughes executive director at silverlake conference center good morning and merry christmas from jane faucet the director of finance and budget i'm tom clef the eastern regional minister that would be the connecticut valley the quiet corner and the not so quiet coastal regions of eastern connecticut would like to wish you a merry christmas and look forward to working with you in the new year charlie kuchenbroud finance and development team leader may christ be born or born again in your heart this christmas merry christmas the world can be a difficult place at the holidays or at any other time it's not because the world is perfect that god sent jesus it was because there is nighttime in our lives and so i remind you of the blessing of jesus who came that there might be light in the darkness a candle in the night may all the joys of christmas be yours hello i'm tamra morland the regional minister for the northwest central region of the connecticut conference i wish you a merry christmas and a happy new year god bless my favorite version of mary's magnificat is written by mt winter and appears in her book entitled the gospel according to mary my soul proclaims the power of god my spirit delights in her wonderful ways for she has shown favor to me a woman generations of women will all be blessed for she who has the power to open the womb has done inconceivable things through me holy is her name her mercy flows through mother and child from generation to generation she silences the arrogant with the strength of her outstretched arm puts down principalities and powers as she empowers the poor feeds those who are hungry while those who seem to have everything are left unsatisfied we have felt her compassionate presence as she spoke through our mothers and grandmothers keeping the promise she made to sarah and her daughters now and forever i wish you all a blessed advent and holiday season all right i'm here for my christmas beating no drew it's a christmas greeting oh you would assume we would just have a christmas tweeting well let's hurry up the moment's fleeting i'm karen zeal minister of faith formation i'm debbie kerke director of give square god's grace be with you in the coming year as together we grow a faith-forming multiracial multicultural open and affirming accessible to all just peace globally minded movement of youth and young adults in the connecticut conference merry christmas police navidad i'm michael seba southwest regional minister for fairfield east fairfield west and lichfield south associations i want to wish you a wonderful christmas and the best new year ever hi this is stephanie pitman i'm the business manager at the silver lake conference center and i just wanted to take this time to say merry christmas and happy new year and come visit silver lake hello i'm john venets the archivist now in the good old days christmas was illegal in new england but times change so i wish you a very blessed christmas hi i'm michelle mudrick the legislative advocate for the connecticut conference of the united church of christ police navidad joya noel police natal and one of my favorites melee cliquey maca is hawaii's way to say merry christmas a very merry christmas to you hi i'm mary nelson abbott the south central regional minister for the connecticut conference of the united church of christ i wish you and yours a very happy christmas and a wonderful new year what is it that gives christmas its meaning well it's a pretty good story that bears repeating time off work means longer sleeping the brightest star in the sky was gleaming dancing sugar plums in my dreaming no the magi travel mary was beaming presence piled to the ceiling spreading cheer people pleasing raining hail storms snowing sleeting and that thing with the lords are leaping all the ovens are preheating oh good because outer space is freezing and the cupcakes are depleting hi i'm sue willis program associate and connecticut conference registrar we see you and your loved ones a magical christmas and a new year filled with light and love god bless hola mi nombre is yolanda montano y desde la conferencia de conerico le quiero desear una feliz navidad y un prospero año nuevo felicidades mary christmas hi i'm reverend dame callister and i am your associate conference minister for youth and young adults for today but in just a few days i will be your associate conference minister for leadership and vitality from both roles and in both places i am here to wish you an incredibly fabulous christmas this is the time of god's love and joy and peace and faith and wisdom and a whole bunch of other stuff made manifest and we've already seen one amazing advent miracle in the wedding of monica and soraya and we are hoping that you are going to tweet and facebook us about millions more miracles during this season so have an incredibly wonderful fabulous splintiferous mary christmas wait no no it's the day jesus started breathing is this the one with the trick or treating child was born forever redeeming so you're saying christmas is not about overeating there's no competing we should start screaming season's greetings this season of advent we hear the message of waiting and watching for the coming of christ each week an advent candle is lit to proclaim hope peace love and joy so as we prepare for the coming of christ anew into our hearts i bring greetings on behalf of my family and our conference staff that you might experience god's deepest love expressed in the christ child merry christmas to you and to yours as i'm on vacation this week and next conference cast will take a break for the holidays we return with our next regular edition on january the 9th until then i pray that your celebrations be merry your hearts filled with love and your spirits enlivened by the abounding grace of god a blessed christmas to you and a very happy new year and that brings this christmas edition of conference cast to a close thanks to kent salati for his reflection and to garage band for our music special music this week comes from david jarvis primary funding for conference cast comes from your congregation's gifts to our church's wider mission basic support changing lives through the united church of christ this is eric anderson the minister of communications and technology for the connecticut conference of the united church of christ praying that your days this week may be filled with the presence the guidance and the grace of god