Thursday Conversation – Dec 9 at 9:00 am
Zoom – https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7538449219
Tomorrow (Thursday) is ‘Drop Off and Pick Up’ Day at TMUC!
Thursday, from 10 am to 2 pm you can drop off at the office:
- Gifts or food for the Hampers (details follow)
- Food or other items for the Food Bank
- And you can pick up: Offering envelopes for 2022
- Of course, you can drop off any regular or Christmas offerings too. We are so, so grateful for your ongoing support!
Christmas Hampers and the Christmas Food Bank are some of the traditions at TMUC.
This is a time of year when traditions are traditional!
There are traditions at church, and in our homes. Some of us have an annual Advent/Christmas tradition of ‘trimming the tree’. It might be choosing and chopping, or pulling a tree from a box or bag. There might be traditions concerning which room the tree goes in, which decoration goes on top of the tree, who puts certain decorations on…
And…traditions of food! Homemade or specially bought, there are almost as many traditions as there are people!
And, speaking of people, some of us have traditions of gathering with family and friends.
The global pandemic has disrupted many of our traditions, but perhaps it also introduced some new traditions (Zooming with friends and family far away!).
In addition to the Hampers and the Christmas Food Bank, TMUC has a few other traditions. We decorate the church with Advent banners, with a creche of the manger scene, with Christmas trees (a tradition that has seen an increase from one to three trees in the sanctuary).
We share with many Christian communities the tradition of lighting Advent candles on the four Sundays prior to Christmas. We light candles of Hope, Peace, Joy and Love.
When it comes to lighting the Advent candles, perhaps this is not only a tradition – it is a practice! It is a spiritual practice.
The lighting of Advent candles is a repeated practice, a practice that conditions us, that shapes us, that prepares us – prepares us to participate in God’s creation, to participate as disciples learning Christ’s way of hope, peace, joy and love.
We invite you to reflect on Advent/Christmas traditions you find meaningful. We invite you to reflect on spiritual practices that nurture your faith.
In-person worship and Sunday School continue during Advent at 10 a.m on Sunday. There will be an in-person Christmas Eve Service at 7 p.m. There will be a Blue Christmas service on Dec. 19 at 7 p.m. Both Christmas Eve and Blue Christmas will also be live-streamed on the TMUC ZOOM link.
Messy Church will gather in-person at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 16. ‘Messy Church in a Bag’ will be available for those unable to attend in-person (‘Messy Church in a Bag’ includes an invitation to a ZOOM on Dec. 23 at 6 p.m. to ‘show’ the crafts we have made and to hear the Christmas story).
Both in-person and ‘in a bag’ Messy Church require you to pre-register by sending a note to: tmuc@shaw.ca
Here are the details on the Hampers:
TMUC is supporting the Holiday Hamper program of the Plessis Resource Centre. The Centre will provide Christmas hampers to every family in the Plessis, Robson, Kernighan Manitoba Housing community.
The staff of the Centre, Melissa, Debra, Erin and Rick are looking for gifts of:
Canned vegetables (corn, peas, mixed vegetables)
Canned soups (vegetable, chicken noodle, tomato)
Stove Top stuffing
Pasta (spaghetti, macaroni)
Pasta Sauce
Cereal
Peanut Butter
Jam
Granola bars
Cookies
Grocery Gift Cards or cash for purchasing perishable items like chickens, potatoes, carrots, onions just before delivery!And…
They are also hoping for new unwrapped gifts for children aged 4-12 years. Please donate toys, books, or games that are not gender specific. NOTE: The Centre asks that toys be delivered to the Centre or to the church prior to December 10!
Any donations may be dropped off at the Plessis Resource Centre (1190 Plessis Road – you can call 204.777.1215 to confirm a drop-off time)
or
at TMUC on Sunday mornings before church (9:30 – 10:00 a.m.) on Dec. 12; or at the church office between 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 16.
Thank you for helping us share in this community act of gift-giving.
And, if you are wanting to make additional donations to the Transcona Food Bank, both food and money are deeply appreciated.
TMUC’s current vaccination protocols apply to everyone (unless under 12 years of age) attending any of our worship services or other church events. You must show proof of full vaccination or proof from the Government of Manitoba that there is a medical reason for the person not to receive a vaccine for COVID-19.
We continue TMUC’s weekly ZOOM check-in and chats. We invite you to join us tomorrow morning (Thursday) from 9 to 10 a.m.
TMUC’s ZOOM link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7538449219Meeting ID: 753 844 9219
+1-204-272-7920We keep you in our prayers,
Carol and Jeff