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First Sunday of Advent *

Hope,

Peace, Joy, and Love

 



[Jesus said:] "There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in a cloud' with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."

Then he told them a parable: "Look at the fig tree and all the trees; as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

"Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day catch you unexpectedly, like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man."

 

Luke 21:25-36

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Last Judgment, the Elect in Heaven

1096-1107

Saomte-Foy de Conques (church)

Conques, France

http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/diglib-viewlargeimage.pl

 

 

 

 

 

Hope, like the gleaming taper’s light,

Adorns and cheers our way;

And still, as darker grows the night,

Emits a brighter ray.

~ Oliver Goldsmith

 

 

 

Hope is not the same as optimism.

~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

 

 

 

 

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Cheryl St. John

holding a giclee print of her Awaiting Spring at Foothills Art Center in Golden.

Cheryl’s painting was selected in a juried show as the

2012 Official Image of the Capitol Christmas Tree!!!

http://capitolchristmastree2012.org/capitol_tree_art_winner_selected/

 

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Sarah Franklin, of the Silver Plume Tea Room.

Our Wednesday Breakfast Group

enjoyed breakfast there two weeks ago.

(I’m behind.)

 

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Congratulations, Brenna!

Into Your Hands Africa welcomed Brenna Vaughn as its

new Executive Director.

http://intoyourhands.org/

 

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Jack Salter and Lynne Milliken

examining jigsaw puzzles made from Tom Newsom’s Santa Claus paintings

at breakfast on Wednesday.

 

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Some of Tom Newsom’s Santa puzzles.

http://www.newsomart.com/gallery.php?gallery=6

 

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Loie Evans and Carmon Slater each claiming one of Tom’s puzzles.

 

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Tom, center, is happy to take Jack’s money for

some of the puzzles.

 

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Three Kansas State Wildcats, Bill Manning, Chad Dyson, and Mike Giller,

wearing purple at Rotary on Friday morning.

And, in the background, Jim Davis, a wanna-be Wildcat?

 

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Marion, one of our Memories in the Making artists at Life Care Nursing Home,

laughed out loud at the singing Santa and reindeer!

 

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I loved the concentric patterns made by air bubbles

in the ice at the lake this morning.

 

 

 

 

 

In the hour of adversity be not without hope

For crystal rain falls from black clouds.
~ Persian Poem

 

 

 

 

 

 

December 2, 2012      First Sunday of Advent

 

Previous OPQs may be found at:

       http://www.dotjack.com/opq.htm

 

 

*  “Advent” means “coming” or “arrival.” During the season of Advent, we celebrate Christ’s coming into the world and watch with expectant hope for his coming again. In its historical origins, the season of Advent was patterned after the season of Lent, a six-week period of penitence and preparation for Easter. Similarly, the four weeks of Advent present an opportunity for communal discernment and personal examination, as the church prepares to celebrate the Nativity of the Lord and looks with hope for Christ’s return.

 

 

Agnus Day, by James Wetzstein

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Agnus Day appears with the permission of www.agnusday.org

 

 

 

Wash Your Spirit Clean
(Sung in Cherokee and English)

http://www.panhala.net/Archive/Wash_Your_Spirit_Clean.html

 

 

 

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1 Thessalonians 3:12

http://www.heartlight.org/gallery/1844.html

 

 

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Jeremiah 33:14–16

Psalm 25:1–10

1 Thessalonians 3:9–13

Luke 21:25–36