19. February 2009 by Pastor Pamela.

REGULAR events at South Lyon Power & Light:

Sundays:                  8:15 AM            Worship team rehearsal

9:10 AM            Worship

Sundays during Lent (Feb. 28^th through April 5^th):                

10:30 AM            discussion group:

topic “What is my purpose?”

Wednesdays:            1:00 PM             Women’s Bible Study

                               6:00 PM             Puppet Show Practice

Fridays:                    7:08 PM             Taizé Worship Service

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19. February 2009 by Pastor Pamela.

Have you ever thought about giving something up during the time of Lent?

I hear people talk about this a lot these days. Some give up alcohol, some give up sweets, some even give up watching TV between Ash Wednesday and Easter.

I’ve heard about one person who actually gave up sugar, AND coffee, AND tea, AND alcohol during Lent last year. All of them during the same season of Lent, no kidding.

To be honest: for me this is a little bit like the New Year’s resolutions. I have great plans for what I am not going to do anymore, and I may even make it through the first week, but then I am back to my bad old habits. But as much as it is never too late to make your New Year’s resolutions come true, it is never too late to make some sort of sacrifice during Lent.

Since I am a teddy bear who LOVES cake, pie, candy, chocolate, coffee, pop, good food, and even a bottle of beer once in a while, giving up one of these isn’t going to work for me. (I leave it up to Pastor Pam to try and give up the alcohol or some of the sweet stuff).

And I definitely won’t give up watching TV!

But I have the feeling that I should do SOMETHING. So I think, that I could give up one of my other bad habits. You know, the ones that don’t have to do with food. There are bad habits like patronizing (I guess I do that sometimes to my friend Rudi the rabbit), or being impatient, or being grumpy, or being selfish.

I think this year I could try not to hold a grudge every time my family forgets to take me to bed with them, and lets me spend a whole night on a cold mantlepiece instead. Yes, I think that would work. Especially because it doesn’t happen very often that they go to bed without me.

Yours Pelle

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15. January 2009 by Pastor Pamela.

In 1940, a 25-year-old man from Switzerland, Brother Roger, came to the
small village of Taizé in the Burgundy Region of France with the dream of
starting an ecumenical community for contemplation and for the
reconciliation of Christians of all faiths.

Today the community is made up of brothers from several continents and
various denominations, draws ten’s of thousands of people from all parts of
the world. They come as part of their search for trust and communication in
their lives. Three times each day they join with the brothers for prayer in
the Church of Reconciliation. An important part of the Taizé experience is
the singing of simple meditative songs that were developed for the prayer
service. The simple phrases of the songs are easily memorized. They are
repeated over and over again to help people enter into the contemplation of
the presence of God.

Our Taizé worship at SL P&L follows this tradition of the Taizé community. This candlelight worship service lasts about 30 minutes and contains two readings, a time of silence, prayers of intercession, the Lord’s Prayer and a blessing. The elements are combined with simple meditative Taizé songs.

So, if you need a little break from your all too busy life, please join us for prayer, song and silence. This will help you to refocus on the presence of God and will recharge your batteries at the end of the week.

We are looking forward to see you Fridays at 7:08 PM at South Lyon Power & Light.

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15. January 2009 by Pastor Pamela.

REGULAR events at South Lyon Power & Light:

Sundays:                  8:15 AM            Worship team rehearsal

9:10 AM            Worship

Wednesdays:           1:00 PM             Women’s Bible Study

                               6:00 PM             Puppet Show Practice

Fridays:                    7:08 PM             Taizé Worship Service

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15. January 2009 by Pastor Pamela.

There has been a lot of snow coming down this winter here in Michigan. Recently I was sitting on the windowsill, watching the snowflakes falling down from the sky. I suddenly realized how beautiful they are and that each one was shaped differently.

That reminded me of the day when we were taking down the Christmas decoration in the parish house. Okay, I wasn’t taking down anything. I was sitting on the sideboard and giving Pr. Pamela advice how to best wrap the ornaments, so that they won’t break while being stored in the closet until next December. Then I saw her taking a star off the Christmas tree which was made out of clothespins. It is painted white, and has some silver glitter on it. The backside has a writing on it, saying: Remember, you are God made and unique like each snowflake.

Very often we are tempted to put a lot of effort in trying to be like somebody else. There are people we admire, who’s gifts we admire. And we want to be like them. We want to accomplish what they accomplish. We envy them their talents because we are not aware of the fact that our talents and gifts are as precious and as important as theirs.

But every person with their uniqueness has a place in God’s kingdom. And not only that. Every person with their uniqueness is NEEDED in God’s kingdom to make it grow.

But that also means that other people are as unique and as precious in God’s sight as you are. They may look different they may act differently, they may have a different opinion, but they are still God’s beloved children as much as you are a beloved child of God.

So every time you see snow falling from the sky don’t get mad because spring still isn’t in sight, because the roads are slippery, or because you can’t make it out of your driveway. But remember that you are one of very many people, who are precious children of God and who are God made and unique like each snowflake!

Yours Pelle

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18. December 2008 by Pastor Pamela.

UPCOMING events at South Lyon Power & Light:

Wednesday, Dec. 24^th 2008, 6:00 PM:

Christmas Eve Worship Service

Wednesday, Dec. 31^st  2008, 6:00 PM:

New Year’s Eve Taizé Worship Service

REGULAR events at South Lyon Power & Light:

Sundays:                  9:10 AM            Worship

                               11:12 AM           Sunday Morning Gathering

Wednesdays:            2:00 PM             Women’s Bible Study

                               5:00 PM             Puppet Show Practice

                               7:00 PM             Worship Team Rehearsal

Starting January 9^th, 2009

Fridays:                    7:08 PM             Taizé Worship Service

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18. December 2008 by Pastor Pamela.

Have you noticed that socks always seem to disappear in the laundry?

I just watched Pr. Pam doing her laundry: She had already collected all the dark colored clothes, but then she spent about half an hour looking for one single sock. Can you believe it? Thirty minutes for ONE sock! As if she had nothing else to do!

Of course I did not hold back with my comment and gave her the advice to just go ahead with the laundry. The sock would show up sooner or later. But she said, that she wanted to find the sock right now because this pair is one of her favorites. They are hiking socks: good quality and very warm.

She finally found the missing sock, and happily put it into the washing machine together with the other one. And there it is being laundered right now.

Then she put me on her lap and said: “Pelle,  you know, very often we are too busy to  take care of our things. It has become so convenient to just go and by another pair of socks, when they disappear in the laundry or when they have holes. My grandma actually taught me how to darn. And this is what I used to do for a very long time. Now I am not doing this anymore because it’s not worth spending so much time on darning when you can get a new pair of socks for a few bucks in the store around the corner. But this pair of hiking socks is one of my favorites. I like them too much to not try and find them when they are missing.”

I must admit that she is right. We are really very often tempted to do what’s most convenient. We don’t make a lot of effort and spend much time to find something that can so easily be replaced. But the point here is that this pair of socks is NOT easily replaced because it is one of Pr. Pam’s favorite pairs.

And this actually makes think about God. Now you may think: What on earth does God have to do with socks?

Let me tell you: Pr. Pam didn’t do what would have been convenient. She made quite an effort to find the lost sock. God isn’t doing what would be convenient either. God is making quite an effort as well to makes sure that his lost children find their way home. God doesn’t throw us away like old socks when we fail to be the people he wants us to be. Because he likes us so much. We are God’s favorites! He comes after us, when we go astray, when we get lost. God would spend all eternity if necessary to find his lost children. God makes sure that we don’t just disappear like socks in the laundry. Because  we are important to God. We are not easily replaced. We are his unique and precious children.

My wish for all of you for the New Year is that you will remember this once in a while: God WILL find you when you get lost, and God IS ALWAYS with you in all the good things and the bad things that happen throughout the year!

So, and now I’ll go and make sure that BOTH socks are still there and make it into the dryer.

Have a blessed year 2009!

Yours Pelle

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13. November 2008 by Pastor Pamela.

Regular events at South Lyon Power & Light:

Sundays:                      9:10 AM             Worship

                                      11:12 AM            Sunday Morning Gathering

Wednesdays:            2:00 PM              Women’s Bible Study

                                      5:00 PM              Puppet Show Practice

                                      7:00 PM              Worship Team Rehearsal

Women’s Bible Study

By P²

STAFF WRITER

November 13^th, 2008

South Lyon Power & Light has very recently started a women’s bible study on the bible study series “Bad Girls of the Bible. The women come together at SL P&L to learn more about women like Eve, Delilah, and Jezebel, to discuss what the bible has in store for women in modern times and society, and to discover a lot about themselves. The Bible study takes place on Wednesday afternoons at 2:00 PM in a very relaxed atmosphere with CCC: candles, coffee and cookies!

First outreach events in December

By P²

STAFF WRITER

        November 13^th, 2008

South Lyon Power and Light is planning first outreach events for the community: In December  members of SL P&L will offer a free gift wrapping on Saturdays. At December 6th, 13th, and 20th people can drop off their Christmas presents at SL P&L between 10:00 AM and 5:00 PM, and are either free to continue their shopping or stay for a cup of coffee while their packages are being decorated. 

Puppet ministry is fun!

By P²

STAFF WRITER

November 13^th, 2008

The puppet ministry of South Lyon Power & Light is getting very close to a regular public puppet show. The puppet show will tell the story of “The Little Witch” by Ottfried Preussler on a weekly basis starting in 2009.  The puppet show team is currently putting a lot of effort in creating the puppets for the many characters in the story, writing scripts, working out a stage setup and practicing. One of the volunteer puppeteers said: “We are having so much fun! It’s a blast!” The practice times are Wednesdays from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM usually followed by a pizza dinner at South Lyon Power & Light.

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13. November 2008 by Pastor Pamela.

What you need to know about Christmas

A father to his three-year old:

“No, a reindeer is not a horse with TV antenna!”

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13. November 2008 by Pastor Pamela.

       Happy Holidays!

“Happy Holidays” is something we say very often during the time around Christmas. It has become a standard greeting during the month of December. A lot of people say it as a wish for others to have exactly that: happy holidays.

When I think about holidays, I think about days off, when I don’t have to work, when schools and most offices are closed, and when no mail is being delivered. Sometimes I even think about vacation. A day off from my duties as teddy bear, and being released from my responsibilities as counselor, pillow, and copilot, is definitely something that makes me happy.

But not every time we get a few days off we say: Happy Holidays! “Happy Holidays” is something that only occurs around Christmas. So I figured it must have something to do with Christmas. And I think I get it: Christmas is a holiday, I get presents for Christmas, and the presents make me happy. Christmas = happy holiday.

But during this season there is actually more going on than just Christmas. There are other winter holidays like Hanukkah (Jewish) or Kwanzaa (celebration of African heritage between Dec. 26^th and Jan. 1^st) or Christmas in the Orthodox church on January 6^th. This is why we say Happy Holidays (more than one day). Because we want to wish everybody a happy holiday not only Christians who celebrate on December 24^th and 25th.

And I keep wondering: if “Happy Holidays” has to do with Christmas, then it must have to do with Mary and Joseph as well. But Mary and Joseph didn’t get a day off. And they didn’t seem to be very happy, while they where traveling the long way to Bethlehem with Mary being VERY pregnant. They actually had a hard time finding and inn where Mary was safe enough to give birth to Jesus.

On the other hand wasn’t Jesus a gift from God? Despite all the obstacles Mary and Joseph must have been really happy about this gift from God. The day Jesus was born was a special day. Not just for Mary and Joseph but for all of us. On that day more than 2000 years ago our savior was born and God’s love for us became visible, became real in Jesus Christ. Yes, Christmas is a special day. Not only that very first Christmas, but every Christmas, when we celebrate Jesus’ birthday. Christmas is a HOLY DAY. And this is exactly what the word holiday means, where it comes from. The origin of the word holiday is the Middle English word holidai which means holy day.

A holy day - THIS holy day - is meant to make you happy. But it makes you happy in a different way than you might expect. It’s not the excited happiness that kicks in after having received lot of Christmas presents. It is not the satisfied happiness you feel after having had a turkey dinner on Christmas day together with your family. The happiness of this holy day is something else. It is the happiness of someone who has realized how much he or she is loved. It is the happiness of someone who has found inner peace. It is the happiness of someone who sees the joy in being a child of God.

So, as a PB  (pastor’s bear) my wish for you is: May you realize how much you are loved. May you find inner peace. And may you see the joy in being a child of God.

May you have TRULY HAPPY HOLY DAYS!

Yours Pelle

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