How Much is Enough? (Joy): Third Sunday of Advent

On this Gaudete Sunday that calls us to dare to rejoice, we will fill the stable with prayers and with diapers. During worship, you will be invited to write down the prayers of your heart and place them in the manger. For those who worship online, we encourage you to write your prayers in the YouTube chat and they will be written and placed for you, or use our online prayer portal: https://www.umc-kzo.org/contact-us/prayer-request/. We will also begin a diaper drive for the diaper bank at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church and partnering with Bronson Birthplace. As John baptized new converts, he invited them to live with “changed hearts and lives.” When asked how to do that, his answers all point to making sure no one is cheated or left without the basic necessities of life, including the right to not be harassed. A full life of joy, which the prophet Isaiah describes as an everflowing spring, is the birthright of all children of God. May we act to make it so. Let us worship together, finding our center and grounding ourselves in experiencing, celebrating, and sharing God’s love.

Join us in person or online for coffeehouse worship on Sunday, December 12 at 10am.

We will be collecting diapers on Coffeehouse Sunday through Sunday, January 19. We are glad to partner with St. Luke’s Diaper Bank to take care of the babies right here in our community. We are accepting diapers of all sizes (sizes 3 and up are most needed) and wipes.

Here are some fast facts:

• Without diapers, babies cannot attend childcare facilities or participate in early childhood education.
• 1 in 3 US moms reports suffering from diaper need.
• Diapers can cost $70-$100 a month, and babies need 6 to 10 diapers a day.
• Diaper need impacts the health (mental, physical, and emotional) as well as the economic well being of children and their caregivers.
• Low income families are not as likely to have private laundry facilities, meaning cloth diapers are not an option.