Texts For Sunday Worship

Oct. 30th - Psalm 107:1-7, 33-37 and Matthew 23:1-2;

Nov. 6th - Psalm 34:1-10, 22 and Matthew 5:1-12

Nov. 13th - Psalm 90:1-12 and 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11;

Nov. 20th - Psalm 100 and Matthew 25:14-30

 

A Note About Christmas

As we looking ahead to the holiday season, please note that Advent begins on the last Sunday in November (the 27th). Also note that Christmas Eve is on Saturday this year. We will be holding both a Christmas Eve service and Sunday Morning Worship. It is wonderful to have an opportunity to gather together on Christmas Morning and worship our Lord and Savior on the day we celebrate his birth! Please be sure to mark your calendars and have your holiday plans include a wonderful time of worship.

Mark H. Breese © 2005. Used By Permission

On the website I am including a past Pastor’s Page for Thanksgiving from 2002. I had a lot of feedback when it was published that year. Since that was before we began the web site, I thought it might be a bit of a bonus for folks who visit the site.

Buck-Buck Isn't For Turkeys

I come from a large extended family. On my mother's side alone, I have nearly 30 cousins. As one might imagine, a family gathering was a large undertaking. These gatherings were not restricted to holidays and special occasions. There was not a month that went by, some times a week that went by (especially in the summer) when my mom and her 6 sisters and one brother, each with their spouses and children would spontaneously coalesce at someone's home.

These gatherings were always an exercise in controlled chaos when it came to us kids. When they were at my parents home, located in the woods with a conveniently located brook a few hundred feet behind the house, they nearly always ended with 20 or so pairs of soaking and muddied pants, socks, and sneakers. No matter whose home it ended up at, there was always the inevitable brawl (which we called rumples) that always started between two siblings and spiraled out of control to engulf the entire group -- boys and girls alike. Ah, the memories!

There was however, one activity that the cousins reserved for special occasions like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. It was playing Buck-Buck.

For those not familiar with the game, here is a basic description of it adapted from the Web Site Games Kids Play (http://www.gameskidsplay.net/games/strength_games/buck_buck.htm). :

• Two Teams consisting of 3 or more persons:
• One person would stand bent over holding onto a tree or poll. Other members of the team would bend down and hold onto the waist of the person in front of them. Like a line attached to a pole. One player at a time from the opposite team must run shouting "1-2-3- Buck-Buck" and leap upon the first team trying to get as far down the line as possible. Each member of the opposition does the same in turn. Object is to force the team being jumped on to collapse. Each team takes turns and the team able to hold up the most people on their backs before collapsing wins.

I still remember the fear and loathing-- and the thrill-- that would well up inside of me when I was part of the line and I heard the voice of my cousin Donny (whom we called 'Fat Don') call out come from behind me, "1-2-3 Buck-Buck!"!

It's funny. Of all the countless things in my life that I am thankful for, the memories of so many cold November afternoons where I would be crushed beneath the weight of half of my blood relatives ranks right at the top! The ritual (for a ritual it was) bound us together more than any golden brown, juicy turkey with all the fixings could ever do. It was about being part of something that is greater than yourself. Not just belonging, but accepting that we all, by mutual consent, would and could endure the trials of life because we were bound together. We could place our trust in the bone-deep knowledge that, come what may, there would always be someone there that would lift us up in a time of need-- someone who would pick us up and carry us on their back until we could walk on our own again.

As years have gone by, the Buck-Buck games have stopped, but whenever a number of the cousins are gathered in one place (at a wedding or something), someone invariably says "Hey. Wanna play Buck-Buck?!?" The bond still remains.

In this Thanksgiving season, it is my fondest wish that our church family can remember that we are bound just as my cousins and I were and are still all bound together. Our church family is united through the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are united by the perfect and eternal love that God has for each one of us.

I'm thinking that maybe at our next church picnic we should have a game of Buck-Buck.

Mark H. Breese © 2002 Used by permission