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Advent and Christmas Greetings from the staff of Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference!
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We wish you the warmest of greetings this Advent and Christmas season. We are so grateful for each one of you and the ways God is working in, among, and through each of us. May the presence of God help you to embody hope, peace, joy, and love this Advent and Christmas season and beyond.
As we have reflected on the Advent theme of joy, each of us has written a brief piece to encourage you in this busy time.
In the Leader materials for this week, the theme is “Dare to Imagine God’s Song!” This sentiment is taken from Zephaniah 3:14-20, where there is much rejoicing in Israel (and with God!) after returning from exile. Verse 20 states, “At that time I will gather you and I will bring you home.” Many of us think of “home” during the holidays. Where is home for you? Are you in a sort of exile, feeling far away from your community? Or are you home right now, surrounded by loved ones and a sense of belonging? Wherever you find yourself this season, it’s my prayer that you are able to find true “home” in God, in God’s love, care, and mercy. May we also be “home” to one another, extending our table and breaking down our walls to let all who are children of God have a place with us.
~ Joanne Gallardo, Conference Minister
God sings! The Lord your God is with you; God is mighty to save. God will take great joy in you; God will quiet you with love. God will rejoice over you with singing. Alleluia; Alleluia. This song from Zephaniah 3:17 became a foundational source of strength for me several years ago during a time of personal struggle. Repeatedly I claimed this image of God singing and dancing over me, one I had not dared to imagine as a child. Declaring that I am God’s beloved gently enlarged my capacity to also imagine Mary Jo Leddy’s assertions, that “I am enough, I am good enough, and I have enough.” Such statements of contentment and gratitude are countercultural in our capitalist economy. As we wait with longing for God’s shalom, may we be formed and transformed by the vision of God singing over each one of us.
~ Sharon Yoder, Conference Minister
Despite the reality that the pandemic continues to spread, I hope that it is only our joy that becomes contagious to those around us this Advent and Christmas season. While I was reading from Zephaniah 3, I found myself drawn to the second part of verse 20: “For I will make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth.” God’s vision for us, God’s People, is that we would be known by those around us in a way that would bring them to a place of praise. I am enamored with the idea of being a people so known for our hope, peace, and love that people would respond with joy. May we dare to imagine what being a people of this kind of contagious joy might look like in our circles of influence and beyond!
~ Clayton Gladish, Administrative Coordinator.
I find God's song in God's people. That beautiful song shines forth in difficult times when God's people show up to walk along side. How beautiful and what a gift!
~ Jim Norton, Bookkeeper
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Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference
PO Box 702, Goshen, IN 46527
574-534-4006
imoffice@im.mennonite.net
https://im.mennonite.net
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