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Office Notes

Pastor Philip will be on vacation from Dec 13 to Dec 19. Pastor Marie Besong will preside on Dec.15.​​

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December 8 – following the Service

Congregational Meeting to update you on the work on the Reimaging Mount Zion Initiative. It’s a chance to review what we have done together, learn about our next steps in the process and examine a few modifications to our Strategic Priorities.

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The Church Calendar

an ongoing series highlighting the seasons of the church and Mount Zion's banner collection

Sunday is the First Sunday in Advent, marking the beginning of the Church Year. Advent begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas Day.   The word “advent” comes from the Latin word “adventus,” meaning coming, and refers to the first coming of Christ that we celebrate during the Christmas Season. It also refers to his second coming.  This is a time of expectant waiting and preparation.

The Advent Wreath is a Lutheran tradition that other traditions also now use. It is circular to symbolize the infinity of God. It is green to symbolize the everlasting life found in Christ and to express Christian hope. The candles signify God’s Son, the Light of the World. The Advent wreath has four candles symbolizing hope, peace, joy and love. Each Sunday, one candle is lit.

Blue is associated with Advent, suggesting hope and royalty. Mount Zion’s blue advent banner features the angel of the “Annunciation.”

Last week, we celebrated Christ the King Sunday, a feast celebrated on the last Sunday of the church’s liturgical year.  Its purpose is to celebrate the messianic kingship and sovereign rule of Christ over all creation.  On this day, we are reminded that Christ’s power is not one of might but one of love, and we are to embody this love that is manifest in our King in how we live on earth. The festival was established in 1925 by Pope Pius XI and was initially celebrated on Reformation Sunday. It later moved to the last Sunday of the church calendar after Vatican II in 1970.

The liturgical colour for the day is white, a festive colour suggesting light, joy, and the celebration of our Lord. Gold is also an option, pointing to royalty and majesty. Our Christ the King banner is a woven white fabric embellished with two gold side panels stitched with the word “Gloria”. Helen Lange created the two banners.

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What Do You Do With “FREE” Money?

by Pauline Finch (Justice through Service Committee)     

Some thoughts on navigating the impact of recently announced federal and provincial rebates

On October 29, the Ontario government announced that all eligible adults in the province would receive a special one-time cash rebate of $200 early in 2025.

Just three weeks later, on November 21, the Federal government announced its Working Canadians Rebate of $250, again to eligible adults, early in 2025.

Both governments are handing out a combined total of around $8 billion. Based on average regular membership numbers and contributions, our Treasurer, Richard Brubacher, estimates that eligible adults of our congregation might collectively receive anywhere from $20,000 to $36,000 in what appears to be “free money.”

That means, some of us could start off 2025 with an extra $450 in our pockets.

Now that requires some thought and reflection.

Did you know that fully one-third of Jesus’ 39 known parables mention money in some way? — its value, purpose, meaning and ultimate destination in a kingdom of justice and love. Jesus was the original stewardship promoter! And if you’re into scriptural cherry-picking, more than 2,300 Bible verses mention money in a wide variety of contexts. To continue reading click here.

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It is Poinsettia Time

Poinsettias will be ordered to enhance our chancel for our Christmas services.  If you wish to sponsor a plant see the sign up sheet in the narthex or you can contact Margaret in the office at 519-886-5820 or email mtzion@mzlc.ca.  The 10" pots cost $34.00 and the 6" pots cost $13.00.  Please designate your payment as "flowers " on your envelope.

You are welcome to pick up your poinsettia immediately after the Christmas Day service.

Thank you for your support.   Susan Brubacher

German Service of Readings and Carols – December 20  4:00 pm

Your Worship and Music Committee has been busy planning and recruiting volunteer readers and musicians for our long-standing Annual German Service of readings and carols. This year, Pastor Peter Kuhnert will preside. The service begins at 4:00 pm, with fellowship time to follow. Please help us spread the word to the German Community

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It is exciting times at Open Sesame

Open Sesame is off to a good start this fall. The program is fully subscribed as of mid-November, with 16 students enrolled.

We were also delighted to learn that our grant request to the ELCIC/Eastern Synod Mission Grant was approved for $8000. We requested the funds to help refurbish the Open Sesame space with a renovated kitchen area and blinds.

We are blessed to have very capable and caring teachers who, under the guidance of Jana Kelly, continue to offer their unique and valued service to the community.

This year, the staff is studying Responsive Relationships as part of their Continuous Quality Improvement program, as studies have shown children’s success is influenced by relationships with adults and children at preschool. They will highlight the importance of strong, respectful and reciprocal relationships with families. The staff plans to share videos to help parents understand why the teachers do what they do and activities that can be replicated at home.

Monthly Parent Coffee Hours continue to provide helpful conversations for parents and resources are shared through the Book Club program.

More good news!

Open Sesame has been part of the Canada-Wide Early Learning Child Care program (CWELCC) for the last several years. We receive funding from the Federal Government through the Region of Waterloo. We recently learned that our application for funding for 2025 has been accepted under the new recently announced funding guidelines.

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The Feather & Cross Annual Report on activities for both 2023 and 2023-2024.

Our grateful thanks to Mount Zion for continuing to support the work of the Feathers and Cross, We acknowledge your faithfulness and hope that you will continue to do so. We have a KAIROS Blanket Exercise on the books to take place at Mount Zion in the Spring and we look forward to other learning activities to build relationships and awareness. Envisioned by members at St. Matthews and funded by an ELCIC grant with contributions from Kitchener-Waterloo Lutheran churches, the Feather & Cross Organization provides a safe space for people to learn about Indigenous practices and ways of life. We seek to nurture relationships between Lutherans and our Indigenous neighbours in the local context, and to deepen our knowledge through a series of intergenerational workshops which explore Indigenous and Christian teachings, respecting the distinct spirituality of each tradition. Click here to read the Annual Report for both 2023 and 2023-2024.

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Advent Carol Service, St Matthews Kitchener,

Sunday, Dec 1, 7:00 pm 

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​​​​​​​The Mitten Tree Returns

Once again, the Mitten Tree will grace the narthex, waiting for your donations of handmade or purchased gloves, mitts, socks, slippers, hats and coats for all ages. We will also collect clothing, hygiene items, and gently used items for the Anishinaabeg Outreach Centre.

You can hang your mitts on the tree until Sunday, December 15th. The items will be delivered to Kitchener’s Anishinaabeg Outreach Centre, which will share them with their centres in Guelph and Cambridge. For questions, contact Joan Schweitzer at 519-886-5977

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Care Ring

Hold the Phone; we are delighted to report that the Care-Ring Ministry has returned. A small group of volunteers will call those people they think might appreciate a call and a chat. We hope that these calls will offer a smile and support. Call Dennis Eaton if you are interested in either volunteering or receiving a ring.

 

Food Card Ministry

A big thank you to all who are supporting the food cards program as we head into the colder part of the year.  Although the monetary value of what we provide to each person or family is small, we are pleased to be part of the work helping to ease food insecurity in our surrounding community.  Mary Thompson.

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​Gifts from the Heart

Canadian Lutheran World Relief has begun this year's Gifts from the Heart campaign.  The catalogue can be found at https://www.clwr.org/gfth

One of the features is Tiny Hearts https://www.clwr.org/products/tiny-hearts

especially for children.  

This year they have a brand new colouring contest, where little ones can colour a scene from Lake Chad and win the chance to choose up to $500 of Gifts from the Heart donate.  The colouring page can be found here:  https://www.clwr.org/colourcontest.

Watch for more about the Lake Chad Project in the coming weeks!

  https://www.clwr.org/foc-splash

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