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Updated: 12/10/2008

Sunday Service at 10 a.m.
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Two Exciting Holiday Shopping Fundraisers. See Details Below

A Message from Rev. Vicky

Advent: A Time for Intentional, Reflective Waiting

Awaken, my heart, God's reign is near the Peaceable Kingdom is in my hands. If the wolf can be the guest of the lamb and the bear and cow be friends then no injury or hate can be a guest within the kingdom of my heart. (An Advent Psalm, Edward Hays)

Having just completed our Fall Faith-In-Action series on Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth, we are aptly prepared for this Season of Advent -- a time to appreciate the spiritual gift of intentional waiting -- creating an empty space within our hearts so we may become pregnant with divine possibility. Advent is a reminder to set aside a time each day for silence, for reflection, for gratitude. . .for God.

In addition to a time for decorating, shopping and entertaining, this Holy-day Advent Season is also a time to welcome and experience the wonder and grace of Incarnation -- God With Us! As the days grow shorter and the nights colder, we embrace Hope and seek the Light that will penetrate the darkness of discouragement, distractions and doubt. We long for peace in our hearts. . .and in our world. . .and so consciously re-focus our attention on God's Presence, within both the blessings and the challenges of each day.

We are again sponsoring Christmas Giving opportunities in order to share our rich blessings with those less fortunate in our community (see below). On Sunday, December 21, we will celebrate our traditional Christmas story at the morning service, and hold our third annual Celebration of Light, honoring the Winter Solstice and the Light within all Spiritual Traditions, at our Candle Lighting Service in the evening. Plan to join us for this full day of story and song (with a Dessert Buffet after the Candle Lighting Service).

We look forward to sharing these Holy-days together, and make a commitment now to keep the wonder and awe of the season primary in our hearts -- so that the Light may again be born into the world in and through each of us!

Merry Christmas!

CHRISTMAS GIVING

Monterey County Food Bank barrels are available for donations of food staples. We will keep the barrels through the month of January to help restock the shelves after the holidays.

Teddy Bears (medium sized are best) will be collected for Monterey County Emergency Services. (Put your donated teddy bears around the Christmas Tree so they don't get mixed up with our Rory Hug-a-Bears.)

$20 gift cards (from Target, Walmart, Kohl's, etc.) are being collected for those women and children in our Monterey County Shelters. (Cash donations can be made towards gift cards as well.)

Adopt-a-family information will be available soon. Choose a child, parent or family to adopt (desires and sizes will be provided) to help create a more joyous Christmas. We will need volunteer deliverers as well.

IMPORTANT EVENTS & DATES

Holiday Bazaar every Sunday through Christmas. Donations welcome; shopping encouraged!

Christmas Present Wrapping Party by Soul Gardeners Women's group (all welcome) on Saturday, December 20, 9 AM (bring paper, tape, ribbon)

Celebration of Light Interfaith Solstice Candle Lighting Service, Sunday, December 21, 7 PM; followed by a Potluck Dessert Buffet

New Year Burning Bowl Meditation Service Thursday, January 1, 10 AM

Namaste,
Rev. Vicky

Two Great Ways to Help UMB While Shopping for Gifts!

Holiday Bazaar in Church; Catalog Program Yields UMB 50% Commissions

This holiday season presents Unity of Monterey Bay members and friends with not one but two ways to help the church achieve and maintain sustainability while doing their seasonal gift shopping.

First, every Sunday finds more new gifts provided by members of the congregation available in our annual Christmas Bazaar at the back of the sanctuary. You'll find homemade jewelry and other crafts, artwork, baked goods and a variety of other tasty and useful gifts that you can pruchase for special people on your gift list. All proceeds from this sale go to the church's general fund.

Second, a new arrival for this holiday season is the Current catalog, one of the most popular gift shopping catalogs. The catalog offers a wide variety of holidy gift-wrapping materials as well as charming gift items and $10 magazine subscriptions.

You can peruse the catalog at church and place your order there or you can click this link to go to the catalog's Web site. At the bottom of that page is a yellow button that says, "Start shopping now!". When you finish shopping, and are ready to check out, you'll see a drop box from which you can pick "California" and then a second drop box will allow you to choose "Unity of Monterey Bay" as the organization to benefit from your shopping spree.

You'll get your shopping items and we'll get a check for 50% of the total sales at the end of the quarter.

The Current promotion is on-going; each quarter there will be a new catalog with seasonal items from which to choose.

So check off two To Do items at once: help Unity of Monterey Bay maintain sustainability and get your holiday shopping done easily and effortlessly with our holiday bazaar or the catalog-shoppig promotion. And thanks for your help!

This Week's Lesson and a Look Ahead

Sunday Lesson and Beyond
Dec. 14 Advent: "Love"
Dec. 21 Advent: "Joy" - Candlelight Service, "Celebration of Light" - 7 p.m.
Dec. 28 "Begin Again"

GOING DEEPER. If you want to go deeper into a subject presented in the lesson on a given Sunday, stay around after the service for our popular "Second Hour". We hold informal discussions at the front of the church where the speaker and ministerial team often offer additional insights into the topic of the lesson and you can ask questions, share your own insights, and enjoy more fellowship.

NOTE that you can download each week's lessons and meditations free from this Web site. Click on the "Sunday Lessons" tag in the left column. If you prefer a real CD, you can order a recording of each Sunday service from the bookstore for just $4.

Opportunities to Serve...

Our spiritual community depends on volunteers to support our ministerial team, commUnity activities and service projects. Currently, we are seeking volunteers in the following areas:

Living Oceans Initiative Highway Clean-up
UMB has signed up to keep the 1 mile stretch of Hwy 156 as it meets Hwy 1 clean of litter and debris. Once a month, a trained crew fulfills this task (about 2-3 hours one Sunday after church). If you'd like to help, contact Team Leader Linda Fosler.

Bookstore Clerks
Needed Sundays before and after service. Our Sacred Grounds Bookstore has a rich supply of resources for the spiritual journey. By volunteering once a month, you can see first-hand all the latest treasures. Team Leader Kay Sharp

Support Teams
Help with mass mailings, hospitality events, building and grounds maintenance and other projects as needed. Contact Patty Waldin at the church office if you have time and are willing to help.

Children's Church
UMB has a commitment to create a safe and loving space for our children to learn about and experience God. We ask for volunteers to commit to one Sunday a quarter. Lesson plans and assistance are available. Be blessed by blessing our kids. Sign-up on Sunday or call Patty Waldin at the church office.

PowerPoint
Our Sunday services are enhanced by our PowerPoint presentations but to keep them going we need to expand our team. You can either just run the program one Sunday a month (training is available and it is quite easy); or, if you would like to enhance your computer skills, you can learn to create the shows. If you are interested, contact Team Leader Becka Sheranian.

Chaplains
If you would like to deepen your prayer life and serve our spiritual community, consider joining the Chaplains Team. Prayer is the foundation of our Unity spiritual blisscipline. Chaplains are trained in affirmative prayer, praying with others, and holding a high watch. If you are interested, contact Team Leader Carolyn Shafer.

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