Dear friends and members of Resurrection,

As we move into a new year—and even a new decade—many of us will be making resolutions.  I have one I would like to suggest: embrace the gifts you receive because of your imperfection!

That sounds counterintuitive: most of us think about our imperfection as that which should be “fixed.”

But I am encouraging you to look at what you offer to the world because of your “broken places.”

To aid in such reflections, I will be leading a teen/adult study based on the book by Brene' Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection. We will meet three Thursdays in January and three Thursdays in February from 6:30-8:00p.m.

The schedule is listed below.  The book is available at Amazon or at Barnes and Noble.  I hope you will consider joining this conversation!

• January 9         pages 1-21
• January 23       pages 23-47
• January 30       pages 49-62
• February 6       pages 63-85
• February 13     pages 87-104
• February 20     pages 105-126

Also, if any of you are available on Tuesday mornings from 9:15-10:30, we offer a bible study at Resurrection.  The group meets three weeks each month; check the calendar on our webpage to see when we will be meeting, usually it is the first three Tuesdays of each month.

If you have been away from church for awhile, I invite you to come back.  “Perfect attendance” is not required, any more than a perfect life! But this is a place where you are likely to find your relationship with God and with others will grow in the midst of your imperfections.  Worship is every Sunday at 9:15 am.  If you need a ride to get here or want to talk about some aspect of your life, please call the church (262)-786-8880 or call me (262)-930-2726.

And for those of you with young children, we offer First Sunday Sunday School on the first Sunday of each month immediately after worship.  This gathering includes a snack, craft and Bible study.  And children are always welcome in worship!  We have “Blessing Bags” available at the entrance to the sanctuary to help keep young children occupied and have a children's sermon nearly every week.  We do not mind a little extra noise and movement in worship!  It is such a blessing to all of us to have children of God of all ages present!

Hope to see you at worship and perhaps at one or more of our educational offerings!

Peace and joy,
Pastor Mary Ubuntu

Dear friends and members of RLC

As we enter December, I want to call your attention to our upcoming Kids' Christmas Program: Sleepover at the Stable. In this program, our children and youth will “become” the animals that were present in the stable at Jesus' birth. We will hear the story from the perspective of these humble ones--present, but often overlooked.

This seems especially appropriate as we remember the story of this humble family: Mary, Joseph and Jesus. And as we remember the ones whom this Jesus continually held up as precious to God: the unseen, the unheard, the discarded, the despised.

The gift that God gave to the world was a helpless baby who needed others to survive, who grew up poor, who died young—and yet, was the means through which God saved the world from all which separated it from life itself, including death.

In response to this incredible gift, we give gifts to one another, including to those whose needs are great. This year, our children are invited to give gifts of animals through the ELCA World Hunger program to people around the globe whose lives can be changed by the reception of a goat, some chicks, honeybees or a piglet.

The children received “God's Global Barnyard” banks at Sunday School in November (if they have misplaced them, there are more available in the narthex) along with a list of the prices of various animals and other gifts they can offer. I am asking that the children fill these banks before the December 22nd Christmas Program and bring them as their offering at the Program.

If any of you reading this wish to make a contribution toward animals for poor families around the globe, you are welcome to participate. We will see what kind of menagerie we assemble at the Christmas Program on December 22nd!

Another way you can offer gifts to local folks who need help with the necessities of life is to provide gift cards for me to share: gas cards, Pick'n'Save, Walgreens and Walmart cards are most needed.

Christmas is a time of year that holds memories for most of us-many of them beautiful, some tinged with great sadness and longing. I wish you the love of others, light in the darkness, the presence of God's peace and joy.

You are invited to participate in worship on both Thursday, December 19th at 6:30 when we have our Longest Night Christmas Service as well as on Tuesday December 24th at 5:30 when we hold our service of Lessons and Carols. Holy Communion will be served at both of these worship services.

Whatever your circumstances this particular year, know that you are loved with an everlasting love by the God who creates, saves and guides us out of darkness into light.

Peace,
​Pastor Mary