Give Thanks and Be Still
Happy Tuesday Gadsden Street UMC!
We are moving right along in this season of Thanksgiving! I'm sure we are all looking forward to some turkey, ham, casseroles, pies, the family and friends gathering, football. This is a time of year where we come together, not only for Thanksgiving but as we prepare for the Advent season. I am sure that you have all begun to accustom yourselves to the time change as the sun goes down much earlier in the day. It's at times like this in the season that I consider what this season has meant across time. It's a time of preparation. It is a time for gathering. It is a time of rest. The crops are harvested. The family gathers around the fire. For our Christian communities, it is a time to prepare for the coming of Christ.
While the festivities are starting up, I hope that we take some time to remember that this is a time that God's natural world around us begins to rest. However you are preparing this season, I pray that you are all leaving room for rest. It's in the rest, the pockets of peace in the chaos of the modern season, that we can feel God's presence and God's peace. Though we sing it in the coming month, I hope that as we come together in the coming weeks that we prepare him room.
This Week
Wednesday Morning Devotional
10:00 AM | Online via Zoom
We are coming together online this week and looking at The Methodist Book of Daily Prayer - Week: 45 Calm. We would love to have you join us! At 10:00AM tomorrow morning, click on the link below as we gather through the gift of technology to reflect and share gratitude to God.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83607566160
Wednesday Coffee with Pastor Heather
12:00 PM to 4:00 PM | The Rex Cafe - 18 N Palafox Street
While the office is closed on Wednesdays, Pastor Heather is still working from a local coffee shop. The location changes weekly as there are just too many good coffee places around town. This week, she will be at The Rex Cafe on Palafox. Drop on in! Grab a cup of coffee! Get to know your pastor!
Ladies and Gents Lunch
Thursday, November 12 | 11:00 AM | Bonefish Grill - 5025 N 12th Ave.
Every month we gather together for a fellowship lunch. This month we will be gathering at Bonefish Grill. If you would like to get signed up so that we have an accurate headcount, please reach out to Brenda Brown or the front office and we will pass the information along. We hope to see you there! Please note that we will not have a Ladies and Gents Dinner this month or in December. We will be back to our monthly dinners in January.
Looking Ahead
Wednesday Night Dinner - Thanksgiving Potluck!
Wednesday, November 18 | 5:30 PM
We have so many delicious items already listed to be brought to our potluck Thanksgiving! Currently, it appears we might need some more vegetables, but we have a wonderful spread so far. There is a possibility we may enjoy the outdoors and fellowship at tables in our greenspace or parking lot. Regardless of if we are eating outside or in the Fellowship Hall, all are invited to stick around for a firepit in the parking lot to make s'mores at the end of the evening.
Thanksgiving Potluck Recipes
Additionally, we are passing out and collecting recipe cards for those who wish to share a recipe with the church. You do not have to bring a dish in order to submit a recipe! We would love to see what our church family brings to share from their own Thanksgiving traditions.
Advent 2026
Advent is almost upon us! I pray that we will all look forward to the start of the Christian liturgical year. I pray that we all look forward to preparing room for Christ in our hearts, our church, and our lives. The advent wreath will be lit in the order that follows:
November 29 - Hope
December 6 - Peace
December 13 - Joy
December 20 - Love
Advent Devotional
Mondays (Nov. 30 - Dec. 21) | 4:30 PM to 5:30 PM | The Conference Room
This Advent, you're invited to plug into a time at Gadsden Street where we can work to find what it means to be still this season. We will be reading, discussing, and practicing stillness with the book Simply Wait: Cultivating Stillness in the Season of Advent by Pamela C. Hawkins. You are welcome to purchase the book yourself, there are copies on Amazon for around $10 (shipping not included) or you can simply join as we are guided through the season together.
Annual Christmas Jewelry Sale
Dec. 12 and Dec. 13 | The Gathering Space |
10:00 AM to 4:00 PM Friday and 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM on Saturday
Come on out to the Cardon Estate Sale annual Christmas Jewelry Sale! If you're looking for the perfect gift for someone this Christmas or just something for yourself, all are welcome! For more information, please feel free to call the office.
Christmas Eve Candlelight Services
December 24 | 5:00 PM and 11:00 PM
You read that correctly! Services! We will have two candlelight services this year. Our first service will be at 5:00 PM with lessons and carols. We will also have an 11:00 PM service, a beautiful time later in the night where we will be the first to wish one another a very Merry Christmas by the end of the service. Bring your family! Bring your friends! All are invited to find a home among Gadsden Street UMC this year.
A Weekly Reflection
The month of November is typically mostly looking forward to one day. The Thanksgiving meal. The parade. The football. Family. Friends. I often wonder how we express that sentiment in the entire month and in a way that reaches other times of the year. After all, we can be thankful to God in all the days of our lives about something, surely. This month, we begin with giving thanks to those who have gone before us and have joined the great cloud of witnesses. It culminates in the first Sunday of Advent, a time of hope. It's why a liturgy this week stood out to me.
The book Liturgies from Below: Praying with People at the Ends of the World by Claudio Carvalhaes is a book full of liturgy that stands in solidarity with communities that are suffering. There is, however, a section full of prayers of thanksgiving. One that particularly stood out was one by that exact name, Thanksgiving. I hope that as you read the words that you might feel the Spirit open your eyes to the world of things to be thankful for, even when it can be hard to find them. Who knows, maybe this can be a prayer you pray this month, recognizing God's goodness in all things.
Thanksgiving
For tears, water of life that runs down our faces and connects our lives
for the burden of God's creation
for the spirit of solidarity
for when we are welcomed
for the hospitality of indigent people
for God's goodness running through the natural resources
for the ability to listen to wounded people
for the chance to become better humans
for the activists, community workers, and prophets who give their lives, gifts, and labor to the people of the world
for being together here
for the noise of children
for the spirit of resistance and rebellious people
for clean water
for the strength and courage to live on in spite of loss
for the gift of others, the families with whom we live
for maternal rage
for hope that comes from smiles and laughter
for faith and patience in the midst of suffering
Peace and blessings,
Heather Nysewander