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Can we find the Christmas Spirit

amid all of the black-cyber-hype that

is everywhere around us? Is there a

path that leads to the true meaning

and spirit of the Christmas Season?

In fact, there are many paths to

the Spirit. We talk about them all

year at Broadway—participating in a

relational group, reading your Bible,

observing a Sabbath time—you

remember the Eight Keys, right? All

of these keys to discipleship are also

the keys to living in the Spirit of the

Season. It’s all about honoring the

Reason for the Season.

Love. Peace. Joy. Hope. These

are the themes of Broadway’s

Advent observances and

celebrations this year. Simple

themes that vibrate with relevance

for our world.

The expressions of these four

words can be found throughout our

building, from the beautifully

decorated Sanctuary to the cots that

will go up on December 11 to provide

safe and warm beds for our city’s

homeless. In each space during

Advent, there will be visible

demonstrations of each of our four

themes. Again, there are many

paths to find the Spirit of the Season

at Broadway.

Service is

another path to the

Spirit (and one of

our Eight Keys).

But service doesn’t

always involve

drywall and putty

knives! In the next

three weeks of

Advent, Broadway

will offer our

members many

ways to serve—giving Hope, offering

Peace, sharing Love and finding Joy

in our shared service. Service can

mean repairing a neighbor’s broken

step, but it can also mean taking a

card from the Tree of Hope, or even

eating a stack of pancakes this

Sunday to help our Disciples on

Campus pay for a winter break

mission trip to Mississippi. It’s all the

same path, just depends how you

want to walk it.

Let’s talk about Joy. It was

tangible last Sunday, as Broadway’s

Youth Liturgical Dancers offered their

talents in praise to the Spirit of the

Season. On December 14, the Joy

of sharing the Christmas story

through the eyes of our children will

fill all of us with Joy once again.

Peace may seem in short supply

this year. There is Peace here, in

worship, in service, in fellowship and

in prayer and study. It is offered to

you every Sunday of the Advent

Season and every day in-between

and on either side. Share Christmas

at Broadway and find your Spirit in

the House that Jesus Built for all of

us. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel!

www.broadwaychristian.net Volume XXXXIII, Number 11 December 3, 2014

Inside Your Life

Pancake Breakfast Page 3

Room at the Inn News Page 5

Children & Youth Holiday News Page 6

Searching for Joy, Peace, Love and Hope?

Broadway Can Help You Find Your Spirit This Season

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2 On Broadway…. with Pastor Tim Carson

One of the most powerful “fog of

war” tales is that of a Christmas Day

truce in WW I, a truce that provided for

British and German soldiers to come

out of the trenches, play soccer, sing

carols and otherwise reclaim

something of their humanity and the

humanity of the enemy. This story in

no way softens the human failing of

war or the dear price the war god

exacts. War is always, in every

respect, a tragedy.

What this story does awaken is our

awareness of our hardness of heart

and of its softening. There is an

undefinable work of Christmas in

which the heart is wooed toward its

more joyful, loving self. Stories such

as Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and its

main character, Ebenezer Scrooge,

make the case: hardened hearts may

be softened. They may be softened at

least as long as a truce before we take

to the trenches again.

I have learned, in my hardening

and softening of the heart, to watch it

carefully. The Christmas experience

has taught me to be aware of it

throughout the year, to try to be some

Christmas creature all year long. I

inevitably fail. But just when I need it

most, the truce is announced, Scrooge

finds his redemption and Christ is born

all over.

There’s a reason we tell the

Christmas story over and over, sing

about “the hopes and fears of all the

years” and put a star on top the tree.

Once could never be enough. It takes

time, this shaping and reshaping of the

soul. Thank God we have another

chance.

So what exactly is a “Noisy

Offering?” If you are a fan of the

Peanuts Christmas special, you may

remember Lucy’s delight in getting

Charlie Brown’s nickel in her coffee

can and all of the can shaking that

ensued. Same can, different

concept!

Broadway will collect a “noisy

offering” periodically through the

coming year. It is meant to be

noisy, as in clearly audible, as the

coffee can is passed down the pew

and folks reach into their pockets or

the bottom of purses and deposit

their loose change in the can. Just

the change, not the bills. This

offering is meant to be a simple

“over and above” way for everyone

to support the ministries of

Broadway.

The noisy offering will always

have a purpose or designation. For

our first collection, all of our loose

change offering will support our

Community Garden. The Garden

continues to be a cornerstone of our

outreach, and has grown from its

original 24 plots to 148, with further

expansion planned for the coming

growing season. The Garden has

also increased our involvement with

Columbia’s refugee community,

particular the Burmese, who have

planted a church in our lower level

classrooms. If you happen to be in

the office wing during the 11:00

hour, you know that their

congregation is enthusiastic and

growing!

Support our first noisy offering by

bringing your loose change on

Sunday! And if you engage in a little

can-shaking as the offering can

moves down your pew, so much the

better!

Broadway’s First “Noisy Offering” Is This Sunday

Listen for the Jingle As the Can Comes Down Your Pew!

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Calendar Highlights

Pancakes, anyone?

Disciples on Campus, our

college youth group, will be flippin’

pancakes as fast as they can this

Sunday, December 7! All of this

hard work has a purpose—to raise

funds to reduce expenses for a

winter break mission trip to

Mississippi.

Pancakes will be served through

the Christian Ed hour, so you will

have plenty of opportunity to enjoy a

pancake breakfast or brunch. All

donations will be gratefully

accepted.

Disciples on Campus is a shared

ministry initiative from Broadway

and First Christian Church. The

group meets Wednesday evenings,

after Broadway’s youth group

concludes, in First Christian’s

Bethany Hall. Nick Larson and

First’s Jimmie Spears are the

coordinators for DOC.

Next Sunday, December 14,

Broadway’s college youth will serve

another Pancake Breakfast at First

Christian. So, let’s do our part to

send our DOC students on a

wonderful, and affordable, mission

trip!

Thursday, December 4

6:30 p.m. Room at the Inn

Planning Meeting

Saturday, December 6

5:00 p.m. Rocheport Bluegrass

Sunday, December 7

Second Sunday of Advent

8:30 a.m. Disciples on Campus

Pancake Breakfast

All morning: Tree of Hope SERV Sale Youth Tree & Wreath Sale First Sunday for Room at the Inn

Monday, December 8

7:00 p.m. Service/Mission & Outreach Meeting

Tuesday, December 9

7:00 p.m. Board Meeting

Wednesday, December 10

5:30 p.m. Fellowship Meal

6:00 p.m. Men’s Study Group

Youth Meal

Chancel Bells

6:30 p.m. Youth Group

7:00 p.m. Chancel Choir

Thursday, December 11

6:30 p.m. Room at the Inn

Opens

Sunday, December 14

All morning:

Goodie Sunday

SERV Sale

Tree of Hope (last Sunday)

At 9:00 and 11: 15 services:

Children’s Christmas Musical

Short Stack Sunday December 7 Disciples on Campus Are On a Mission

One thing we all know about

Disciples—we love to eat!

A favorite Advent tradition returns

on Sunday, December 14. Goodie

Sunday is just that—everyone brings

his or her favorite snack or dessert to

share with others during the morning.

Connections Ministry will provide

Christmas-themed decorations for

the event, plus some very tasty hot

cider to sip as you enjoy the treats.

There is no secret to the success

of this annual event! The Fellowship

Hall tables fill through the morning

with lots of “favorites.” But don’t

worry if you are on your way to

church and realize you’ve left your

“goodies” on the kitchen counter—Hy

-Vee is a very popular stop for many

of our cooks!

If you’re not a baker, but would

like to contribute, consider bringing a

plate of fresh fruit or cheese slices

and crackers. Another thing we all

know about Disciples—whatever you

bring will be eaten!

Goodie Sunday Is December 14

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4 Broadway Ministries

Calling All Broadway Red Kettle Ringers

Broadway has been ringing the

bells for the Salvation Army’s Red

Kettle drive for several years, and

we are back for Christmas, 2014!

Our favorite spot to ring is just

down the street at our West

Broadway Hy-Vee. Broadway

Ringers will be stationed at the

east entrance (near Starbucks) and

will be inside!

Ringing bells is a great

outreach for small groups, Sunday

School classes, families or

individuals. Shifts will be

coordinated by Don Harter, and he

is always happy to work with

everyone on scheduling at time to

ring. Feel free to bring your own

bell or any other instrument—the

more attention you can bring to the

kettle, the better!

Broadway ringing shifts are

available on the following dates

and times:

Friday, December 5 from 10:00

a.m.—6:00 p.m.

Saturday, December 6 from

10:00 a.m.—8:00 p.m.

Friday, December 12, from

10:00 a.m.—6:00 p.m.

Saturday, December 13, from

10:00 a.m.—8:00 p.m.

Saturday, December 20, from

Noon—8:00 p.m.

Contact Don to schedule a time

to ring for the kettles at

harterd@missouri.edu or

Time to Bring Out the Santa Hats for A Good Cause

Our annual Advent SERV Sale

begins this Sunday, December 7,

in the Fellowship Hall. The tables

will be ready for shopping around

8:30 a.m. and will remain open

until after the 11:15 a.m. service.

The SERV Sale is a great place

to do some shopping for the

holidays and support free and fair

trade practices in the developing

world. All of the gifts on the SERV

tables are handmade by local

artisans from around the world.

Through organizations like SERV,

these artisans receive a fair price

for their one-of-a-kind creations,

while offering shoppers a

wonderful gift at an equally fair

price.

The Sale will continue on

Sunday, December 14. All of the

amazing gift items that will be for

sale on these two Sundays come

from The Global Market, a ministry

of Community United Methodist.

The Global Market is open year-

round at CUMC and all proceeds

are used to support the church’s

outreach, including strong support

for the Rainbow Network, The

Container Project and P.E.T.

There is always something new

at the SERV Sale, so stop by this

Sunday and find the perfect gift!

Support Fair Trade-Shop SERV

If you haven’t already chosen a

child’s card from the Tree of Hope,

new cards, new names and new

wishes will be added to the Tree this

Sunday. These children are served

by Rainbow House, a local shelter

for abused and neglected children.

Be sure to sign out your card in

the log book, located on the nearby

table. All we need is your name and

contact information next to the card

number you selected.

All gifts should be returned to

Broadway by Sunday, December 14.

Thank you for helping these children

have a happier Christmas!

New Names Adorn

The Tree of Hope

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5 Service/Mission & Outreach

Broadway is a place of

many blessings. One of the

most obvious blessings is our

wonderful facilities. As Room

at the Inn planners looked

around the city for church

facilities that could

accommodate fifty cots for the

shelter, Broadway is among a

handful of churches with that

capacity.

And another blessing that might

not be as obvious to a casual

observer—Broadway’s willingness

to dedicate that precious space for

Room at the Inn for four weeks

during a very heavy gym-use time

of year. We are blessed, indeed.

Room at the Inn will open its

door for the 2015 shelter season in

2014. On Thursday, December 11,

only one week from now, Room at

the Inn opens here, in our very

popular gym.

Broadway will host for four

weeks, which will include two

extended-stay shifts for the

Christmas and New Year’s

holidays. There will be no public

buildings or warming centers open

on those holidays, so we will keep

the shelter open to provide a warm

and safe place to stay.

How can you help? Volunteers

are needed, not just for our four

weeks of hosting, but throughout

the entire length of the shelter

season. A volunteer sign up site

has been created on

SignUpGenius

(www.signupgenius.com) . You

may search for the Room at the Inn

sign up by searching with the RATI

email address:

roomattheinncomo@gmail.com.

Or you may follow the link in each

Week's Broadway Weekly or on

our website.

In your church mailbox, there is

a list of suggested in-kind

donations for the shelter as a part

of our “First Sunday” ministry.

These donations are so helpful to

the shelter, allowing monetary

donations to be used to fund staff

positions.

Many small groups at Broadway

have made Room at the Inn a part

of their Christmas service and

outreach. Even our Pathways

kids are helping out, collecting

gloves and hand warmers to hand

out to our guests on Christmas.

One small group adopted the

shelter’s need for blankets and

have made a huge difference by

providing many of those

needed blankets. Another

small group is collected

supplies for Christmas bags,

which will include socks,

fresh fruit, nuts and more.

Speaking of

Christmas...and New Year’s—the

shelter will remain open and staffed

for approximately 36 hours over

each holiday period. There is no

way to know how many guests will

be staying at the shelter during

those extended times. But we

would like to provide hot meals for

lunch and dinner for those who

choose to stay over the holiday

period. Contact Debby in the

church office if you would like to

help.

Room at the Inn will hold its

final planning meeting on

Thursday, December 4, at 6:30

p.m. in the Fellowship Hall. Our

second training session will be held

on Saturday, December 6, at 9:00

a.m. at the Unitarian Universalist

Church.

Room at the Inn Begins December 11

Broadway Will Serve as Host Site Through January 10

F

irst or Sunday Room at the Inn

December 7

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6 Children and Youth Ministries

Broadway Children and Youth Celebrate the Season

It is always said that Christmas

is for children. But it is also a time

for those of us who love and mentor

these children to share the stories

of Christmas with them. There is

always joy in the re-telling of the

Christmas story, sharing it and

hearing it recited back to us in the

actions, words and songs of our

children.

Broadway children and youth are

busy this Advent Season. Look for

these special moments in the

coming days.

Children’s Christmas Program

On December 14, our children

will lift their voices and our spirits

with The Last Noel, this year’s

Christmas musical. Under the

direction of Kathy Carson and Kay

Cook, our amazing children will be

transformed into angels, lambs,

shepherds and other traditional

characters in the Christmas story.

The musical will be a part of our

December 14 worship services at

9:00 and 11:15 a.m.

Youth Tree and Wreath Sale

For those of us who enjoy the

scent of fresh pine and spruce in

our homes during the holidays,

Broadway’s youth are helping out!

The annual Tree and Wreath Sale

continues this Sunday. All

proceeds from the sale of trees,

wreaths and garland will be used to

defray expenses for the 2015 Youth

Mission Trip. And make sure to ask

if there are any jars of Holiday

Cocoa Mix left for a last-minute gift!

Christmas Eve Signing

Rachel Howard would like to

include Broadway’s children in the

5:30 p.m. Christmas Eve service.

She will teach children in grades 2-5

how to sign Silent Night. Practice

will take be held from 10:55-11:10

on Sunday mornings. If your child

is interested, please contact Rachel

at howard.rachel66@gmail.com

Members and Friends of Broadway:

We are invited to share in the

Broadway tradition of showing

special appreciation for the

members of our staff. Each year,

our gifts to the fund are combined

and distributed among our staff. If

you would like to contribute to this

fund, please mail your contribution

to the church to the attention of the

Church Administrator, or place it

in the Sunday morning offering tray

and label it “Staff Christmas.” We

need to receive all contributions by

Sunday, December 21, so our gifts

may be presented to the staff before

Christmas.

I hope you will join me in

expressing our appreciation to our

caring and dedicated staff.

Dana Fritz

Chair of the Congregation & Board

A Christmas Thank You to Our Staff

Bluegrass is good anytime, but

especially during the Christmas

season. Celebrate with friends and

family this Saturday, December 6,

at 5:00 p.m. at Rocheport Christian

Church.

You will know all the words to

these seasonal standards with a

bluegrass twist. Sing along or just

sit back and let the Spirit wash over

you. Make sure to allow time for

fellowship and treats following the

service.

Rocheport Bluegrass

Service Is December 6

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7 Broadway Ministries

Christmas Special Offering Supports Regional Ministry

Matthew’s story of the Wise Men

who come seeking the newborn

King is a familiar one, re-enacted in

countless Christmas pageants

every year. Amidst the costumes,

animals, shepherds and mangers

crowded into most depictions of the

Nativity, the gifts they bring often

are seen as just props for the Magi

to carry. Yet they are far more than

that.

Scholars believe the Wise Men

came from ancient Persia (modern

day Iran), and early Christian art

often depicts them in Persian

clothing. If so, their journey was

long and arduous—and even as it

neared its end finding “the one who

has been born king” was not easy.

He was not to be found in

Jerusalem, the Holy City, as they

expected, but in the tiny village of

Bethlehem; even there they had to

search for him.

Yet when they found the Child,

they were prepared. Bowing down,

they worshiped him. “Then they

opened their treasures and

presented him with gifts of gold

and of incense [frankincense] and

of myrrh” (Matthew 2:11), gifts that

they had carried with them all the

way from Persia, extravagant gifts

fit for a King.

We may think ourselves

incapable of giving such gifts until

we remember that the good news

of Jesus’ birth also came to

common folk like the shepherds,

and that extravagance comes in

many forms. For the shepherds, it

came in the form of praising God.

For you, maybe it will be in doing

mission together in response to a

disaster or on an immersion trip to

learn about another culture. Your

extravagant gift to the Christmas

offering, whether large or small,

supports the many ways Disciples

across your region discover and

share their gifts of ministry.

Whatever gift you bring, give it

joyfully; that’s the kind of giving

that makes God smile, and therein

lies the secret of its extravagance.

As we celebrate anew the Good

News of God-with-us, the coming

of our Lord, what gifts shall we

bring? Whatever it is, may we

present them in humble

thanksgiving and with joyful

extravagance.

From Disciples.org

Broadway will collect the Christmas

Special Offering On December 21.

To be recorded as a 2014

contribution, donations must be

postmarked and/or received by

December 31, 2014. Church

Administrator Ingrid Luckenbill will

be in the office December 28-31.

Please note that the church office

will be closed December 25-26, but

messages will be checked regularly

during that time.

Year-End Donation

Reminder Save the Date—You’ve Been Framed!

February 6-7

February 12-14

February 20-21

February 27-28

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NON PROFIT ORG.

U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

COLUMBIA, MO

PERMIT #36

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Broadway Life Published monthly by Broadway Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) 2601 W. Broadway Columbia, MO 65203

(573)445.5312 bcchurch@tranquility.net broadwaychristian.net

facebook.com/broadway.christian @broadwaycomo Office hours: Monday-Thursday 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Friday 8:00 a.m.—Noon

Sunday Scriptures December 7 Second Sunday of Advent Isaiah 11: 1-11 Reimaging Peace

December 14 Third Sunday of Advent Isaiah 35: 1-10 Recapturing Joy

December 21 Fourth Sunday of Advent Luke 1: 26-28 Reviving Love

December 24 Christmas Eve Luke 2: 1-14 Restoring Christmas 11:00 a.m. (soup lunch following) 5:30 p.m. Contemporary 8:00 p.m. Traditional 11:00 p.m. Bluegrass Christmas

December 28 Quiet Christmas One Service at 10:00 a.m. A Story with Terry Overfelt

Senior Minister Tim Carson

Associate Minister Nick Larson

Commissioned Minister Terry Overfelt Our mission is to enable persons to encounter the living God as dis-closed through Jesus Christ, to serve and celebrate God in an ever-

changing society.

2601 West Broadway

Columbia, MO 65203

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