The Light - Our NATIVITY - Miami Shores Presbyterian Church
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The Light
Our Mission is to be a church of grace
and hope where everyone Meets,
Serves and Praises Christ
Photos by Windy Johnston
November 29– January 8,
Our NATIVITY See page 2 for details
With Life-Sized Cutouts: A Christmas Tradition Carries On!
By Yvonne Moyer
How do you present a live drama of the Nativity, that our Church
has done for over 60 years, attracting thousands of viewers, in
the time of a pandemic?
A team of volunteers from Miami Shores Presbyterian Church has an an-
swer.
This year, dozens and dozens of people from Miami Shores Presbyterian
Church are being photographed in full costumes. They are wearing shep-
herd’s garb, holding pet sheep, playing shofars, or lounging by a fire. Towns-
people from a Bethlehem street scene carry fruit or blankets to the Holy
Family, who won’t appear until CHRISTMAS EVE! A host of angels and the
Star will fill the skies. Mary, Joseph, and a nearly newborn will take their
places beside a cow, a donkey and sheep.
All figures are full-sized standees created by a crew of Church members who
have washed and ironed costumes, found or made props, and scheduled
photo shoots. Then the photos are sent to be printed and cut. Watch the
front yard of the Miami Shores Presbyterian Church as you drive, or walk, by
and see who comes to the manger. By January 6th, the Three Kings and their
camels will be there!
What a wonderful time to tell children the real story of Christmas, that
Advent is a time of
waiting, and to prepare of
our hearts and souls to
receive Him. Everyone is
invited to come back again
and again to enjoy the
changes and additions to
the scene every few days
as more characters are
added.
December 2020 –INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Nativity News ................... 2 December Calendar. ........ 8
Pastors Page.................... 3 Church Family News ........ 9
Music News ...................... 4 Faith and Finances ........ 10
School Caroling ................ 4 MSPC School News ....... 11
Youth Choirs .................... 4 Christmas Wishes .......... 12
Christmas Eve .................. 5 Youth Groups ................. 12
Advent Devotional ............ 5
Looking Ahead ................. 5
New Officers..................... 5
Advent Wreath. ................ 6
Family Spiritual Practices . 7
2
Pastor’s Page with Pastor Kim
This Advent and Christmas will be different. As a church that is in transi-
tion, we understand, and perhaps begin to value, flexibility and adapta-
bility. So, as we embrace the differences that COVID forces us to take on,
the Session of the church has decided to offer our Christmas Eve worship
service online only this year. Miami Dade County continues to watch its numbers of those in-
fected with COVID-19 rise. It seems that it’s the safe, and loving decision for our community.
Here are some highlights that we can look forward to for our online Christmas Eve worship:
Take in the beauty of the MSPC Sanctuary
Sing your favorite carols from home.
Light the candles on your Advent wreathes from home, and
hear the Scripture reading from various families from their homes.
Celebrate Communion from the sacred, holy places we’ve created at home.
A worship bulletin that can be printed up at home to be able to follow along
with the order of worship, the prayers and hymns and carols.
This Christmas will also be the same. We will still share in the retelling of the story of the birth of Je-
sus Christ. We will still worship together. The peace, the hope, the joy, and the love of Christ still
promises to enter into our hearts
and our homes.
“Glory to God in the highest heav-
en, and on earth peace among
those whom he favors!” (Luke 2:14)
Blessings,
Pastor Kim
3
MSPC Music News
In late October our music minister Jim Gensel announced his resignation. Jim blessed MSPC with his talents for
11 years. We are grateful for his gifts and his work with our amazing choir and hand bells. He brought the organ
to life with his musicianship, and members and friends enjoyed the annual Christmas and Easter cantatas.
We wish Jim all the best in his next phase. Please keep him in your prayers and thank you Jim!
Session will form a search committee to determine the next steps for our adult music programs.
We are lucky to have been connected with several musicians who will be assisting Pastor Kim with worship
services the next few weeks. Cindy and Ryan Ellis and Heriberto Castro will be performing as part of our live
streams on Sunday mornings. Special thanks to Diane Shoaf for making the
connection.
Ryan is a pianist and keyboardist who has worked in Presbyterian churches in
South Florida since earning a master’s degree in music from FIU and a bache-
lor’s degree in music from the University of Miami. He is a teacher at the Miami
Arts Studio 6-12 Magnet School.
Cindy is a vocalist who earned a bachelor’s degree in music education and jazz
voice performance from FIU. She is a choral director at Miami arts Studio 6-12
Magnet School.
Heriberto is an organist who is currently enrolled in the music education pro-
gram at FIU.
We are blessed to have these talented musicians join us throughout
the holiday season.
MSPC School Students Will Youth and
Carol for
You! Children’s Choirs
MSPCS is gearing up Via Zoom
for a great holiday
season! We look for- Children’s Choir
ward to being able to give back to the community by Who: Children (PK4-5th grade)
doing some Christmas Caroling in December. We are
not replacing the Shores Caroling, rather, we are do- What: MSPC Children's Choir
ing a small school community caroling, with one Where: ZOOM
grade level caroling at a time, so we can continue to
When: 1st and 3rd Sundays at 12:30 pm
social distance while bringing much needed holiday
cheer. You can let me know if you are interested and Why: To Sing and Praise GOD!
then we can pair you up with a grade level or time Who: Youth Choir (6th-12th grade)
that would work for you.
We are looking for church families that live near the What: MSPC Youth Choir
school. We would love to carol on your street. Please Where: ZOOM
contact me if you would love to have us carol on your
When: 2nd and 4th Sundays at 12:30 pm
street.
Contact me and I'd love to provide Why: To Sing and Praise GOD!
more information: astevens@mspcs.net
Email Phil to join: pwoodard@mspcs.net
Your Online
Advent
Devotional
Welcome
to Presbyterians
Today’s Advent and
Christmas devotional,
“Let Us Light Candles:
Christmas Eve Service- Matthew 25 and the
work of Advent.” This
ONLINE beginning at 2 PM extended online devo-
tional — taking us not just through Advent but
At mspc.net through Christmastide and ending with Epiphany,
Jan. 6 — brings to you the inspiring words in Howard
Communion will be served, candles lit and Thurman’s poem “I Will Light Candles This Christ-
Christmas Carols Sung! mas.” To enjoy this free devotional go
to: pcusa.org/2020advent
Congratulations to Our New
Church Officers
Church Officers were elected
November 29-January 6-MSPC Nativity at our annual Congregational
December 6-Communion during Meeting on Sunday, Novem-
service 11 AM ber 22. Thank you for serving
your church.
December 24-
Elders for Session Class of 2023 (Three Year Term)
Christmas Eve
December 25-Christmas Marcia Cannata (2nd Term), Luis Carranza, Princess
Mompremier , Grace Moore (2nd Term), Jose A.
January 1-New Year’s Day Romano (2nd Term)
January 6-Epiphany of the Lord Deacons Class of 2023 (Three Year Term)
January 18– Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Elizabeth Barrie, Elizabeth (Liz) Burkins, Joann Ker-
February 7– Souper Bowl of Caring
bawy, David Peterson, Glenda Polycarp
February 14– Valentine’s Day
February 15– Presidents Day Deacon Class of 2022 (Two Year Term)
February 16-Mardi Gras Bill Tenney
February 17-Ash Wednesday, Lent Begins
March 5-World Day of Prayer Nominating Committee Class of 2021 (One Year)
March 8-International Women’s Day Stephanie Daniel, Windy Johnson, Craig Swanson
March 28-Palm Sunday
Thank you to the Nominating Committee for all your
April 1-Maundy Thursday
hard work! The committee was Christine Baldwin,
April 2-Good Friday
Lauren Benton, Liz Burkins, Kim Coe, Yvonne Moyer,
April 4-EASTER and Jens Schwarte.
Spiritual Practices for the Christmas Season
Dear Families and friends,
Greetings! While going about our days, we now turn expectantly toward
the 2020 holiday season. As we prepare, here are some simple tips for
Spiritual Practices to begin and celebrate the Season.
In Latin, Advent means, arrival, coming. Advent is the four weeks prior
to the birth of Jesus at Christmas! It is a time of waiting, watching and
preparing. Create a small sacred space at home, and join the Church worldwide with four simple can-
dles. We light one each week leading up to Christmas. We ignite these candles welcoming Hope,
Peace, Joy and Love, into our homes, our lives and into the world. These are also the themes of the
remainder of the year’s Sunday worship. Not a bad way to close out 2020.
While culturally we’re expected to “buy, run, decorate. Be busy. Most of all…be perfect, there is enor-
mous pressure. However, one constant in family life(&in 2020) is that things rarely go as planned.”
And that’s okay! Thankfully, God invites us to do less, slow down, wait, reflect, to rest. Almost counter
cultural. So, before we get caught up in the rush, let us now set an intention for the season. What
would you like this season to look like in your home? How will you, your family prepare for the com-
ing of Christmas?
Suggestions from a book I am reading: Faithful Families for Advent and Christmas:
We will not be overscheduled this Advent, but instead, will create quality time for one another.
Every Sunday afternoon/evening during Advent, we’ll relax, sharing a spiritual practice together,
reading, praying, sharing good news, telling our loved ones what we appreciate about them.
Time is a precious resource. Make a seasonal “not to do list.” A list of what you will not do, like
spend too much time shopping, worrying, overextending ourselves materially, financially, emo-
tionally, physically, socially.
And lastly, have fun! The things we remember most are not the shopping, the worry but the time
sharing, the smiles, laughter and the love of those nearest and dearest to our hearts.
Prayer: Holy God, thank you for all the possibilities this season of Advent and Christmas will bring.
Help us to let go of the things that aren’t important, to focus on your Spirit, the Spirit of Christmas,
of Hope, Peace, Joy, Love… Amen
*All children are invited each Sunday to a special Children’s Time during the beginning of worship on
You Tube at 11 am Sunday. Children’s Church at 10-10:30 on Zoom.
Many blessings this season, Lisa Sullivan
Book: Faithful Families for Advent and Christmas. Traci Smith, Creating Sacred Moments at Home
December
2020
Physically Apart, Spiritually Together
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
ADVENT 1 2 3 4 5
Visit our Nativity
MS Youth
on the front
Group 630 PM
lawn November
HS Youth
29 to January 8. Group, 7PM
Worship
6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Online, 11 Women's Bible MS Youth
Communion Men’s Book Study, 8 PM Group 630 PM
HS Youth
Lectionary Class, 10 Review, 7
Group, 7PM
Children’s PM
Choir, 1230PM
Worship 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
Online 11 MS Youth
Group 630 PM
Lectionary Class, 10
HS Youth Session, 7 PM
Youth Choir, Group, 7PM
1230PM
Worship 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
Online, 11
Lectionary Class, 10 Men’s Book
Review, 7 HS Youth
Children’s PM Group, 7PM
Choir, 1230PM
Worship Online 27 28 29 30 31
11 AM
Lectionary
Class, 10 AM
Youth Choir,
1230PM
Church Family Happenings... By Sue Fox
MSPC Coffee Hours will continue in December on the First and Third Sundays at 1215 PM. To Join our fellowship
call 305-754-9541.
Our November 1st Service commemorated All Saints' Day with a prayer for loved ones lost, mentioning by name
the 9 MSPC members who passed away this year.
On November 15th Pastor Kim reminded us of ways to serve, both locally and abroad: helping our community
through Pass It On Ministries by dropping off non perishable food items and toiletries at the residence of Mari
Mejia, 575 N. E. 105th Street; remembering those in Central America who were devastated by two Category 4 hur-
ricanes in 2 weeks, informing us that we can easily assist them through the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Hurri-
cane-Typhoon Relief Fund at www.bit.ly/DR000194.
We were unable to cook our annual Urban Promise Thanksgiving feast this year but we were asked to provide 18
boxes of food to give to them. Deacons and Missions teams sprung into action! Mission accomplished!
The 14 persons who zoomed the 9-week Antiracism Book Club join me in saying a big thank you to our facilitator,
Rev. Diane Shoaf. Each session offered a bit of information we did not know, personal sharing, and silent moments
of reflection on what we had just shared. The group will reconvene in January.
Thirteen "J. Calvin Rose Scholarships" have been awarded this Church calendar year. Established in memory of
our long term minister Dr. Rose, this scholarship is available to MSPC children and youth attending Miami Country
Day School.
MSPC's God's Green Gardeners were mentioned in an article on grow-it-yourself gardens in the November issue of
the Miami Shores Chamber of Commerce "Egret". The article gave a shout out to environmentally-conscious Chair
Yvonne Moyer and noted that our community garden project began over 15 years ago and has grown to include
21 individual 4' x 8' plots.
Speaking of the "Egret", the December issue includes a 2-sided flyer with information on our Living Nativity and
Miami Shores Presbyterian Church School.
On a sad note, we say farewell to MSPC's Director of Music Jim Gensel, whose last day with us was November
15th. For 11 years Jim filled the Sanctuary and Chapel with sounds of Worship -- the old familiar hymns as well as
the new, directed our Christmas and Easter Cantatas and accompanied we singers at sing-a-longs for Fifty Plus &
Minus, Lenten Service Projects and twice yearly performances at Bay Oaks Retirement Center. We will miss you,
Jim.
Milton and Grace Moore share with us the good news that their son, U. S. Army Staff Sergeant Adrian Moore, is
retiring from the military after 22 years of service. Adrian, who was featured in The Light's 2018 Veterans Day Sa-
lute, has been stationed in Georgia, Alaska, South Carolina, Korea, Germany and Colorado. He has been deployed
to Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel, Latvia and Poland. Adrian, his wife Erika and 4-year-old Adrianne live in Colo-
rado. His older 3 children live in Alabama where Neaundri and Milton attend college, and Laianna is a high school
junior. Upon discharge, Adrian's immediate plans include completing his college degree. Adrian, we say thank you
for your service, and welcome back to civilian life.
Here is a brief update on how some of our members spent Thanksgiving Week: Mary Newman hosted 3 Barry Uni-
versity students from other lands who were unable to make it home for the holiday. Edith Trowers welcomed her
daughter and granddaughters from Texas and safe-dined al fresco under a tent in her Miami daughter's back-
yard. Anne Paulk spent the holiday in North Carolina (where it is a chilly 46 degrees) and zoom-visited with her son
J.T.'s family in Baltimore. Marcia Cannata, with her children, grandchildren and extended family rented a home in
the Tennessee mountains for a week
Anniversary wishes are extended to 2 of our longtime married couples: This month marks 62 years for Bob and Pat
Rose and 69 years for Phil and Ellen Tedder.
Our prayers and sympathy are extended to Rev. Hallie and Nick Dorn on the passing of Pastor Hallie's grandfather
in late October.
Our prayers and sympathy are extended to Nora and Bill Tenney on the passing of Nora's cousin Martin Nesmith
on November 17th. Our prayers also reach out to his wife Suzette and their family.
And, here's wishing each of us a meaningful Advent Season full of joy and peace,
safe distancing yet keeping in touch with one another.
Merry Christmas!
Year End Round UP by Melissa Gracey, MSPC Treasurer
It’s been such a weird year! Not just in all our lives, but also in the financial life of the
church. It’s been stressful, inspiring and kind-of a roller coaster…often on the same day.
When COVID struck and our community shut down in March, the Commission for Finan-
cial Sustainability met that week. We immediately started talking about long-term and
short term strategies to get the church through an expected financial shortfall. Our out-
reach plan started immediately and many of you accelerated or pre-paid your pledges for
the year. It was a relief and let us know we would be OK.
Normally there are several sources of income:
Pledges, Tithes and Weekly Offerings
Loose plate offerings - These are unmarked cash contributions that are in the collection plates each week.
This number fluctuates and tends to drop in the summer.
Designated gifts - These are generous contributions from individuals and families for specific areas or pro-
jects. Examples include support of Vacation Bible School or Living Nativity. Unrestricted gifts give us the most
flexibility to adapt to changing needs and priorities.
Rental income- This encompasses rental fees for weddings and events on campus, as well as cell phone
company fees for space at the top of the bell tower.
Endowment - We have a small endowment that we established several years ago as a place for members
to contribute money, often through their wills. We find that members who leave money to the church often
designate specific projects or areas, such as music or gardens. With an endowment, only a small percentage
of the money is spent each year so that funds will be available in perpetuity.
Investments - The investments are the church’s reserve accounts for emergencies. We have a group of
dedicated volunteers who work with Budget and Finance to determine where we invest. In a perfect
world these accounts would be left alone to keep growing but we have had to sell some our investments
in past years to balance the budget.
As expected, the loose plate offerings disappeared when we were not in person. We also missed in-person
Easter worship, which is typically a big weekend for gifts. Designated gifts dropped substantially because we
had to go virtual with many programs.
The news hasn’t been all bad. We’ve received gifts through PayPal and Zelle from individuals who found our
on-line services and were moved by the messages. Many members have been faithful with their pledges and
we received a handful of gifts attributed to the CARES Act stimulus package checks.
In addition, the church applied for and received a PPP loan, which covered salaries at the church and school
for nearly three months. It was a big relief and put us in a strong financial position - at least on paper and for
a few months. David and Steven are in the process of applying for loan forgiveness, which was one of the
hallmarks of the program. If Congress passes another stimulus, we will apply for any program for which we
are eligible.
As we look at the numbers as we approach the end of the year, we are running a deficit even in the face of
careful and lower spending. We know that many church members were financially impacted by the economic
shut down and are still in a difficult position. Our MSPCS school is facing lower enrollment and a financial
challenge. The uncertainty is the hardest part.
This message isn’t meant to be scary or disappointing. My take-away is that we come together to continue
our missions and outreach. Thank you to everyone who stepped up this year. 2021 pledge cards have been
sent. If you have not prayerfully considered your pledge, please do so and send it in. We use this information
to craft the budget.
I think we are all looking forward to 2021 and hoping for a new day. Stay safe and we’ll get there together.MSPC School News
by Anita Stevens, School Director
What a wonderful season we are in! Yes, there are many things different this
year, but we, at MSPCS, are enjoying having students on campus and some virtu-
ally. Our students enjoyed a wonderful safe, Trunk-Or-Treat for Halloween (see
photos).
In addition, we are SO PROUD of our students and staff – we finished our testing
and we did so well! We had no regression due to COVID and the change in teach-
ing delivery since March. Our students actually scored ABOVE the national aver-
age. This is a great feat when other schools and district are facing lots of regres-
sion, due to changes that COVID has brought.
Praise God for our wonderful dedicated staff, students and families!
We are also getting ready for our Christ-
mas Caroling. We would love for church
members to joining us. We have it tem-
porarily scheduled for Dec. 4th and will
be caroling in the Shores. Maybe we
will carol at
your house!MSPC Youth Groups– All Welcome!
If you are interested in being a part of the group, contact Lisa at lisa@mspc.net so
you receive the Youth News email and Zoom invitations.
High School Youth Group will zoom on Wednesdays at 7 pm.
Middle School Youth Group will zoom on Fridays at 6:30 pm.
MIAMI SHORES PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
Our vision is to be friends of Christ who share God’s love with each other and the world.
December 2020You can also read
