First Baptist Church In Swansea

Luke begins his gospel by sharing a little bit of the context of ancient Judea:

¹⁵As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, ¹⁶John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. Luke 3:15-16

Since the time of the prophets like Isaiah, the Jewish people anticipated that God would act within their experience as historical human beings. They anticipate and expected a messiah, an annointed one, to come and lead them out of the oppression they suffered under the rule of the Roman Empire. Their expectations took many forms. Two of the most popular were a warrior messiah like David, the shepherd king who defeated the Philistines and founded his capital in Jerusalem. Another image was that of the prophet. Someone like Elijah or Isaiah who would sound the call for justice and a spiritually united Jewish state would arise inspired. This mode would have included one like John, the Baptiser, who came out of the wilderness to call people to repentence. But when he was questioned, he responded clearly: “Not me, but the one who is yet to come.”

The problem for the ancient Jews was this answer left them without a clear image of what to expect. If not a warrior king or a prophet leader, what was the Messiah to look like, act like, be like? Images from the past were inadequate. Images for the future were ambiguous at best. So, in the profound sense of expectation that filled the people, the need to “unexpect” the expected arose. This meant that they who were filled with anticipation and hope needed to be ready to discern God’s new appointment, to recognize such a figure without the traditional clues. They were to be ready for someone who was not like anyone who had come before. That person’s power would not be from weaponry and marital skill; that person’s spiritual authority could be, would be, of a higher realm. As the early church later discovered, that person was Jesus, the son of Mary and Joseph, recognized as the Son of God.

This recognition began not when people first met him. They didn’t “get it” when he was teaching or preaching or healing or challenging the religious authorities. Their expectations were only fulfilled when he after he had been executed. Those like Joseph of Arimathea, “who was also himself waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God,” had their expectations reimaged when as they gathered to share meals, re-read the scriptures and lament Jesus’ life suddenly and marvelously present to this one, filled with his life and empowered by a transcendency previously unknown. Their expectations were all unexpectedly and frighteningly fulfilled. The Christmas celebration really begins at Easter. The understanding of God’s action in the life, ministry and death of Jesus, that searches for his origins begins with the resurrection, a completely unexpected event.

In our own time, we have come to expect certain things during Advent and at Christmas. The carols tell their familiar stories. Our worship is joyful and hopeful. The stores open with opportunities to buy the gifts we are used giving because the Magi brought gifts. The houses are decorated with lights and greens to symbolize the deeper meaning of this season. But should this be our expectation for the December celebrations? Maybe we should “unexpect” what is expected! Maybe we should look to where God is sending his appointed servants to challenge stale religion, to cry for justice and repentence, to occupy the minds of consumers with a different set of values. I sometimes think that the Christian community should move Christmas, that is, celebrate the birth of Jesus, his coming into our lives, in February or August. Sometimes I think Jesus has come back, born again into our world but is working in a AIDS hospital in Africa or struggling for democracy in Egypt or human rights in China and she is being resisted, beaten or jailed maybe even executed.

For me, our faith in the Transcendent One, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Joseph, the God who spoke through Isaiah and Amos, the God who was fully present in Mary’s very human baby, is a God that turns our expectations upside down and inside out. God can do so much more that we can imagine…God’s ways are far beyond our ways of understanding. For me Advent is season of preparation to be surprised, amazed and frightened, and Christmas is a time to look beyond the glitter, greens, gifts and gatherings until we “unexpect” the expected.

Introducing the first John Myles Intern: The Rev. Jan Warner

The Pastoral Relations committee is proud to announce the selection of the Rev. Jan Warner as the first John Myles Intern. this is a new approach to providing pastoral leadership for our congregation, one in which both congregation and intern engage in a learning process. The program is for one calendar year and involves ~20 hours of assigned work and supervision for the intern. The supervision will be don by Rev. Hartman.

Jan Hales from the Fall River area and is a member of the FBC in Fall River, although she has been attending worship with us for several years now. A graduate of Darmouth High School, she attended nursing school and practiced nursing for 25 years. Hearing a call from God to the pastoral ministry, she graduated from Brown Univ. and Yale Divinity School. She was ordained in 2005. She has served as a hospice chaplain and as the resident chaplain at Orchard View Manor. She has extensive "substitute" work as a minister and comes to us ready to learn about being a pastor in a local congregation. We welcome her as we all prepare to enter a wonderful experiment of spiritual learning.

Advent Events

What makes the season so special are those things we only do now. this year they include:

Dec. 17 The Saturday Morning Kitchen

Dec. 18 Children’s program and Christmas luncheon

Dec. 24 Christmas Eve Service …send jpegs

Dec. 25 Christmas Sunday …celebrations with special music and table fellowship

The 350^th Anniversary Committee has begun its planning for the big celebration in 2013. Initial ideas include a dinner with dignitaries on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2013 and a special worship to follow on Sunday, Nov. 10. The previous week on Nov. 2 we will arrange for a tour of our historical sites ending with a display of the John Myles book with other significant Baptist artifacts at the John Hay Library, Brown University. A small reception will follow this tour. Also in the summer of 2013, we will attempt to organize a trip to Wales to see historic Baptist sites in the area around Ilston where the ruins of the first meeting house are located. Other sites in England might include Oxford University (Brasenose College) and London where the Glasshouse church was located. A hymn sing featuring Welsh hymns and singers is suggested for sometime in the spring of 2013. The first event in this series will happen in the spring of 2012 when we are planning to shift the Founder’s Festival to a spring format. May 19^th is the suggested date. Stay tuned as the committee continues to create a grand celebration for our congregation’s 350^th birthday!

Update on Myles records publications: The transcription of the old record book has now been completed and sent back to Dr. Brackney at Acadia University. The publication is still set for early in 2013 as the first in a series of 13 publications of previously unpublished material. The series will be called “Baptists in Early North American” and will include records from such significant congregations as FBC in Providence and Philadelphia.

Dec. 11 Choir

Dec. 18 Kids and Harmony/Grace Band

De. 25 Clarinet and Piano

Mission Momentum

The "Saturday Kitchen" a project of many concerned people who are committed to prepare and serve meals to the disadvantaged of Fall River is in need of more volunteers. A sign up list is posted in the vestry to organize a group for Dec. 17. Helpers are asked to arrive by 8:00 a.m. and will be finished by noon. This is an opportunity for a very satisfying, helpful and meaningful hands-on mission. Please sign up to go!

The Retired Minister's and Missionaries Offering, one of the four denominational collections in which we participate, allows MMBB (our Baptist benefit board) to send a "Thank You" check to every retired minister and missionary. Please be generous.

From Religious Ed...

Preparations are well underway for the Church School Christmas program which will be held on Dec. 18. The programs depends on having our children participate each Sunday in our educational hour to be ready for this part of our Advent celebrations.

Please sign up to contribute to the Advent Luncheon, held after the program.

We want to thank Mary Cooper for her efforts to organize and lead our bus trip to New York City on 11/25. It was not a Black Friday but one of joy and light!