​Earlier this month, as many of you already know, I ran my 12th marathon. And this one was more of a unique marathon for me. Now I believe I’ve shared with some folks before my love/hate relationship with running long distances. The amount of time, training, and dedication to really any distance, but especially the longer distances, can be incredibly hard. It’s not like you can throw on a pair of running shoes and just go out and run. The longer distances require months of building up mileage so that your body and mind are ready for race day. From the different kinds of running shoes, socks, shorts, and tops to what kind of fuel to take while training, there are a lot of things that go into running for several hours.
 
And why I do this to myself…well my friends, the payoff of crossing the finish line is unlike any feeling I’ve ever felt in the world. Exhaustion (sure), relief (finally I can rest), but ultimately the best word to describe the feeling is JOY. Joy for accomplishing something that felt so impossible at the beginning. For those months of training in hot, cold, rainy, and even perfect mornings. It’s the conclusion of a journey that when you truly put in the work, it means so much that it has all come together. Joy!
 
So, what made this one so unique for me? Well, this race I was helping one of our closest friends (Katie) run her first marathon. So, my whole process was wrapped up in helping her accomplish this goal. Katie had run a few half marathons, so she was already halfway there. But helping her with the even higher mileages, working on her training plans, different types of fuel she can take, how to carry water for longer runs, and even running most of the longer runs together…it was indeed a different process to go from a runner to a coach. Helping her fix her eyes and mind on not only finishing the marathon but working through the process so that she was truly ready to tackle the marathon. And watching her cross the finish line was indeed just as rewarding as it was for my own finish!
 
Friends, in Hebrews 12 the Bible talks about running with perseverance the race set out before you. Just as Katie and I fixed our eyes on crossing the finish line…Hebrews talks about focusing your eyes on the prize, which is Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith. This life is a marathon. There are ups and downs. We need fuel along the way. We need to support each other. We need our brothers and sisters. I am thankful for the people who have poured into my life to help me along this journey of faith. And I’m thankful for this Northbrook community for always praying and encouraging me, even when I do crazy things like marathons. I am truly grateful for you all.
 
With gratitude,
Allen Whittaker
Executive Director
 

You can always find God’s goodness in your life, if you slow down and take time to observe!
I was reading the Parable of the Evil Farmers, in the Bible, during my devotional time. I don’t think I’ve ever read this passage of scriptures—or this is the first time the scripture reading really spoke to me.   Read Luke 20:9-19

Christianity THEN & TODAY
​
Jesus Christ tells a story about a vineyard carefully prepared and generously entrusted to others. Everything the farmers needed was already provided—the land, the protection, the opportunity to produce fruit. Their responsibility was simple: be faithful with what was given.

The tragedy of the farmers wasn’t ignorance—it was entitlement. They knew the vineyard was not theirs, yet they acted as if it was. And that is where this story speaks directly to us today.
 
The vineyard represents all that God has given—our lives, our gifts, our communities, our faith. The owner prepared it carefully, protected it, and made it fruitful. Then he entrusted it to the farmers, expecting faithfulness, gratitude, and obedience.
 
But instead of honoring the owner, the farmers claimed the vineyard as their own. When messengers were sent, they rejected them. When correction came, they resisted it. And when the son arrived—the ultimate act of grace—they chose violence over surrender.
 
God still sends messengers today—through Scripture, through conscience, through wise counsel, and through the quiet prompting of the Holy Spirit, when we slow down enough to receive His grace.
Jesus ends the story by reminding us of the cornerstone—the stone once rejected that becomes essential. What we dismiss as inconvenient truth is often what God intends as our foundation.

So today, let us respond differently than the tenants did.
Let us receive correction with humility.
Let us honor the Owner with faithfulness.
​
And let us remember: the vineyard flourishes when we serve God, when we receive His gentle guidance and not when we replace Him with things in this world.
May we be found as faithful stewards, not stubborn owners.

Today’s Prayer:
Lord, help me remember that all I have comes from You. Teach me to be a faithful steward, open to Your truth, and willing to honor You with my life. Amen.

With gratitude and grace,
Phyllis Baskin
Office Manager

​Well, it’s a new year, which always begs “What is your New Year’s resolution?’ What do you want to fix, or what promise do you make to yourself about your health, wealth, or personal growth? I like the comic where one friend asks another, “Have you made a New Year’s resolution?” and the other answers, Yes….don’t make one!”

What if, instead, we focus on a word or an attitude that we want to embrace, incorporate, embody? Not something you can track with hash marks or schedule on a calendar, but it requires a daily commitment to try. Do you have a favorite word? Some of my favorites are grace, joy and contentment. Joy is certainly associated with Advent, in the songs we sing, on decorations, and our special pink joy advent candle that we light on our Comfort and Joy concert day. Some may think that it has lost its meaning due to overuse. What does it mean to you? Is it an emotion, or an action item?  Can you lose your joy, or is it a part of who you are? Can you bring Joy? Spread joy? Kill joy?

The word joy can in fact be a noun; contentment, a verb; spreading joy to all we meet, or an adjective; filled with joyfulness or joyousness! It is used in the bible 63 times; roughly two times more in the Old Testament than the new. Mother Teresa advises that if we do our work with joy, we can bring many souls to God. She describes joy as a prayer, as a sign of our generosity; that joy is evident in our eyes, our faces, our actions.  Pastor Jenny once said in a sermon, “One cannot have joy without God.”

At the root of joy is gratefulness. Joy doesn’t make us joyful, gratitude does. It comes from the Holy Spirit, abiding in God’s presence and the hope he gives. May this be a resolution for us all.
 
I Thes 5:16-18 Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Yours In Christ!

Christy Merritt
​Director of Children's Ministry
 

My strength is dried up like a piece of broken pottery.
My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
You’ve set me down in the dirt of death. --Psalm 22:15
 
No one who knows me would be surprised to hear that I would NOT call 2025 “my year”.  That’s not to say everything was bad. The 4 people in my house have been mostly healthy and thriving and we love each other and laugh together so often. I have so many dear friends and have had so many joyful moments here at Northbrook and in other parts of my life. BUT… my dad was diagnosed with brain, kidney, and lung cancer in late May, and it became a cloud over the year. He wasn’t in any pain, but he was scared and there were very noticeable differences in his abilities. We knew that any treatment was buying a small amount of time and so all plans became tentative or were made with a “well if Daddy is really sick or has passed” addendum. And after feeling “on hold” for a while, he went downhill rapidly and died early fall. That felt like enough for one year to me. Then the week before Christmas, I broke my pinky finger requiring surgery and 6 months of pins and a huge bandage protecting the pins. It’s a tiny finger in the grand scheme of things for sure, but it has been a literal pain (man does it hurt) and made everything just a little bit slower and more complicated. By the time I sat down to rest post-Christmas, I definitely felt like “the dirt of death.” 
 
This past year’s clouds aside, there have been many times in my life when I’ve felt my strength was dried up spiritually and emotionally – 7th grade when all of the girls in my class learned how to “mean girl,” my first year of teaching when I felt like I failed more than I succeeded, just before I became a children’s minister when I was stuck in a job that I hated and was sinking me into depression daily. We all have times when we GET the laments of David and Job. (And sometimes I even have days when I want to sit and wallow in their laments.)
 
Anytime I begin approaching the “dirt of death,” I turn to the Psalms. I find some pain and read it. I find my own hurt, pain, exhaustion, and anger there. But once I’ve done that, I also find my comfort, peace, encouragement, strength, and love there. I let my heart embrace the songs of David’s heart. I let myself swell with the beauty of his words to God and about God. I worship as he worships. I am renewed in his renewal. I can let my broken, dried-up, exhausted self dwell in the place of God.
 
How lovely is your dwelling place,
Lord Almighty!
My soul yearns, even faints,
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
Even the sparrow has found a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may have her young--
a place near your altar,
Lord Almighty, my King and my God.
Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
they are ever praising you. --Psalm 84:1-4
 
How awesome that we serve a God who has a home for the sparrow, a nest for the swallow, and a dwelling place for the weary!
 
I pray that each of us can find time to dwell with God when we feel broken. I pray that we can find God and let God fix our broken pieces, shore-up or weakness, heal our pain, and strengthen our souls. I pray that we will always find ourselves yearning, even fainting for God so that he can always renew us.
 
May we be ever praising,

Leslie Bowers
Director of Creative Services

As we arrive at Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, I find myself thinking about how deeply music and family are woven into this holy season. There is something about Christmas music that slows us down. Familiar melodies invite us to breathe, to remember, and to gather close. Whether it is a carol hummed softly at home, sung boldly in worship, or played in the background as meals are prepared and gifts are wrapped, music has a way of holding our stories together. It carries memories of Christmases past and makes space for new ones to be formed.

This season has also reminded me how much family matters, not only the family we are born into, but the family we discover along the way. My family and I have found something truly special here at Northbrook UMC. From the very beginning, we have been welcomed with open hearts, kindness, and grace. You have made space for us to belong, to serve, and to be ourselves, and for that we are deeply grateful.

Christmas Eve, in particular, feels like a sacred meeting place, where candlelight, song, and the story of Christ’s birth draw us together as one family. In those moments, surrounded by familiar faces and new friends, it becomes clear that church is not just a place we attend, but a people we love.

As you move through this week, through gatherings large and small, through music and laughter, through quiet moments and full ones, my hope is that you feel the warmth of God’s love and the comfort of knowing you belong. May the songs you hear remind you that you are not alone, and may the presence of Christ fill your homes with peace and joy.

Thank you for being the kind of church that feels like family. We are so thankful to share this season, this music, and this life together with you.
​
With gratitude and Christmas joy,
Chance Passmore

My grandfather, after retiring from both the Navy and public education, started a Christmas tree farm in my hometown. (The man could NOT sit still.) I spent the days between Thanksgiving and Christmas for much of my childhood working on the tree farm. And because they remind me of those magical times and my grandad, I love REAL Christmas trees. And before I developed an allergy to pine, I would buy the biggest one Drew would accept. I named them. I’m weird. I know.

So a few years ago, I bought a tree from the lot at the church. We put it in the stand, and there it sat, a bare, beautiful tree for a few days. And I loved it. I smelled it and looked at it and loved it. Then one day, I spent a few hours wrapping strands of lights around the branches – round and round; back and forth in semi-circles – and as I sat in the mostly dark room looking at these tiny, white lights covering this beautiful tree, I was reminded once again just how magical a simple strand of tiny, white lights can make a big, beautiful tree.

Light is a powerful thing. Turn on a nightlight in the room of a scared child and the shadows and monsters disappear. Open the blinds of a dreary room and the room immediately fills with life and energy. Put a tiny, white bulb on a big, old tree, and it goes from a tree to something magical.  

Our world is filled with darkness – monsters both real and imaginary. There is political and social darkness to be found in every corner of our world. Our lives are too busy and filled with stress – darkness. Teens and children are constantly faced with self-doubt, stress, bullying, too much pressure – darkness. It’s everywhere. It’s pervasive. It’s oppressive. And sometimes it feels like the darkness has come right to your room. Sometimes you can feel the darkness sitting right beside you. 

But so many years ago, God sent us light. It wasn’t the light everyone expected. It wasn’t a huge spotlight that cleared away all of the dark corners in our world. Instead, it was a tiny, little light in the form of a baby. And he put a little of it in you and he put a little of it in me. And if we let the light inside us shine – in a smile, in holding a door, in a kind word, in an Angel Tree gift, in hugs and encouragement, in doing the right thing, in truly seeing the people we encounter, in praying for and with those around us – we can help dispel the darkness sitting beside our neighbors. We can dispel the darkness that has come to someone else’s room. We can chase away the fears and monsters and sadness that seem to fill our world. And on days when the darkness comes to your room and sits down beside you, you just have to remember the magic and power of our one light. Remember that it burns inside you. Remember that it never leaves. 

God is with you. He is in you, and he will dispel the darkness.  

In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:4-5

In His Light,
Leslie Bowers
Director of Creative Services

It’s hard to believe that Advent is upon us! The crisp air, the last of the autumn leaves stubbornly clinging to the trees, people scurrying to and fro making plans--it all adds to the sense of anticipation, doesn’t it? But hark! Have you heard the voices of the season ringing out?!  If so, it’s more than likely the Northbrook UMC Chancel Choir which has been diligently preparing for the 2025 Comforts and Joys musical celebration, which will be Sunday, December 14 at 11 a.m. Come early to get your seat!
 
This year’s selection of music features some classic English and German carols to warm the heart as well as a riveting piece that reveals what it might have been for Mary to “ponder these things in her heart.” We will also have a visitor from that time period, someone who was there at the manger. The service will end with a spectacular and moving arrangement to welcome the Christ Child.
 
It is the hope and prayer of the entire music ministry that you will find warmth, joy, peace, and blessings from the service. I am honored to have the opportunity to work with such talented and committed singers and musicians on a weekly basis. And what a blessing it is to be part of a church that recognizes the importance of sacred music in worship.  
 
Let’s prepare the way for the coming of the Christ child!
 
With Joy!
Dr. Chad Hunt, Director of Worship & Music

By now most of our Thanksgiving celebrations are behind us and, if you're lucky, your fridge is full of some good leftovers to hold you over for the week.
 
Right on the heels of Thanksgiving, we begin a new church year. This Sunday is the start of the season of Advent during which we prepare ourselves spiritually for the coming of Christ, not only as a baby, but also in his coming again in glory.
 
This Advent we will be led by the words of the prophet Isaiah in an inspiring study called "Immanuel" written by Rev. Kena Newkirk. www.northbrookumc.com/uploads/1/0/8/6/108635649/advent_devo_2025__3_.pdf
​Sometime this weekend I would encourage you to go ahead and read the "Introduction" and the section for the first Sunday of Advent. Then read along and reflect on the included daily readings.
 
This coming holiday season is one that is challenging for most people in one way or another. The lowlight of this time of year along with the busy schedule and obligations can cause stress. The absence of a dear loved one from the table, the decline of old age, the diagnosis we didn't want to hear, and the strain of finances can weigh heavily.
 
Let us begin by acknowledging our feelings, both good and bad, thankful and regretful, then take them to the Lord in prayer. God wants us to share our hearts and to encourage us through the Spirit's presence and the love of our brothers and sisters in Christ. If you are lonely or need spiritual support, don't hesitate to reach out to the church staff or your friends in faith. We're all in this life together and for that I am most thankful. I wouldn't want to do life with anyone else, but this church called Northbrook.
 
A recent guest at church greeted me after the worship service. With tears in his eyes he told me, "Being here today was like coming home."
 
How good it is to be able to "come home" for the holidays, a home where all are welcome and all are loved, a place we can call home because Jesus comes to make his home with us.
 
See you Sunday,
 Jennifer Andone, Senior Pastor

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of doing birthday blessings at Northbrook Preschool Chapel. It is such a highlight to celebrate with these young disciples as we sing and dance in our beloved sanctuary. During chapel, the talented Leslie Bowers led the children in a fun chanting song about being thankful. Part of the song was call-and-response, and it went something like this:

Thankful that He died for me
Thankful that He set me free
Thankful that He helps me grow
Thankful that He loves me so

We then practiced adding different things we might be thankful for, such as turkey on Thanksgiving Day or restful naps for parents. It is a simple but essential task that we, as the church, must cultivate an attitude and discipline of gratefulness with our young people. This is not a practice endorsed by our political or economic system. The cyclical beast of materialism--of consumption and disposal--is not fed by contentment but by discontent, greed, jealousy, and the fear of scarcity.

We must teach our children and remind ourselves to be thankful. We must cultivate the spiritual discipline of Thanksgiving. Waltar Bruggaman argues that "Gratitude is an act of subversion.... In missional and liturgical ways, the church in its gratitude witnesses to 'a more excellent way,' a way that corresponds to God’s good intention for God’s world."

Cultivating a community of gratitude and thanksgiving might seem like a monumental task. There are so many challenges we must face while pursuing it. “Gratitude is an act of rebellion towards the powers that govern our world. Thanksgiving is an attitude antithetical to the culture and disruptive to the systems of commerce. It is not nature, as evidenced by Jesus' experience in Luke 17:11-19, in which he healed 10 people suffering from leprosy, and only one turned back to thank him—and he was a Samaritan."
 
As daunting as the task may seem, cultivating a community of gratitude is as simple as singing a song. Being a thankful person means you take time regularly to verbally and physically express your thanks. In small, regular ways, thanksgiving becomes less of a one-time holiday and more of a spiritual discipline that reshapes a person's heart to be more receptive to the blessings of Jesus. May we all take time to express our gratitude to God each day, remembering that it is a small but mighty act of rebellion in this world. 
 
In gratitude,
Kena Newkirk, Associate Pastor
Discipleship & Connections
 

​Why do Americans celebrate Thanksgiving? Americans celebrate Thanksgiving to give thanks for a harvest and national blessings. It started in a 1621 feast and was declared a national holiday by Abraham Lincoln in 1863. Over time the holiday changed from its religious roots of harvest and celebrations. Modern day Thanksgiving is a holiday focused on family and gratitude. It's celebrated with a large meal featuring roasted turkey, stuffing and sweet potato pie. We sit around watching the Macy's parade, while at the same time anticipating some action-packed football soon to come. It's a day of joy and laughter whether it's with family or friends. But none the least, getting your bellies full.
 
We as Christians are more fine-tuned than a once-a-year day of thanksgiving. The true meaning of thanksgiving is the expression of gratitude especially to God. Christians celebrate thanksgiving daily by starting the day with a prayer of gratitude, thanking God in personal prayer. We have so many things to be thankful for that we often take for granted. We wake up each morning to a beautiful sunrise, having food to eat and a roof over our heads. Be thankful for good health and good doctors that we can rely on when needed. Appreciate the world around you and the beauty of nature that God has provided for you and I. Give thanks for the Holy Spirit who provides guidance and helps in making choices. Each day is an opportunity for a fresh start, and God offers daily forgiveness for our mistakes. Let us be thankful in all circumstances and recognize that God will forever provide our needs.
 
Dear God, thank you for all the blessings in my life, for the food I eat, the people I love, and the quiet moments of peace. Help me recognize your goodness in every day given.
Amen.
 
In Christ,
Jerome Young
Facilities Manager