Grace and peace to you this Advent season,
This week, we move into our third week of Advent. If you want to catch up on the first two weeks of worship, you can find them on our Youtube page. This is a season of preparation, anticipation and waiting for the birth of Jesus. The curriculum we are using this year is used with permission from the fine folks at Sanctified Art. Our theme this year is Generation to Generation. I hope you remember that we are providing an Advent online devotional can be found here. We also have printed devotional books lets available in the church office.
This Sunday, we will be taking a closer look at the life of Joseph. In preparation for worship, I want to encourage you to list all of the things you know about Jesus earthly father. If you want a refresher, please feel free to fill out our online poll. We will share the results during worship.
During worship, we have been sharing a few ways that you can join us in being generous to our community. Please take the time to stay after church or come early to learn about the many ways we can support those who could use a little extra support this season. We also recognize that this season can be especially a challenge for those grieving among us. It’s been about a year since my fathers death and I still grieve our loss. If you would like to join us for a special service on December 20th, we will hold a Longest Night service at our church at 6:30pm. That night is literally the longest night of the calendar year. Liturgically, we acknowledge the darkness of the evening and also remember that every night for the next year, the night will yield to the light. Though hope comes in the morning, it can be healthy to acknowledge moments of darkness.
Something I want to make sure you know is what’s happening on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. We are intentionally creating space for December 25th and January 1st in order to provide a healthy break for our staff and incredible volunteers that come early and stay late each Sunday morning (and more). I pray that you join us online for worship these sacred Sundays. You can join us here.
Next week will be my last weekly post for 2022. I have a couple special announcements to share and I hope you get a chance to read it.
Peace be with you,
Pastor DJ
