 Thursday, December 24 at 5:00PM
Our annual Christmas Eve service will be in many ways familiar, and yet, in other ways very different. We will hear the familiar story of the coming of the Christ child, sing our favorite Christmas carols, celebrate communion, and raise our candles high during “Silent Night.” What will be different this year is that the service will be virtual, on our YouTube channel. As a faith family, we remain spiritually connected though we are physically distanced. It is our hope and prayer that you will find this Christmas Eve service to be an integral part of your celebration of Christmas this year – perhaps with friends and family in places scattered around the world! Though holiday traditions may need to be altered this year, due to the pandemic, let us all find ways make this a very special Christmas! Merry Christmas to you and yours!  Zechariah was old, religious, and important. Mary was a young nobody from an insignificant locale. Both were approached by the angel Gabriel with news of a miraculous birth in their futures. Both asked Gabriel the same question: “How?” And yet, both of them received completely different responses from Gabriel. What made the difference?
Perhaps we should shed some of our stuffiness and high-and-mighty-ness and embrace the wonder of Christmas. Rev. Tonja's sermon, "How?", is based on Luke 1:5-38, NRSV. Participate in worship on our YouTube channel beginning at 10:30AM. Sing along with the hymns and follow along with the virtual bulletin here.  The liturgical calendar tells us this is Joy Sunday. But this year, we are all feeling a sense of loss and grief. How can we find and maintain our joy? How can we re-joy-ce?
Participate in worship on Sunday, December 13, and learn some key steps we can take to find our joy in this time. Rev. Tonja's sermon, "There is Joy!", is based on 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24, The Message. Participate in worship on our YouTube channel beginning at 10:30AM. Sing along with the hymns and follow along with the virtual bulletin here. Mark is the shortest and the earliest of the four gospel texts, and Mark does not contain a birth story. The first eight verses of Mark tell us a lot about what kind of message to expect from the chapters that follow. In Jesus we find a new creation, a new exodus, and a new restoration of God’s people. Rev. Tonja's sermon, "A New Creation, A New Exodus, A New Restoration", is based on Mark 1:1-8, CEB. Participate in worship on our YouTube channel beginning at 10:30AM. Sing along with the hymns and follow along with the virtual bulletin here.   On this first Sunday in Advent, we receive a mixed message from Mark’s gospel. It is message of hope, but it is also a message of the need to dig in and persevere.
We repeatedly hear the phrase “stay alert.” What should we stay alert to? How about hope, peace, joy, and love? Rev. Tonja's sermon, "Stay Alert!", is based on Mark 13:24-37, CEB. Participate in worship on our YouTube channel beginning at 10:30AM. Sing along with the hymns and follow along with the virtual bulletin here.  Our guest preacher this Sunday is the Rev. Dr. Delesslyn Kennebrew, Regional Minister for Ministry Innovation in the Greater Kansas City Region of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). In this role, Dr. Kennebrew plants thriving new churches and leads existing congregations through revitalization and transformation.
Dr. Kennebrew received her MDiv from the Candler School of Theology in Atlanta, George, and her Doctorate at Columbia Theological Seminary. Dr. Kennebrew brings us a message about grief. Grief can be all-consuming and all-encompassing. Indeed, grief is well rounded. But it is important when grief overtakes us that we ask for help: from a therapist, from friends, from family, and even from God. This year, due to COVID, our celebration of Thanksgiving might be very different than we are accustomed to. If you are experiencing grief about that or anything else, ask for help. Please. Because grief is well rounded. Rev. Dr. Delesslyn Kennebrew's sermon, "Grief is Well Rounded", is based on Psalm 121:1-2, KJV.  Our guest preacher for this Sunday is the Rev. Dr. Judy Kincaid, Pastor of the New Hope Little Elk Creek Lutheran Parish in Menomonie, Wisconsin. Rev. Kincaid is a graduate of the preaching program at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, and was the winner of the 2020 Pentecost Preaching Contest, held by “A Sermon for Every Sunday.”
In her excellent message on the familiar “Parable of the Talents,” Rev. Kincaid encourages us to give our best efforts with the gifts we have been given. We may fail. And that’s okay. But it is important that we try. Rev. Dr. Judy Kincaid's sermon, "The Parable of the Talents" is based on Matthew 25:14-30, NRSV. Participate in worship on our YouTube channel beginning at 10:30AM. Sing along with the hymns and follow along with the virtual bulletin here.
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