I donāt think it would be stretch to say celebrating Christmas is about a willingness to faithfully give and receive hospitality, and thankfully, this week our community has the opportunity to live into both sides of this theme.
On Dec. 23rd, at 11:00 am, Bethesda Church, the community that shares our worship space, has invited us to join them for worship and lunch following the service. We will be there guests; the service will be mostly in Spanish, but what better way to remember the news of Christmas is only heard by those willing to accept a grace filled invitation and gather around Jesus in unexpected places. We hope many of you can join us andĀ gratefully accept Bethesdaās hospitality and step outside our normal routineĀ as we long to see the world and our neighbor through the lens of Godās Kingdom coming.
We are considering this service our fourth and final worship service of Advent, and we will have childcare and programing for kids 6th grade and below. That said, we will not have normal Sunday worship on Dec. 24th.
However, on the evening of Dec 24th, at 5:00 pm, our community will gather to celebrate the birth of Jesus with our candle lighting service. It is a slightly shorter time of worship filled with traditional Christmas hymns and focused on the simple, timeless, long awaited story of Jesusā coming to be with us. Childcare will be available for children preschool ageĀ and below. We have invited Bethesda to join us and we encourage you to do the same with your neighbors and visiting family. Our prayer is the simple message of Jesus proclaimed by a community of love and grace will be a hospitable story for all who long for a light amid the darkness.
– Drew