The First Sunday in Advent

Hello Everyone,

There are two dark seasons within the Christian year. One is Lent and the other is Advent. This Sunday, we enter into the dark season of Advent. It's not dark because it is depressing or sad but rather the darkness reminds us that this is a special season of waiting and preparation.

As Christians, we take seriously the holy and sacred day of Christmas. This is when God decided to come to us in Jesus Christ. We need these coming weeks to truly prepare our hearts and minds. The world will try to distract us. It will try to sell us some cheap version of Christmas so let us resist by anchoring ourselves in hope, peace, joy and love this season.

On Sunday, we will begin with hope. At times, hope might feel like some optimistic, far-off wish. Maybe it even feels like escapism but hope is active and present. Hope allows us to see the world as it really is and recognize the possibilities that exist within it.

To fully enter into hope, we will learn from an often overlooked character in the Christmas story...Elizabeth. Elizabeth gets very little credit. She doesn't get a figurine in the nativity set or a song written about her but she has something to teach us about hope and faith.

I hope you will join us on Sunday for the livestream service at 9:30am or the socially distanced outdoor service at 10:45am.

Peace in Christ,

Chelsea