Advent and Christmas 2017

In a culture of fear... In a world of uncertainty ...
We need to be reminded...
#DoNotBeAfraid

We flew in the face of fear for Advent this year.

The angels that appear in the story of Jesus' birth would have been very comfortable in our world of tweets and hashtags. Their messages were often short and to the point—their favorite line being: #DoNotBeAfraid.

We, too, are called to be messengers of the Good News.

The stories of the angel visits to Zechariah, Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds at Jesus' birth offer us inspiration to incorporate less fear and more goodness into our own lives and therefore, into the lives of all we touch.

Sharing the stories of angels can be a dangerous proposition. Angels in scripture are anything but cute. Most often make surprise appearances, bringing a wake-up call and life altering messages from God. Hence the familiar phrase when they appear, "Do not be afraid."

This Advent and Christmas season, we focused on the angels that appear in scripture, seeing them as messengers from God communicating what we need to hear. We visited our own propensity for fear, got some perspective, and were empowered for new life in the new year.

We explored how in our time, we are being called to become the "angels among us," who deliver messages to the world about the hope, peace, joy, and love we know as faithful followers of Jesus Christ.

We fly in the face of the fears that overwhelm and control our lives. We seek ways to offer more hope, more peace, more joy, and more love in a hurting and divided world.  We turn and sing towards the light of God.

Because angels are often depicted with wings, our anchor image was feathers, particularly white feathers. This image not only reminds us of the angel visitations to Zechariah, Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds, but also keeps us mindful that through the Incarnate Christ, Emmanuel, "God with Us," we too are watching and waiting for the presence of God and the call of God on our lives as messengers in our time.

Click below for a listing of all of our worship services held during our Advent and Christmas season.




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