Scripture: “You are the one who lights my lamp— the Lord my God illumines my darkness.”
– Psalm 18:28
Hello Church Family,
I heard the best story this Sunday after church. One of our church members (Darleen), was leaving the Lifeline Christmas party last week, where she had volunteered. She caught the train over to a doctor’s appointment, got a Starbucks coffee, and was sitting on a bench while she waited for her appointment. Someone nearby noticed the Christmas light necklace she had on, and asked her about it. She shared that she had been at the Lifeline party, and had dressed up festively for the occasion. He asked about Lifeline, and she told him. He asked which church, she passed it along. And standing right there, outside the hospital, he opened our church website and gave a donation. Darleen said she never would have expected it! I told her- “way to shine your light, girl!” I love how God can do wonderful things through as simple means as a light-up Christmas necklace.
This Friday, we’re hosting 2 events on 1 night. For church member families, a viewing of The Polar Express. That’ll be in the Fellowship Hall @ 6:30 pm, popcorn and hot cocoa provided. The second event will be an evangelistic opportunity to invite passersby on the street to our Christmas Eve services. We need a few folks willing to sing some Christmas tunes, pass out hot chocolate, and invite folks to church. We have a few stations that currently don’t have anyone to cover them – please click here to help us shine the light! And will we unveil the new church lighting that night? Come and find out!
I hope you’ve been enjoying the beautiful devotionals written by church members this Advent. We won’t be offering something like that all the time, but we will in January! You may recall from our State of the Church meeting that I asked for the church to join in a season of prayer in January – listening prayer, where together, we seek God’s will and vision for our church. To help us in our prayers, we will be providing a daily prayer guide for the month of January. But this one will be a little different- we’re asking you to write down what you hear God say in prayer, and we will give you opportunities to share with the church what God has said. This will not be prayer for prayer’s sake, though that’s always worth it. This will be a prayer for the purpose of hearing God give us direction. We will also be having Wednesday 12 pm chapel prayer services, daily prayer at 6:30 am via Zoom, and prayer walks scheduled throughout the month. I am asking you now to commit to participating in this season of prayer for the whole month of January, so that together, we can hear God’s voice. We will be handing these prayer guides out on Sunday, December 28th.
This Sunday is Lessons and Carols, a great chance to invite a friend! Our Christmas Eve services will be at 4 pm, 7 pm, and 11 pm, and they will be filled with joy and light. I can’t wait to worship the king with you this Christmas.
Grace and Peace
Pastor Lindsay Kirkpatrick
Senior Pastor
[email protected]