A Word from Pastor Nathan

Uncategorized

Dear Friends:

Over the next four weeks, we will prepare for the coming of the Christ child. Advent marks the beginning of the new church year, and with this new year, we will have a new guide to worship.

Here is a preview of what to anticipate on Sunday:

  • The Schmittgen Chimes will ring the hour at 10:45am. I will give a brief greeting, saying, “The Lord is with you,” and the congregation will respond, “And with you also.” Please greet your neighbors with this same exchange and return to your seats. To begin our worship, I’ll ask you to “Lift up your hearts,” and the congregation will respond, “We lift them to the Lord.” Tom Day will provide the morning prelude to help us prepare for worship. A meditation of preparation will be in the guide to worship that you can read.
  • Following the Hymn of Praise and Invocation, we’ll sing a new Gloria Patri, the refrain from the hymn Angels We Have Heard on High.
  • Members of our various committees will lead us in lighting the candles of our Advent Wreath. After the candle is lit, we will have a special music selection and our first scripture reading. After the scripture readings, please join in saying, “Thanks be to God!”
  • We will share a time of intercession, too. There will be pauses in our prayer during which you can mention a name aloud or silently. If you have a prayer concern to share with me, please complete a prayer card and place it in the offering plate. Washington Avenue is a congregation that prays with one another and the Church universal. We will continue this tradition and conclude our prayer with The Lord’s Prayer.
  • Following the sermon, we will have a discipline of silence. We often view silence as a void to fill; however, silence is presence, not absence. Rarely do we find moments to welcome silence into our busy lives.

The 8:30am service will also have a new worship guide and incorporate some of the new elements noted above while maintaining the abbreviated service.

In our November meeting, the Elders and I previewed the new guide to worship. We are excited about how these enhancements will contribute to our service of praise and prayer. As we enter this new season with one another, let us worship God in ways that speak to our faith in the one who comes to us as a babe in Bethlehem.

With Advent hope,

Nathan