December 13, 2022
Dear Peace Members:
Here is a reminder about tomorrow night’s Advent worship service at 6:30pm. It’s a special service called, “Those Who Dream…Are Not Alone.”
If you are undecided about whether to come, here are a few reasons to be there:
- Waiting is part of the Advent message and much of the Christian life is spent waiting; waiting for God. Israel waited 2000 years for the Messiah to come! God may appear very slow but God never forgets God’s promises. Come and wait quietly with others. And come Christmas, you’ll be glad you did. Why? See reason #2.
- It’s too easy to rush this season away. We’re only 12 days from Christmas. Have you taken time to pause, to pray? We spend a lot of time in December preparing cards, preparing decorations, preparing presents, preparing feasts. Advent only asks that we prepare ourselves. This service offers time, and a holy space, to do that.
- Part of what you love best about Christmas are the moments that make you ache. Admit it—you get teary when Linus explains “what Christmas is all about.” Your heart swells when Clarence gets his wings, when the Grinch sleds joyously into Whoville! This service taps into that mysterious mix of wonder and melancholy; of joy and poignancy that pierces our hearts this time of year.
- At worship tomorrow night, we’ll sing a beautiful hymn: “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” Years ago, I heard an interview with the singer, actress, Andrea Marcovicci. “I had faith as a child and I lost it in a flash. It happened so quickly; I had no idea what I had lost. Whenever I go into a church and—if it’s an empty church—right out would come this aching sound of this one song that I sang when I was little and it was……” At that point she sings with this haunting voice, “Oh come, oh come, Emmanuel. And ransom captive Israel. That mourns in lonely exile here, until the Son of God appear…..” She went on. “….At Christmas-time I always hear it in the back of my mind. And sometimes when I’m really lost, I’ll sing it…And it comes back to me as a sort of general song of aching yearning…..To me it’s, it’s having some all-consuming power bigger than you to say, ‘it’s all right, it’s all right. You can make it through whatever it is you’re trying to make it through.’ And that’s the song I always hear.’”
- You’ve got worries. Come, reflect on them, pray about them, put them in God’s hands, let them go.
- There are people you need to remember. We’ve all lost someone—people we loved who have died, moved away, or become estranged from us. Our losses may be new, or decades old. At Blue Christmas, we bring those people to mind, love them, forgive them, forgive ourselves, and find comfort.
- You will leave with a renewed sense of peace in your heart. That’s God’s promise to you.
I hope you can join us! Tomorrow night, 6:30pm.
Grace and Peace,
Mark