What is your favorite part of receiving a Christmas present? It may seem like an odd question but there are actually several steps to getting a present, each of which has its own merits. It could be researching and considering what to put on your wish list. Maybe the time before you receive the gift when you imagine what you’ll do with it. The moment when you open the gift and the wide range of po...  Read More

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the region around the Jordan, procla...  Read More

The Advent wreath is an excellent symbol for the annual cycle of Advent into Christmas. We place this evergreen circle topped with five candles in the sanctuary. Each of the four Sundays of Advent we light another one of the candles along the outer edge. The already lit candles each week remind us of how far we come through this season of waiting, while the remaining candles remind us that there i...  Read More

This past Tuesday, I went to one of our Inspired Life events where Erinn Frees, a board certified music therapist, talked about music therapy and how she uses music in her job to care for people. It was a fantastic talk where we didn’t just hear about her work, but also got to experience some techniques ourselves.One idea that stuck with me was the power of music to resurface nearly forgotten memo...  Read More

Isn’t it odd that snow can be cozy? It’s frozen water that is sometimes soft and fluffy, sometimes hard and stinging, and sometimes slick and greasy. It hits the exposed skin of your face and melts into a cold liquid that runs down your neck. It only falls when the temperatures are at or below freezing. Sometimes well below!Yet on a winter evening, as the flakes swirl around in the warm light cast...  Read More

Social wellness is our focus area for December. It's a month that can be filled with social events, family gatherings, or maybe even loneliness. It's a good time to remember that relationships are important to us as humans and a good time to think about how we can improve connections in our lives. See other social wellness ideas on our weekly social media posts and on our Social Wellness page....  Read More

I think everyone who feels the weight of the world on them should try journaling. Writing words down is an excellent, and healthy, way to work through strong emotions, positive or negative. You might already be saying that it is not for you, but let me give you a few tips before you reject it outright.How do you keep a journal? You could write out your reflections longhand in a notebook. The first...  Read More

Have you ever had a string of Christmas lights go out on you? In my experience, the two times it happens is right after you finish decorating the tree or ten minutes before the guests arrive for a party. It can be incredibly frustrating when those beautiful twinkling lights suddenly go dark. You want to take the whole string and toss them in the trash. After all, they don’t work any more, so why b...  Read More

If you’re like me, you’ve already been inundated with Christmas ads for a month. Emails, catalogs, pop-ups, TV commercials. You may have had an involuntary shudder just from reading the title of this post and thought I was trying to shill something at you. Each of these ads promises, explicitly or not, that their product will solve all your problems, improve your life, and finally give you real ha...  Read More

Join us for our annual Service of Lessons & Carols on Sunday, December 15 at 10am. This service features the Saints Chorale choir, Kids Choir, Saints Brass, and Carillon Choir, along with vocal and instrumental soloists. Invite your friends and neighbors to experience word and music combining to tell the Christmas story....  Read More

The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called: “The L...  Read More

The December 2024 Newsletter is now available for download. 3rd - Inspired Life: Erinn Frees, 7pm8th - Kids and Youth Christmas Program, 10am8th - Dads Bible Study, 11am12th - Summer Camp Registration Opens15th - Christmas Poinsettia Donation Deadline15th - Lessons & Carols, 10am15th - Moms Bible Study, 11am15th - Caroling at the Glenn, 1pm24th - Family-Oriented Christmas Eve Service, 4pm24th - Ev...  Read More