Pastor Megan’s Mid Week Message 12/16

Dec 16, 2020

Hello Church Family, 
 
Another Wednesday has come. And we are another day closer to Christmas. The days are getting longer and the sun is setting sooner and sooner it seems. Next week will be the official first day of winter and will also be “The Longest Night”. Churches around our area are putting together virtual church services that can hopefully help with some of what we are all feeling right now. Those services will be on Monday December 21st. And I will include some links below to services that I have heard about. 
 
Sunday will be the Fourth Sunday of Advent and we will be celebrating the sacrament of Communion. If you would like, there are still pre-filled communion cups in the basket next to my office door. Please feel free to come and get them or reach out to either myself or Kate Klaber and we will make arrangements to have them brought to you. If you are unable to pick up the pre-filled cups, please know that you are still welcome to the table. Just have a piece of bread and some juice with you on Sunday. And if you have the pre-filled cups, know that the tops are a little tricky to open, so have the seal taken off before service for ease for you later on in worship. 
 
Our Christmas Eve service will start at 6pm. At 5:50pm, Shanelle will lead a gathering time of Carols. Shanelle will also be recording the choir version of “Mary Did You Know?” for our anthem on Christmas Eve. Choir members or anyone else that would like to sing, Shanelle will get music to you so you can have it for Christmas Eve, reach out to her at music@cleredeemer.org Also on Christmas Eve we will be ending our service in candlelight and the singing of “Silent Night”, if you would like, have a candle nearby and light it when the lights dim in the sanctuary and then we will sing “Silent Night”. After our Christmas Eve service, we will have our virtual coffee hour, please stick around and fellowship with each other. If you have any Joys or Concerns that you would like the congregation to know about please let me know by Thursday 12/24 in the morning.  
 
Sunday December 27th we will have a service of Carols and Lessons. This will be a more relaxed service so if you would like to Zoom in your favorite Christmas Sweater or Christmas Jammies, please do! 
 
Monday December 28th, if you ordered a poinsettia for Christmas Eve, you will be able to stop by the church and pick it up. Vivian will be in the church office from 9am-5pm. If this time does not work for you or you would like to have it delivered to someone please reach out to Vivian at secretary@cleredeemer.org
 
Our children’s book from last week All the Colors of Christmas can be found here and our children’s book for this coming Sunday 5 More Sleeps ‘Til Christmas can be found here and our book for Christmas Eve This is the Christmas Story can be found here. 
 
Scriptures for this coming Sunday are: Romans 16:25-27, Luke 1:26-38 and Luke 1:46b-55
 
And our prayer from this week comes from the Advent Book Study that some of us are doing, this week’s topic was on “Altogether Love”
Holy and Loving God, thank you for loving us with an altogether love.
Come to us in the quiet spaces of our lives so that we may
grow to accept and embrace your altogether love. 
Let us follow the example of Elizabeth, Mary and Joseph, 
and the shepherds and bear witness to your
altogether love for the world; 
in the name of your Son Jesus
we pray. Amen. 
 
May the rest of this week land gently with you all and you are able to find little moments of joy as we approach Christmas. 
 
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Megan
 
 
Links for Longest Night Services: