At Peace Mennonite this year, we will begin Advent with a service of prayer and anointing. This is similar to what other churches do for “Blue Christmas” or “Longest Night.” The order of our service is below. Blessings to all as you begin the Advent season. Welcome/Intro Welcome, each of you, to this service of…
Yes, it’s true. This coming Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent. Ready or not . . . Some of the Rev. Gals are helping each other out by sharing Advent resources today, and I thought I would join the party. Yesterday I posted this piece over at Practicing Families about Advent practices at home.…
Here is a worship service designed for families with children to do together on Christmas morning. A brief time to acknowledge the incredible gift of Jesus before we start tearing into all the gifts under the tree. This worship service is my Christmas gift to you! Along with this blessing (adapted from Sunday’s sermon): May…
I took a picture of our lit Advent candles for my blog post a few days ago. My 14-year-old daughter saw the picture and said, “Wow. Our house looks pretty in that picture.” Not to say that our house in reality is not also pretty–in it’s own messy, disorganized way. It’s just to say that,…
I was working on our Christmas Eve program Friday when I heard the news about the shootings in Connecticut. Shootings at an elementary school. An elementary school. Dead bodies–little bodies–sprawled on the floor. Bloody children. Wailing parents. It was hard to get back into the Christmas spirit after hearing that news. Hard to write about…
Every year I try to find a healthy balance as I celebrate the holiday season with my family. On one hand, I want it to be fun. We all love candy and cookies and presents and lights. On the other hand, I am aware that the focus of our celebration should be on Christ and…
This morning at the gym, I found myself on the elliptical machine with two television options in front of me. To my left was evangelist Creflo Dollar telling his congregation that they could escape the prison of sin by being born again. To my right was supermodel Cindy Crawford telling viewers that for $39.95 a…
(Here is the reflection I shared during worship on New Year’s Day, 2012 ) Ecclesiastes 3:1, 11-14a It’s probably not surprising that I’ve been thinking about gifts this holiday season. Of course, I’ve been considering what gifts to give others and I’ve been enjoying the gifts others have given me. And as one year ends…
I pray you all had a blessed Christmas day, and that you continue to celebrate Jesus with joy! For Christmas, my husband gave me the domain name “spaciousfaith.com”–and he did all the legwork to connect it to my blog. I realize that this is not particularly exciting for most folks, but I get a kick…
Our time of worship together on Christmas day will be primarily a Christmas hymn sing. On top of the inherent busyness of this time of year, there’s been illness at my house this week. So the less preparation needed for worship, the better. Here’s the call to worship for Christmas Day: Hear the Good News:…
Spacious Faith 