November 25th Update
Dear Brothers and Sisters of Messiah,
Tomorrow night at 7:00 pm, we gather at Messiah for our joint Thanksgiving Eve service with our neighbors in faith from St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Rockford. Then, this coming Sunday, Advent begins. Lots to cover this time around!
WORSHIP AND CLASS SCHEDULE
We continue with Divine Service at 10:00 am on Sundays. Bible Class continues beforehand at 9:00 am. Sunday School for children PreK and up is held after worship, starting about 11:15 am.
Livestreams of our Sunday services can be found at
Our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/messiahgr
The most recent livestreamed service is viewable on our website's front page, www.messiahgr.org
CARES (Caring, Active, Reaching, Encouraging Sisters in Christ) continues on Wednesday mornings at 9:45 am. This women’s book discussion group continues reading Leaning on Jesus: A Study of God’s Strength by Deb Burma; click here for a sample.
ADVENT & CHRISTMAS WORSHIP
Midweek Advent Services begin on Wednesday, December 3rd.
Prayer services will be offered at 11:00 am on December 3rd, 10th and 17th, as well as at 7:00 pm on December 3rd; our theme will be The Saints of Advent. There will be a dinner before December 3rd's evening service at 6:00 pm.
Wednesday evening Advent services will also include:
Our Preschool Christmas Service: The ABCs of Christmas on December 10th at 6:30 pm. There will be a dinner before this service at 5:30 pm.
Christmas Reflections (Lessons and Carols) on December 17th at 7:00 pm.
Our Christmas service schedule is as follows:
Christmas Eve Family Candlelight Service, Wednesday, December 24th at 7:00 pm
Christmas Day Divine Service, Thursday, December 25th at 10:00 am
New Year's Day Divine Service, Thursday, January 1st at 10:00 am
Epiphany Divine Service at St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Rockford, Tuesday, January 6th at 7:00 pm. This will be a joint service with St. Peter's.
DECEMBER NEWSLETTER + WHAT'S NEW & NEXT
Our December newsletter will be online very soon, and paper copies will be available at the Welcome Center. We post the newsletter (including monthly calendars) and our weekly announcements online at www.messiahgr.org; calendars are also online separately at www.messiahgr.org/calendar. Be sure to check these sources regularly for updates on the events listed below and more!
Christmas Bazaar Saturday, December 6th from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm, sponsored by our Parish Services Guild. If you'd like to help with prep work, volunteer staffing, set-up, clean-up and/or baking cookies for this event, talk to a Guild member. Proceeds support congregational projects and LCMS missions!
Advent Prayer Breakfast Saturday, December 13th at 9:30 am. Come for a delicious meal, fellowship and a prayer service. Sign up at the Welcome Center.
Christmas Caroling, Saturday, December 13th from 3:00 to 6:30 pm, sponsored by the Board of Outreach. We'll carol to homebound members and residents at senior facilities, then return to church for a pizza party (side dishes & desserts are welcome). Sign up at the Welcome Center or in Bible Class.
REACH OUT WITH GOD'S LOVE
Along with the events listed above, there are plenty of opportunites for you to help and reach out to others in the next few weeks:
NEW! Adopt-A-Family Collection starts soon! The Board of Outreach is working with Northview Public Schools to provide Christmas gifts for a local family in need. Choose a gift tag from the “Adopt A Family” Christmas tree in the church foyer, then return your gift (boxed & wrapped, with the gift tag attached) under the tree by Sunday, December 14th.
NEW! The Hat and Mitten Tree will be up very soon, sponsored by the Social Ministry Committee. Donations of hats, mittens, gloves, and scarves are welcome! All items will be given to children in our community that need it. Please make sure your items are on the tree by Sunday, December 28th.
NEW! Christmas Card Exchange Board, sponsored by the Social Ministry Commitee. Sign a Christmas card, enclose a donation, designate "Messiah Christmas Card" and place it in Shirley Kremm's mailbox. Cards will go on the decorated board in the church foyer; donations will be used to help those in need.
NEW! Invitations for Christmas Reflections and Christmas Eve services will be available at the Welcome Center this coming Sunday. Use them to invite friends, relatives, neighbors and colleagues to rejoice with us that the Lord Jesus is at hand! Invitations for each service come in greeting card and business card formats.
Yours in Christ, Rick Krueger
FROM PASTOR ERIC (IN THE DECEMBER NEWSLETTER):
Often this time of the year is completely full of “material considerations.” Food to buy and prepare, travel arrangements to make, gifts to pick out and buy and ship, sales to hunt down, stores to brave or websites to navigate, the weather, the list goes on. And then there is Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” And truly that is what happened, and what happens every Advent and Christmas.
Around the world, in every nation, among all peoples, in many languages, some peculiar people, usually known as Christians, stop. Among all the celebrations, or even lack thereof, among all the worries and struggles of this life, some among war torn streets, some secretly, some with one or two others, some amidst grand cathedrals, will gather together, sing, hear the story once again, and praise the Lord who came down to His people to save them.
Do not forget to join them in their celebrations and joy and indeed in their stillness, stopping and listening and pondering the birth of the Savior of the world, their Savior, your Savior. Do decorate the tree, and cook, and bake, and wrap gifts, and travel, and host, and all the rest, but do not forget also to stop. Think on your Savior. Remember you have a Savior, truly. Ponder the cost of sin, that great enemy death, and look to the one who paid our all our debt, and crushed our great enemy under the cross. Hear again the story of hope, of a sure and certain hope, that as surely as Christ was born, so will He come again. This season, do not neglect to slow down, and stop. Truly, you will find no end of wondrous deeds. Amen.
P.S. Please enjoy a preview of Messiah's Advent Hymn of the Month, "Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus", below.