The Season of Advent continues through Christmas Eve.
The sermons during Advent will focus on what God is able to do when we think so very little is possible. In the hard economic times that we face, and in the midst of political and international uncertainty, perhaps it is a good time to look back and see what the people of God, our brothers and sisters, have witnessed in similar circumstances.
You'll discover a number of ways to prepare your heart throughout the season here at Marietta First.
Advent Links:
What's Missing?
What Does Advent Mean to Us?
The Season of Advent, by Dr. Cyndi McDonald
Prepare for Christmas with an Advent guide, with reflections and prayers written by members of our congregation. Thank you to the Kindred Spirits Sunday School class for producing and giving these to our church family. Copies are available on the Bridge and throughout the church.
We will receive our Christmas Offering December 24 and 27 during Worship. Your contribution helps make the mission and ministry of Marietta First possible. For more information about the Christmas Offering, click here.
Have you made a
blanket for baby Jesus? Throughout the Advent season, children are invited to weave blankets for the manger. On Sundays before Christmas, bring your cloth for the cradle, and help prepare a place for baby Jesus.
Supplies: 12 strips of cloth, about 1” by 12”
multi-purpose glue
Lay 6 pieces of fabric in a row on a table or other flat surface.
Weave a strip of cloth in and out among the first 6 pieces.
Add additional strips, and weave in and out. Alternate each strip so that where one goes over, the next strip goes under.
After all pieces are used, fix the strips in place. At both ends of each strip, insert a drop of glue between the fabric strips where they cross (see dots on the picture). Allow to dry before moving.
The Open Door Sunday school class is once again sponsoring their annual
Christmas Poinsettia sale. Proceeds benefit the children at Murphy-Harpst in Cedartown, GA.
Receiving your plants: Poinsettias may be picked up following the 11:15 a.m. service on December 20 and after the various services on Christmas Eve.
Christmas Eve Services
Thursday, December 24
Children’s Nativity Service 3:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.
Candlelight Communion 4:00 p.m., 7:30 p.m., and 11:00 p.m.
All services in the Sanctuary
What's Missing?
by Dr. Cyndi McDonald
During Advent, part of our community's preparation for Christmas is to refrain from singing the Gloria Patri. Our worship is more reflective. The purple colors in the sanctuary remind us to prepare for Christmas by being penitential, considering our need for God. By the time Christmas arrives we are more thankful than ever for Emmanuel, God with us.
When we return to singing the Gloria Patri, we will appreciate this more than ever, giving renewed attention to the words and meanings of this song of praise. I suspect that by Christmas I will long to sing the Gloria Patri, and will sing louder than ever, with joy in every fiber of my being. I hope that you too will be ready, and will join me in affirming our faith by singing of God's glory!
In Advent we make changes to our worship and daily practices, trusting God will use these to deepen our relationships with God and others. We add holy moments, such as a time at the dinner table when the family lights a candle in the Advent wreath and remembers the light of the world. Or we add a daily moment when we set aside time to read scripture and devotions reminding us of the coming of Jesus and the fulfillment of God's promises.
What Does Advent Mean to Us?
by Dr. Cyndi McDonald
Advent is a season of waiting and preparing for the annual Christmas celebration of Jesus’ birth. The scriptures and traditions cultivate our awareness of God’s actions—past, present, and future. We remember God’s promises through the ages and the events two millennia ago in Bethlehem. At the same time, we are aware of our present need for Jesus. We long for his promised kingdom, peace and justice.
The word advent is derived from the Latin adventus, which means “coming” or “arrival.” Romans used the word to refer to the arrival of a person of dignity and great power, such as a king or emperor. For Christians, Advent is the time when we patiently prepare for the arrival of Jesus Christ.
We follow the tradition of churches through the ages and use the color purple as the primary color for decorating the church during Advent and Lent. Purple was one of the most expensive dye colors, associated with royalty.
Purple is also a penitential color, and reminds us that part of our preparation is through self-examination and repentance. We refrain from singing the Gloria Patri during the season, so that when we sing these words glorifying God at Christmas, we will join in with heavenly host, singing and rejoicing with every fiber of our being.
Each Sunday we light an additional candle in the Advent wreath, recognizing that we who have walked in darkness have seen a great light (Isaiah 9:2). The evergreen wreath reminds us of the eternal, unchanging love of God: as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
The Season of Advent
Dr. Cyndi McDonald
In the midst of darkness, there was light. God became a human who was born, who lived a life like ours, who experienced our joys and pain. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. (John 1:14)
During Advent, we remember this fulfillment of promise. We light candles of hope in the midst of darkness, remembering the centuries when people clung to God’s promises of a Messiah. We remember that we too wait for our Messiah, for Jesus’ second coming. As we wait, we are aware of the ways God has been present in our past and continues to dwell among us.
In some ways, the season of Advent is absurd. We are all too aware of the surrounding deep darkness: a senseless economy, madness in international relations, myriad human troubles around us, even among our families and friends. Our actions—lighting a candle, serving as a “Christmas Angel,” helping a child weave a blanket for the manger—seem small in the face of so much trouble.
But in these moments, we hear an angel tell Mary, “Do not be afraid” and claim these as words for us today. We wonder how God could work through such a young, inexperienced girl. We wonder how God works through us today.
In Advent, we remember that we still wait for some of the Old Testament promises to be fulfilled. The lion shall lie down with the lamb. Swords shall be beaten into plowshares. Every tear shall be wiped away. Some of us will gather on the longest night of the year, December 21, to mourn the loss of loved ones; to grieve over a divorce or separation; to struggle to make sense of life after sickness or the loss of a job. Christ has come, yet the darkness remains.
We recognize that our own lights have shown dimly. We have failed to notice and participate in God’s ongoing healing and redemptive movement around us. Accordingly, Advent is also a time of penitence, a time for repentance. As we prepare our hearts and make room for Christ’s presence, we grow in our trust of God with us.
The traditions at Marietta First UMC, during these four Sundays preceding Christmas, remind us not to celebrate Christmas too early, but to enjoy the anticipation of Christ’s coming. Each week we enter the sanctuary, playing a game of “I spy” the decorations added during the week. We watch members of our church family come forward and light a candle in the Advent wreath. As we watch, we all light a candle in our hearts, declaring Christ’s presence among us, light in the darkness.
As we pass the church grounds, we pay attention to the stable and figures on the lawn. No, baby Jesus is not present. But we tell one another that he comes. We laugh when we hear of those passing by, helpfully reporting that the baby Jesus was “stolen.” We remind ourselves that it’s not Christmas yet, but it will be.
We tell the story, over and over, of the light that once came. As often happens in our church, the children lead the way. They tell the story as they gather for crafts and songs at the Advent workshop. On Christmas Eve they don scratchy shepherd robes, fluffy angel wings, and shiny magi crowns. They remind us that once there were shepherds huddled in the darkness. And there was a great light, and angels declared the good news, unto us is born a Savior. God’s story is one for children, full of mystery and wonder.
Our children lead the way at Lessons and Carols, with a child reading the first scripture lesson. But as the service progresses, with middle age and then older adults reading subsequent scriptures, we remember that God’s story is for every stage of life. At every age, we need to hear of the transforming love that enters our world. No matter how many times we hear the story, we never fully understand this gift of a child. So we light a candle, a light in the darkness, and become part of God’s story.
