For many of us, Christmas can be a bittersweet time of year. It’s a time of great joy! Yet, it can also be a time for remembering persons and events that have been a part of our lives in the past, but that are now changed or gone. In this season with the longest nights, we’ll gather during December’s Sabbath service for a quiet, meditative worship service that makes time for remembering, sharing our hurting places with God, and preparing our hearts for the coming of Christ. Join us on December 9 at 5:00pm in the sanctuary or online for a candlelit time of music, scripture, silent reflection, communion, and prayer. (Note for our online worshipers: if you’re able to do so, in addition to communion elements please gather a candle and something with which to light it.)

Do you enjoy joining your voice with a vocal choir? Have you wondered what it would be like to ring handbells? Does the thought of spreading joy with a puppet bring a smile to your face? New members are welcome to join the Chancel Choir, Handbell Choir, or Puppet Team at any time of the year, but there may be no better time than the start of a new program year! The Chancel and Handbell Choirs will be having their first rehearsals of the season on Wednesday, September 6th, while the Puppet Team continues to meet throughout the summer.

Chancel Choir

• Provides worship leadership through choir anthems for Sunday worship services.
• Practices Wednesdays at 7:00pm in the sanctuary

Contact Claudia Sutherland, Choir Director, for more info.

Handbell Choir

• Plays monthly in a Sunday worship service; typically the 3rd weekend of the month.
• Practices Wednesdays at 6:00pm in the Genesis Room.

Contact Angie Lynne, Handbell Choir Director, for more info.

Puppet Team

• Provides a puppet proclamation about once per month.
• Practices Wednesdays at 4:30pm in the Genesis Room

Contact Drew Harenberg, Puppet Team Coordinator, for more info.

Instrumentalists

If you have experience playing a musical instrument and would like to share your gift s by accompanying the choir or playing a solo during worship, please contact Claudia Sutherland, Susan Pohl, or Pastor TJ for more information.

Paul’s letter to the Romans is addressed to people he had never met, in the hopes of encouraging and building up this community to which he dreamed of traveling. He knew the Christian life could be perilous, and the world in which they
lived was increasingly unpredictable and diverse.

This summer, we will explore six intriguing passages from Romans as we consider how God sustains us in the midst of brokenness, and helps us to find wholeness and unity in the midst of life as we know it.

July 16 – “Broken Spirits, Broken Bodies” (Romans 8:1-11)
July 23 – “Labor Pains” (Romans 8:12-25)
July 30 – “Inseparable” (Romans 8:26-39)
August 6 – “All-Inclusive Grace” (Romans 9:1-5)
August 12 – “The End of the Law” (Romans 10:5-15) – Fr. Sean Rogers preaching
August 20 – “God is In Control” (Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32)

Are you ready for Saturday Night Alive? Borrowing from an ancient practice of the Christian tradition, our Sabbath Service (Saturday April 15 at 5:00pm) will take the form of “Holy Humor.”

Plan to come dressed in your brightest colors and/or a silly costume. You’re encouraged to bring a joke or two in case you’re asked to make the congregation laugh.

Our Saturday Night Alive worship service will include upbeat music, lots of laughter, and joyful community—all in celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.