Dear friends,
The Advent/Christmas season is often a time of joy and peace with friends, family, and church. But here we are in 2020 with a global pandemic separating us from friends, family, and church and for so many of us who have experienced the death of a loved one, feelings of grief and loneliness surface with each carol or greeting card.
While we cannot gather in person for our traditional In the Bleak Midwinter – A Service of Grief of Hope, we invite you to come together via Facebook Live on Wednesday, December 16, 7:00pm. This service will be a time to virtually gather with others who may feel that all the hustle and bustle of this season can be too much to bear. We’ll share in prayer, song, Scripture, and a short message as we acknowledge the struggles in our lives that make being jolly and merry the farthest things from our hearts and minds. On one of winter's longest nights “in the bleak midwinter,” we’ll seek comfort and hope in the midst of this season.
As a part of this virtual service, available to watch anytime after 7pm on December 16th, we invite you to share a photo of an Advent/Christmas memory that brings you comfort even in grief. No names or comments will be included in the slideshow – simply images of joyful memories. Text or e-mail the photo to Susan at spinson@glennumc.org.
We, your pastors — as well as our Lay Ministers — will be logged on together on December 16th. We are also as close as a phone call if you ever want to talk. Finally, and most importantly, we want to remind you of the hope we have in Jesus Christ. His words of comfort and guidance, the gift of his life, death, and resurrection, and promise of coming again. The depth of the emotion of the Gospel is expressed beautifully in a verse from “O Holy Night”:
The thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees, Oh, hear the angel voices
O night divine, O night when Christ was born
May your Advent and Christmas season be rich with warm memories of those we have loved as we prepare once again for the hope of the Christ Child to be born in our hearts and lives.