Emerging Worship Blog

“I hate Christmas!” Even though it was several Christmases ago, I remember it vividly. I was standing in a long line at my local Walmart when I overheard a fellow shopper muttering it to herself. In a weird way, I think it was what many of the people around me were thinking.

It’s an overstatement, of course. We don’t hate Christmas, but there are times when I hate what it does to me and those around me. There are presents to buy, cookies to bake, travel plans to make, and cards to write. We feel like we’ve got to make our children’s dreams come true, our in-laws feel at home when they visit, and make everyone in our lives feel special with the trinkets we buy them. And we attempt to do all of this on a deadline shared by almost everyone around us. So the stores run out of the hottest toys and gadgets, the lines get long, people become rude and inconsiderate, and blood pressure boils over in parking lots. The pressure is nearly unbearable on this the most joyous time of the year. 

Odd, isn’t it? Our celebration of the birth of the Prince of Peace causes all of this turmoil. Maybe there’s another way.

Worship Series

During this Advent Season (the four Sundays leading up to Christmas) we are going to explore some possibilities during worship. How can we spend our days away from the Christmas “rush” and use this time better? In the four weeks we will explore how to

• WORSHIP FULLY because Christmas really all about Jesus
• SPEND LESS and free our resources for things that truly mater
• GIVE MORE of our presence: our hands, words, time and heart
• LOVE ALL including the poor, the forgotten, the marginalized, and the sick – in ways that make a difference. 

New! Sunday School Class at 11:00am

We will use the Advent season and Advent Conspiracy  to kick off a new 11:00 a.m. Sunday School class. We will be studying the Advent Conspiracy DVD curriculum together! Meet others who come to Emerging Worship and as we encourage and support one another as we seek to have a different experience this Christmas.

Let’s do this thing!
Let’s conspire together to have a holy Advent,
and a more blessed Christmas!

This entry was posted on Monday, November 16th, 2009 at 4:42 pm and is filed under Previous Worship Themes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.