Weekly Update

Greetings in Christ!

What a blessed weekend! We made it into the renovated sanctuary for the first time, and what a beautiful place it is. It was my pleasure to be a part of this piece of CLC’s history, and I’m excited about what the future will bring as we continue to worship and grow in that space. Then, we were supported by our conference as I was installed officially as your pastor and as we were recommissioned for new and vibrant ministries in the NRV.

Weekly Notes

+      We are in the process of rescheduling the organ concert because, as you may have seen, the organ is not yet installed. It will not be on December 7th as originally planned, but will be soon, so keep an eye out for details!

+      Advent begins Sunday November 30th. Our Sunday morning discipleship time will focus on this question: Who is Jesus? Each week we will ask this question through different methods: Scripture, church tradition, creative arts, and community stories. We invite people of all ages to try out this new approach!

+      Lectionary study will move to Tuesday nights at 7pm, and take on the additional identity of being group that helps to plan worship. We will study the scriptures and use our reflections to shape our Sunday gatherings.

Devotional

“O that you would tear open the heavens and come down.” These words, on Isaiah’s lips in Chapter 64, cut to the quick of Advent. What we ask for, what we wait for – the coming of God to earth – is no easy task, is no simple supplication.

What we ask of God is to flee the stability of heaven and enter the anarchy of earth. We ask God to depart the company of angels and encounter the anarchy of humanity. We ask God to tear at the fabric of the cosmos, to rip heaven open, and expose all that perfection to our desperate imperfection.

Yet, we ask for what God has already given. As we anticipate the coming of Christ, we remember that God already chose this earthly realm despite his divine context. We ask with the assurance that God’s graceful promise came in the manger of Bethlehem and will come again into our world to restore God’s rule of justice and peace.

This week, begin your prayers with this cry, knowing that God is coming in the glory of a child: O God, tear open the heavens and come down to us.