UCU’s 2023 Advent & Christmas schedule is now available along with a reflection on how we approach this season. Depending on the year, Christmas can come as a joy, a stress, a struggle, or some combination of the above.
As a church, we will try to hit all of those notes as we move through the season. I want to draw your attention especially to the Longest Night worship service, which will be held at 7:00 pm on Wednesday, Dec. 20 at Richmond Congregational UCC. When daylight is the shortest, and our burdens may seem the heaviest, we’ll gather to light candles, pray, and hold the concerns of our souls before God and one another. Pastor Katelyn and I will co-lead this service, and I welcome participation (readers, prayer leaders) from those who feel so led.
Given that Christmas Eve is a Sunday this year, our worship pattern will be a bit different. On Dec. 24 at 10:00 am, we will have an outdoor live nativity that will not be live streamed. Invite your grandkids, friends, and neighbors to this event, which will include live animals and a carol sing-a-long. Then, at 7:00 pm, we’ll have our traditional, candlelit Christmas Eve service in the sanctuary and live streamed. If you’d like to read or share some music during this service, please contact me or Amy Dandurand.
In this sacred season of waiting and preparing, may we again find ourselves surprised by the miraculous ways God dwells among us.
Pastor Jen