Dear St. Lukers,
Are you ready? I cannot believe we are this close to Christmas Eve. With a short Advent this year, it seems like it’s so close already! Or maybe I’m just still riding high from the absolutely incredible Christmas Concert we had last weekend?
I hope you got to experience Sounds of the Season, led by our Community Choir, along with our children and youth, dancers, orchestra, nativity actors, and, yes, of course, our stilt walkers! You also got to experience the incredible gifts of our scenic and tech teams, support from our facilities teams and ushers, and probably so many other people I don’t even know had a hand in this incredible holiday experience. I want to extend my own THANK YOU for all the ways we were able to truly share joy with the community this year; there were MANY participants and audience members for whom this was their first experience with St. Luke’s, and we showed some amazing hospitality this year.
But don’t forget, the season’s not over – we still have another Sunday of Advent where we’ll be talking about how we find JOY for our future! Be sure you have listened to this week’s podcast episode (available wherever you get your podcasts) as we continue to explore the prophet Isaiah’s encouragement to the Israelites as they rebuild their community post-exile, and how that gives us clues to what it means to find joy for ourselves, here and now.
It’s also our last Sunday to remind you to give your special Advent Offering to support the ministries of St. Luke’s AND the mission of St. Luke’s to impact children’s lives in our community through missions as well. You can check out our website for more information on how your gift makes a difference!
And of course, be sure you’re making plans for which of our eight Christmas Preeve or Eve services you’re attending! Remember, on the morning of Sunday, December 24, we’ll have ONE Christmas Eve service at 10:00 a.m. that will incorporate our Children’s Choir and Nativity Pageant for our children and preschoolers all together. You can see the rest of the service times for December 23 and 24, online worship times, childcare during on-campus worship, and volunteer opportunities on the website (click here).
If you know someone who doesn’t yet have a church home, but still wants to light Christmas Eve candles and hear words of hope and joy, be sure to extend a personal invitation. There are some easy-to-share social media posts on St. Luke’s Facebook and Instagram pages. And be sure you’re looking out in some of your local Facebook groups you might be a part of for folks asking around about where to go for Christmas Eve as well! It’s always a joy to see St. Lukers jump in to share that we are a welcoming and accepting church for everyone!
I look forward to seeing you this Sunday in worship, and as we celebrate the birth of our Savior on Christmas Eve!
Blessings,
Pastor Melissa