Sunday, November 28th
1st Candle of Advent
“Ready or Not, Here I Come”
Jeremiah 33
Sunday, December 5th
2nd Candle of Advent
“Paving the Way for Justice”
Malachi 3
Sunday, December 12th
3rd Candle of Advent
“Lucia Bride Arrives”
Philippians 4
Sunday, December 19th
4th Candle of Advent
“Mary Sings”
Luke 1
Friday, December 24th
Christmas Eve Candlelight Worship
4:30pm and 10:30pm
“From Seeking to Rejoicing”
Sunday, December 26th
1st Sunday of Christmas
Cookies and Carols
“Singing and Serving”
From the Pastor’s Desk …
“Hide and Go Seek”
-Children’s game
During the four weeks in Advent we explore. We seek. We search for God. It may seem like a preschool game of Hide-and-Go-Seek:
-Is God found in doomsday judgement stories we will hear?
-Is God found in the surprise and questioning of a young girl named Mary?
-Is God found in John the Baptizer’s demand for justice?
Then our four-week Advent “hide-and-seek” search leads us to a Christmas manger. Suddenly we discover that God doesn’t give an answer — God gives God’s very self. We don’t get a scripted solution — we get an enduring relationship with the Divine.
Join us as the Word becomes Flesh.
-Pastor David
From Director of Music Ministry Colin Stave: A “New” Liturgy for Advent and Christmastide
As we enter our Advent season of expectation, we will be singing a different liturgy. For the musical components, I have drawn on traditional Advent melodies. Some have liturgically applicable texts already, and the others have texts that I have crafted or adapted to fit the music. This liturgical setting incorporates the following tunes: TIF IN VELDELE “Light One Candle to Watch for Messiah” (hymn 240); VENI, EMMANUEL “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” (hymn 257); CONDITOR ALME SIDERUM “Creator of the Stars of Night” (hymn 245); and PICARDY “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence” (hymn 490). While this will be a “new” liturgy for St. James, these seasonal melodies, and their texts, will be familiar. I hope this liturgy will enrich our worship this season as we prepare for the coming of Christ.
Giving Tree
Our Social Ministry Committee has linked us with a refugee family from the Congo who now live in Portland due to the sponsorship of Lutheran Community Services Northwest. St. James will be brightening their Christmas with gifts. You are invited to select one or two of the items online, purchase the new item, gift wrap it, and place a tag on the outside indicating the family member and item. Bring your gift to St. James no later than Sunday morning, December 19th. You can find the sign-up link here: https://tinyurl.com/stjamesgivingtree
