Advent 2022

Volume 13, Issue 5

View more photos from church events via our website: upcbgm.org/programs-and-events/photo-gallery
Our worship services are livestreamed on our YouTube channel: upcbgm.org/youtube

How God Shows Up by Rev. Lisle Gwynn Garrity, inspired by Luke 2:1-20. Silk painting with digital drawing and collage. © A Sanctified Art LLC | sanctifiedart.org

Christmas Eve worship service

Saturday, December 24 at 4:00pm

Christmas truly is the most wonderful time of the year. We hope you will join us for our family-friendly service of carols and candlelight on Christmas Eve, Saturday, December 24 at 4pm. You can attend in person, join us online via our YouTube Channel upcbgm.org/youtube or Zoom upcbgm.org/zoom, or join over the phone by calling 646-558-8656 and then enter Meeting ID 865 274 8433. The service can also be viewed later on our YouTube Channel.

Christmas Day and New Year’s Day online worship services

We will not meet in person at the church for worship on Sunday, Dec. 25, and Sunday, Jan. 1. Our services will be pre-recorded, premiering live on YouTube upcbgm.org/youtube and Zoom upcbgm.org/zoom at 10am and available for viewing on YouTube any time after they premiere. The Christmas service will offer musical performances by the UPC community. The New Year’s service will feature readings and meditative opportunities.

Advent & Christmas activities

Our theme this Advent season is “From Generation to Generation”. We’ll be reflecting on the ways in which the story of Christ’s coming has been told through the centuries, including the two different Nativity stories in Matthew and Luke. We will also be inviting you to share stories about your family traditions as we light the advent candles:

Does/did your family have any particular traditions for the Advent season? For Christmas Eve? For Christmas Day? Did you share a special meal or special foods, and when did that take place?

If you have a special memory you’d like to share, let Pastor Kimberly know! We’re still working on how to “pass the mic” so we can have open sharing during worship, but we will ask one or two people to “start us off” every week as we gather around the light of hope, peace, joy, and love.

In this issue:

View previous newsletters

Mark your calendars:

Nov. 27 — first Sunday of Advent, worship and communion in the sanctuary.

Nov. 28 — Advent Bible Study Begins: “The Christmas Stories”, with John Dominic Crossan. This special session of our bible study will feature four lectures by the esteemed biblical scholar and will use the book called The First Christmas: What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus’s Birth to guide our study. We’d be glad to have you join us — let Pastor Kimberly know if you’d like a copy of the book.

Dec. 2, 5:00–7:00pm — Christmas Decorating & Cocktail Party in the sanctuary. Bring your energy, an item to decorate one of the window niches (they get hot, so preferably something that won’t melt), and a snack and a story about your traditions to share. (Pizza cut cocktail size and soda will be provided.)

Dec. 4, following worship — ornament making for Community meal and pantry, seasonal Crafts in the Library Lounge. We had so much fun decorating Easter eggs as gifts, we thought we’d do it again for Christmas! We will have supplies for ornaments and decorating stations set up in the Library Lounge, and the coffee pot on in the lobby, and we hope that you will come and help us make ornaments that we can give as gifts to our guests to brighten their season! Sherry estimates that we’d need about 70 for the households we serve at the community meal, and another 60 or so for the pantry guests… come and join the fun!

Handchimes for Christmas Eve worship — We invite children (and the young at heart!) to perform in a piece on handchimes during the Christmas Eve service. If you would like to participate, please join us for two brief rehearsals immediately following worship on 12/11 and 12/18. Music TBD.

Dec. 24, 4:00pm — Christmas Eve Candlelight Communion Service in the sanctuary.

Dec. 25 — Worship will be pre-recorded and streamed, featuring musical performances by the UPC community.

Dec. 26–30 — Building will be CLOSED.

Jan. 1, 2023 — Worship will be pre-recorded and streamed, featuring readings and meditative opportunities.

Our mission is to follow Jesus Christ by doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with God.

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