"Lift Up Your Hearts!"
Wednesday, February 26. Ash Wednesday is a solemn reminder that our sin condemns us: “For dust you are, And to dust you shall return” (Gen 3:19). But we are also buried with Christ in baptism, we are buried into Christ’s death.
The season of Lent begins with the Confession and the Imposition of Ashes on Ash Wednesday, and it ends with the Absolution on Maundy Thursday.
6:00pm Free Supper
7:00pm Divine Service with the Imposition of Ashes
Mark your calendars for this year’s Lutheran Youth Association (LYA) Convention, July 23-26, at Zion National Park, Utah. The theme is “Out of Zion.” The convention will bring together Lutheran youth from all over the U.S., for worship, study, and recreation.
Talk to Pastor Hendrix for more information.
LYA 2020
Dates: July 23-26
Dixie State University, St. George, Utah
Registration opens February 1
Early Registration: $295 through May 1.
Late registration $345 May 2 and on.
Highlights:
Exploring Zion National Park
Swimming in the Desert -OR- Evening entertainment at Tuacahn Amphitheater
Sectionals on a variety of Biblical topics
Wednesdays in Advent | 7:00pm – Advent Vespers. An evening service, focusing on prayer and catechesis, preceded by a meal at 6:00pm.
Christmas Eve Candlelight Vespers | 7:00pm – Dec. 24. An evening service of preparation for Christmas, with singing and prayer. This service is more reflective than Christmas morning and has historically been seen as the “warm-up” to the next morning’s service.
After the service, join us for hot cocoa and roasted marshmallows.
Christ’s Mass Divine Service | 9:00am Christmas Morning, Dec. 25. Don’t forget the Mass in Christmas. This is the main service for Christians, complete with the celebration of the incarnate Christ in Holy Communion. This is where Christ is born for us today.
First Sunday in Christmas | 9:00am, Dec. 29. There are 12 days of Christmas, and they begin on the 25th. There’s so much more to Christmas, and so we keep our eyes on the events which happened after Christ’s birth this Sunday.
Second Sunday in Christmas & Festival of the Epiphany| 9:00am, Jan. 5. Epiphany, the celebration of the wise men visiting the young boy Jesus, is always January 6, and with Sunday being so close this year, we will observe the Festival of the Epiphany for this morning’s service.
12th Day of Christmas Party | 5-8pm, Jan. 5. Join us for a party with wassail, drinks, treats, and singing as we celebrate the final night of Christmas. Held at the Parsonage. Contact Pastor for address.
Join us on Saturday, December 21, 2019, from 4pm-6pm at Faith Lutheran Church for a unique, multi-sensory Christmas family event called “The Miracle of Jesus!”
Your family will step back in time to Bible-times Bethlehem, exploring Jesus’ miraculous love in an interactive marketplace setting.
Kids and adults will be placed in a fully immersive experience where you interact with shopkeepers and discover surprising details about Jesus from Bethlehem characters such as the census taker, the wool trader, and the fisherman. Get ready to build memories as you follow the town map and collect stamps at each station, including “The Bakery,” “The Spice Shop,” and “The Stable.”
During your travels, you will also create adorable keepsakes that will remind you of God’s eternal love and help you grow closer as a family.
At one stop, the stable, you will experience a fun, interactive drama that retells the joy of Jesus’ birth as we join to sing the angels shouting, “Gloria.”
Even among Christians the season of Advent seems to get skipped over. Sometimes in our eagerness to defend against a so-called “culture war on Christmas” we do ourselves more harm than good, because we lose sight of the peace that Advent gives.
At Faith we began something last year, called “DIY Advent” to bring this peace of Advent back into our homes. It was a wonderful experience, and so we’re doing it again this year!
The Advent Wreath (typically 3 purple/violet candles and 1 pink/rose candle) was a tradition that originated in the home. Only in recent centuries did it find its way into churches. And when the church took it in, like many other things, it came out of the home.
With our kit, we hope to reverse that. Here’s what our kit includes:
Each of our kits includes 4 small candles as well as a simple wreath on which to put them.
A devotional book produced by our Pastor, Rev. Jeff Hendrix, as well as Rev. Michael Lilienthal from Albert Lea, MN, based on the Song of Songs. This year’s devotional is meant for couples, based on the “love song” of Scripture: Song of Songs.
The devotional book can be viewed online here
Despite department stores playing the Christmas favorites immediately after Halloween, the Christmas season doesn’t start until the night of December 24 and lasts for 12 days. The music of Advent is different than Christmas. Some beautiful music has been all but forgotten.
And this shouldn’t be surprising, but so many of our Advent hymns are based on the Song of Songs. There’s a reason why it is called the Song of Songs!
You can find the listening suggestions here.
Member congregation of the
In fellowship with WELS.