Highland Avenue Church of the Brethren

Please be invited to celebrate Christmas Eve on Sunday, December 24th at the Highland Avenue Church of the Brethren at 7:00pm. The worship service will be concluded with the candle-lit singing of Silent Night.

At 9:30am that Sunday we will also be celebrating Christmas Eve with an abbreviated, informal worship service in the fellowship hall followed by a time to visit over treats and hot beverages.

May you reflect the sacred light of Christ wherever you go or stay this season.

Tomorrow we light the peace candle on the Advent wreath. Please join many of our members in continuing to pray for peace and advocating for ceasefire in Israel and Gaza.

Please be invited to two opportunities to celebrate Christmas Eve either at an informal 9:30am worship service in the fellowship hall with treats and hot beverages or at a candle-lit, Silent Night singing 7:00pm worship service in the sanctuary - or both!

The evening service only will be livestreamed at: https://www.youtube.com/

Messenger has published a series of short videos of conversations with Howard Royer, produced by David Sollenberger. Royer is a former editor of Messenger who served on the denominational staff of the Church of the Brethren filling a wide variety of jobs for 50 consecutive years from 1953-2003, followed by eight years as part-time manager for the Global Food Crisis Fund (now Global Food Initiative). He started his career in the church as a 1-W conscientious objector and volunteer in stewardship, then filled successive roles as youth editor, news director, editor of Messenger, coordinator of a salvation and justice program, and director of interpretation.

Find the videos at https://www.brethren.org/messenger/reflections/conversations-with-howard-royer/

(Photo by Phil Grout)

Please be invited to worship God together this Advent and Christmas season on Sundays at 9:30am as we practice imagining everything is reflecting the sacred presence of Christ.

Christmas Eve will be celebrated with an informal worship service at 9:30am with carol singing in the fellowship hall as well as with a candle-lit worship service at 7:00pm in the evening on December 24th in the sanctuary.

For those oriented to the traditional liturgical season, please note we are beginning one Sunday before prescribed in an attempt to fully appreciate the season of Advent while adapting to the needs of the 2023 calendar and the changing rhythms of life.

How will you practice reflecting the sacred this season?

A number of HACOBers here at the Interfaith Thanksgiving Service, enjoying the music of Second Baptist Church of Elgin, IL and Jonathan Shively among others.

Today at 4pm at First Christian (Summit Street, Elgin).

Be witness to the outpouring of thanks for our shared blessings as the representatives of a variety of world faith traditions offer readings, music, testimony, prayer, and a stirring seasonal message to strengthen our sense of hope and compassion during this season and throughout the entire year. Refreshments and fellowship will follow the service. This year’s free-will offering is designated for Elgin-based Centro de Informacion. For more information, please call 847-902-9476.

Jim Lehman and Dan McFadden helped us conclude our Count On Me worship series today by celebrating 75 years of Brethren Volunteer Service and recognizing the many individuals related to our congregation who have served in BVS. Here are a number of them surrounding the young people during the time for the young at heart. How will you share of yourself and act out Jesus's teaching to "love one another" this week?

My God we've got a gig! Got a few actually! Come on out if you can--

This Friday, Nov 17, 7pm

Highland Avenue Coffeehouse--Church of the Brethren
783 W. Highland Ave, Elgin IL

Did you enjoy Sara and Alyssa Garner's rendition of "Count on Me" this past Sunday? If you want to learn the words to this catchy number, enjoy this official lyric video from Bruno Mars or visit our church's livestream worship from November 5 and singalong with the Garner women! It's good to be able to count on God and each other, too!

Bruno Mars - Count on Me (Official Lyric Video) The official lyric video for Bruno Mars' "Count On Me" from the album ‘Doo-Wops & Hooligans’.🔔 Subscribe for the latest official music videos, live performa...

Join us this Sunday for the second in our three-part worship series, "Count on Me." This week Pastor Katie's sermon will be titled "Count on Me: Community," and our scripture, 1 John 4: 7-12, will explore the ways we pattern community in love.

Be witness to the outpouring of thanks for our shared blessings as the representatives of a variety of world faith traditions offer readings, music, testimony, prayer, and a stirring seasonal message to strengthen our sense of hope and compassion during this season and throughout the entire year. Refreshments and fellowship will follow the service. This year’s free-will offering is designated for Elgin-based Centro de Informacion. For more information, please call 847-902-9476.

How are you connecting with someone this week? We'd love it if you'd share your meaningful connection stories and pictures here!

It's IL/WI District Conference time in Lanark, IL. A number of us HACOBers are here enjoying the warm hospitality and the all female leadership at the front table.

Two significant building improvement projects that have been in the works for some time were both completed this week at the church building!

The one folks will notice first when arriving on the property is the work done to the Peace Memorial Garden to remove an aging tree and cut back a stand of bushes (see before and after in post below). The new tree planted in the garden, a redbud, is native to the area, will produce attractive spring blossoms, and will not produce fruits. The hope of the committee charged with the garden's care is that these actions will improve safety and maintain the beauty of the area for the enjoyment of visitors of the interred, members of the church, and the neighboring community. Peace Memorial Garden funds, authorized by the church board, made these improvements possible.

As worshippers enter the sanctuary this Sunday, they will also likely notice the two new large screens that have been installed on the wall of the chancel and the face of the balcony. The Worship Life Team and Property Stewardship Team have been collaborating to find permanent solutions to technologies that were moved into the sanctuary during the pandemic lockdowns. More sanctuary improvements are on the way as well as permanent housing for cables and other A/V station equipment in the back of the sanctuary to come soon. These improvements were made with Building Improvement Fund monies, the uses for which have been previously approved by the church board and the congregational business meeting. The hope is these screens will enhance the worship experience by allowing for better visibility for videos and other projected materials.

Please join in celebrating the hard work of our volunteer committees that carefully discern next steps and head up these involved projects on behalf of the congregation.

Join us this Sunday, November 5th, as we begin a new three-part series titled "Count on Me" with a special invitation to share a memory of someone significant to you who has passed on. There will be an opportunity to light a candle and/or share a brief story. Pastor Katie's sermon, "Count on Me: Connection," will invite us to consider our connection to God and to each other --past, present, and yet to come. This first week of our new series Sara Garner, Alyssa Garner, and the young friends from our "Singing with Sara" group will lead us in singing the Bruno Mars song from which the series takes its title.

The Peace Memorial Garden committee hired Davey Tree Service to come to our garden for much-needed work related to the crabapple tree and the shrubbery surrounding our garden.

Thanks to Doug Gibble and Joel Brumbaugh-Cayford for VERY CAREFULLY repairing the sanctuary ceiling this week. Looking good!

We found a Potato in the shape of a heart. What a great symbol of our love of serving our neighbors. We also celebrated Ruth's birthday. We ended up packing around 1080 pounds of potatoes into five pound bags. The food bank will need lot of produce as they gear up for making thousands of holiday meal boxes. Please consider joining us on Monday November 13th from 9 am to about noon.

Adult choir begins one week from today, Thursday, September 28 at 6:30 p.m.! Do you enjoy singing? This group might just be for you! Send us a message to receive more information.

Join us this Sunday, September 24th at noon for our Fall Celebration Meal!