Pastor Terry Langdon

Lead me, O Lord!

Do. Not. Cause. Yourself. Harm. we are all still here

Brief readings. Contemplative music. Prayers. Bring your grief, fear, loneliness, anger and confusion to the online Blue Christmas Service. Find healing, transformation and hope. Advance registration required: https://www.womenoftheelca.org/event/blue-christmas-service-2

Amen

“God, hear our prayer. When we are overwhelmed help us pause, breathe and reflect. When it feels too much to carry, may we lean more on you. Amen.”

Adapted from “Advent reflections on being overwhelmed” by the Rev. Jen Collins, Boldcafe.org, December 2022

https://www.boldcafe.org/advent-reflections/

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💖🧡💛💚💙💜

It is almost Advent, again. I know how hopeful that is. And I know how hard it can be.

For so many, December is an intense swirl of sorrow and stress. The season has a way of opening our most vulnerable places of memory as we also navigate the expectations of cheerfulness this time of year holds. When folks tell me about wanting to hide under the covers until the new year, I understand.

I have also come to know in my bones the fierce hope that lives so deeply in Advent—a hope that draws us beyond complicated holiday cheer and into a season luminous with mystery and possibility. At the heart of Advent is the story of love that comes to us, that crosses a seemingly impossible distance to meet us, that enters into our life and every single thing it holds. No matter what.

As we enter this season of mystery, this is a blessing for you. Think of this as me coming alongside you and tucking its words into your hand, with such gratitude for your presence on the path and for the light you bear.

ON THAT NIGHT
A Blessing

On that night when
you are holding
your very last hope,
thinking to let it go
as too small to be saved
or sanctified;

on that night when
you turn away at last
from the far horizon
over which you had thought
your life would come
to find you;

on that night,
believe me,
this is where
the ache
will give way
to the mystery

and the blessing
that seemed so distant
will quietly
come to meet you,

holding your heart
in its two
luminous hands.

—Jan Richardson

P.S. The new online Illuminated Advent Retreat will be starting this weekend; we would love for you to join us from wherever you are! janrichardson.com/adventretreat

Image: “We Light a Candle in the Cave of the Heart”
© janrichardsonimages.com

"For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope" (Jeremiah 29:11).

We pray every day. May it be so ......

In the days of Advent, [we] prepare to celebrate the presence of God's Word among us in our own day. During these four weeks, we pray that the reign of God, which Jesus preached and lived, would come among us. We pray that God's justice would flourish in our land, that the people of the earth would live in peace, that the weak and the sick and the hungry would be strengthened, healed, and fed with God's merciful presence.

The season of Advent begins tomorrow Nov. 27th.

The season of waiting, watching, and wondering is almost upon us. Pull together some friends, candles, and hot cocoa as you prepare for Jesus’ birth with resources available free from Women of the ELCA. These also work well for personal devotions. They are available at https://www.womenoftheelca.org/resources?fwp_resource_search=advent

https://inside.luthersem.edu/community-care/chapel/?
Chapel services from Luther Seminary. Join via live stream Tuesday through Friday.

Chapel Chapel Cultivate your spiritual life Chapel is a time set aside in the daily life of the community to come together as people of God in prayer, praise, and proclamation of the gospel through word, sacrament, prayer, music, and silence. As we come together our individual faith is nurtured, our commun...

Amen

We are grateful for each and every one of you! Blessings on your day.

Today we celebrate the anniversary of women’s ordination as pastors! 🎉 On Nov. 22, 1970, The Rev. Elizabeth Platz was ordained by the Lutheran Church in America, one of the ELCA's predecessor church bodies. One month later, the Rev. Barbara Andrews was ordained by the American Lutheran Church, another predecessor church of the ELCA. We give thanks for the leadership, ministry and gifts of women who have served the church throughout history, and for those women who endured the hardships and work leading to the ordination of women. For all the faithful women, we give God thanks and praise!

Living Well Through Advent Email Devotional — Living Compass This Advent season we are happy to be offering our daily email devotional, Living Well Through Advent 2022: Practicing Simplicity With All Your Heart, Soul, Strength, and Mind. The devotional includes reflections from: Robbin Brent, The Rev. Jane Johnson, The Very Rev. Cynthia Briggs Kittredge, ThD,...