By Pastor Melaina Trice
Back in August, I had the wonderful opportunity to go on a worship planning retreat in Overland Park, KS on one of the campuses of The Church of the Resurrection. The Church of the Resurrection is a United Methodist Church where Adam Hamilton is the senior pastor. The conference retreat was led by Marcia McFee who designs wonderful, creative, and engaging worship curriculum and Jason Moore, a leader in “Both/And” worship models. The conference taught us innovations in hybrid worship (in person and online) and provided resource materials to design worship experiences that were inter-generational and engaging for differing learning styles. It was truly a wonderful experience. I loved the creative, prayerful, and worshipful space that was set aside to plan for our entire year of worship. I was able to do just that as a guide and grounding point for our worship plans at Glen Mar. Yet, we pray that the Holy Spirit has her way and we are flexible in her movement. So, we plan prayerfully while yielding to the movement of the Spirit.
The Ties That Bind, the sermon series that started on Sunday, October 16, teaches us about relationships and their transformative impact upon our lives. This series invites us to consider how our relationship with the Holy Spirit and community form and transform us. Through the affirmation of God’s powerful presence in our worshiping community we will be inspired to go out to be beloved community in relationship to the world for its transformation. The series will conclude on Sunday, November 20 and usher us into the holiday of Thanksgiving where we celebrate with gratitude our beloved communities.
Advent begins on Sunday, November 27. Our season of Advent will lead us on a journey to Bethlehem. Using the Adam Hamilton book, The Journey, we will journey with Mary and Joseph, making a stop at Mary’s cousin Elizabeth’s house along the way, as they make their way to Bethlehem. There will be some direct connections to our wonderful Journey to Bethlehem scenes in worship that you will not want to miss. See the Journey To Bethlehem characters break the “4th wall” as they share their experiences and feelings as they journey to Bethlehem. We will all make our way to the manger on Saturday, December 24 (Christmas Eve). We will continue the celebration through carols and bell ringing on Sunday, December 25.
Glen Mar will host a total of five (5) Christmas Eve services. Two family Christmas Eve services will feature the Christmas pageant/skit led by children and youth at 2:30 pm and 4:00 pm. Two traditional services are at 7:00 pm and 9:00 pm. The Candlelight & Communion service will be at 11:00 pm.
We invite family and friends to come to the Christmas Day service in favorite comfortable pajamas. Children are invited to bring their favorite stuffed animal, “lovey,” or toy as they celebrate the joy of Christmas with bell ringing and carols.
