December 22, 10:00am Children’s Service Join us on the Sunday before Christmas as our kids tell the story of the nativity and all that baby Jesus came to give us. This service will begin and end as a normal Sunday service, with the celebration of Holy Communion and the Children’s Program in the middle.
Christmas Eve 7:30pm, Candlelight Service Join us at 7:30pm for one of the most beautiful and meaningful services of the year as we celebrate the Light who broke into the darkness of our world. Our Christmas Eve service will feature traditional readings, Christmas hymns, Holy Communion, and carols sung by candlelight.
Christmas Day 10:00am, Eucharist Service Join us also on Christmas Day for worship with Eucharist at 10:00am as we celebrate the birth of the Savior.
It is a perfect paradox that Advent comes for us, at the darkest and coldest time of the year. This Sunday, the third week of Advent, we will light, impossibly, it seems, the candle of joy. A small flame in a dark world. Just as the days are at their bleakest and shortest, scripture says:
The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Isaiah 35:1
This is the two-fold challenge of faith. We are called to see the world as it really is, to mourn with those who mourn, to grieve with those who grieve. Scripture does not sugarcoat the truth, often pointing honestly to the hard realities of life, and the brokenness that is pervasive, even inside ourselves.
And yet there is hope. Joy is promised and can be found. Sometimes when we have no words to offer, and when our hard questions are returned with no easy answers, we nonetheless break into songs of praise. Somehow this season holds beauty and brokenness together. In their midst, promises are ours for the taking.
St. James reminds us:
See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You too must be patient. James 5:7
The poet, singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, spoke of these things in the final album released before his death in 2016.
If you are the dealer, I’m out of the game If you are the healer, it means I’m broken and lame If thine is the glory then mine must be the shame You want it darker We kill the flame
Magnified, sanctified, be thy holy name
Praise and lament, glory and sadness. These are the elements of the perfect paradox that is the Advent season.
John the Baptist too, our old friend, sat in a prison cell, wondering if all was lost, sent his loyal disciples to find out if Jesus truly was the One promised long ago. They returned with these words:
The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.” Mathew 12:5
During this third week of Advent we again find that a light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not (will not) overcome it.
This Sunday, Dec. 15, is the third Sunday of Advent. Join us this Advent season as we worship and wait on the Lord’s Promises.
On the Wednesday evenings of Advent we worship at 7:30pm in the Chapel. Join us as we gather together with Christ Deaf Lutheran Church to hear again the story of “The Gift” God gives this season.
Calvary’s Christmas Eve service will be held at 7:30pm on December 24th, featuring Holy Eucharist and a Candlelight Hymn Sing. Calvary Christmas Day service will be held at 10:00 and include Holy Eucharist.
Thank you to everyone who volunteered to help with Breakfast with Santa, and to those who attended. It was once again a wonderful event, we welcomed many people from our community, and were able to pack over 60 bags of love to be donated to the community.
The Wednesday morning Men’s Fellowship is meeting at 7:00am in the Fellowship Hall. All men welcome! Enter through the downstairs rear doors.
An online calendar has been established for Calvary events in order to provide a more user friendly experience when seeking information on our activities. You can find this calendar through the Calvary website, or by visiting: http://calvarysilverspring.view-events.com
This Sunday The readings for this Sunday are: Isaiah 35:1-10; James 5:7-10; Matthew 11:2-11
During the season of Advent we invite you join us in the Calvary Chapel for Midweek Worship every Wednesday at 7:30pm. These quiet, intimate services provide an interlude during the week for gathering with others to worship and wait on the promised coming of the Savior. This year’s services will be held on Dec. 4, 11, & 18 at 7:30pm. Enter the Chapel via the double doors adjacent to the Chapel and Church Office.
This week I came across a quote by Madeleine L’Engle, author of the well-known children’s classic, A Wrinkle in Time (among other books). In Walking on Water, L’Engle reflects on the intersection of faith and art and writes these words:
There is nothing so secular that it cannot be sacred, and that is one of the deepest messages of the Incarnation.
What she means is that there is nothing in this world that cannot give evidence to the incarnation of Jesus Christ. A baby, a family living their daily life, a donkey, a simple feeding trough – each of these ordinary, everyday objects were present when God entered his own creation. Each of these earthly things then, became sacred, because they played a role in the working out of salvation; in witnessing and making known the savior who had come down.
And, as Madeleine L’Engle reminds us, simple objects and activities can today still be vehicles for conveying incarnation truths. As she writes:
…to paint a picture or to write a story or to compose a song is an incarnational activity. The artist is a servant who is willing to be a birthgiver. In a very real sense the artist (male or female) should be like Mary who, when the angel told her that she was to bear the Messiah, was obedient to the command.
Stories, no matter how simple, can be vehicles of truth; can be, in fact, icons. It’s no coincidence that Jesus taught almost entirely by telling stories, simple stories dealing with the stuff of life familiar to the Jews of his day. Stories are able to help us to become more whole, to become Named. And Naming is one of the impulses behind all art; to give a name to the cosmos we see despite all the chaos.
If we are willing to look, we will find evidence of the incarnation everywhere. A meal reminds of God’s provision, and of Jesus’ feeding thousands. A glass of water refreshes, and fills us with the knowledge of the One who gives water that we may never thirst again. And art, especially art, whether music, book, or painting, reveal to us a God who is the author of creativity, beauty, and intentionality – allowing us to be like God in our own endeavors to create.
Whether artist or observer, creator or lover of creation, we can find evidence of incarnation in many places, and echoes of a baby’s birth, who changed the world forever.
This Sunday, Dec. 8, is the second Sunday of Advent. Join us this Advent season as we worship and wait on the Lord’s Promises.
On the Wednesday evenings of Advent we worship at 7:30pm in the Chapel. Join us as we gather together with Christ Deaf Lutheran Church to hear again the story of “The Gift” God gives this season.
Breakfast with Santa will take place on Saturday, December 7th from 8:30-11:00am. Calvary members are encouraged to invite friends and neighbors to this morning of food and fun. Volunteers are needed to support this event. Please talk to Becky Johnson for volunteer information and sign up on the poster in the Narthex.
Save the date for the annual Women of Calvary Christmas Dinner on Tuesday December 10th! All women members and visitors of Calvary are welcome to attend, and guests are encouraged. Appetizers and fellowship begin at 6:30pm, followed by dinner at 7:00 and an Advent themed program to follow. This year we welcome as special guest the founder of A Wider Circle, Mark Bergel, who will talk briefly about the North Pole Project that we will again support with generous help from Thrivent. Please bring a dish to share and a new unwrapped toy for the North Pole Project toy drive.
The Wednesday morning Men’s Fellowship is meeting at 7:00am in the Fellowship Hall. All men welcome! Enter through the downstairs rear doors.
An online calendar has been established for Calvary events in order to provide a more user friendly experience when seeking information on our activities. You can find this calendar through the Calvary website, or by visiting: http://calvarysilverspring.view-events.com
This Sunday The readings for this Sunday are: Isaiah 11:1-10; Romans 15:4-13; Matthew 3:1-12
He which testifieth these things saith, “Surely I come quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
These words are found in the final verses of Revelation (Rev. 20:22), which are the final verses of scripture. “Even so, come, Lord Jesus” is a response to the One who promises he is coming soon. It is a way of saying “we know you are coming Lord, and indeed, we desire for your coming to be soon at hand.” We need you Jesus, come into our world, our lives, our hearts.
These sentiments are the focus of our Advent worship. Jesus has come, is here, and promises to come again, and yet, often we see that this world, and our own lives do not align to God’s desires, and so we say, come, Lord Jesus. We desire for the peace, the true love, the compassion, and the generosity of Christ to fill us, to give us hope, and to change us to be more like himself.
Join us the evening before Thanksgiving for a special worship service, giving thanks to God for the good gifts in our lives. This service, which begins at 7:30pm will feature seasonal hymns and readings. This service will be in the Calvary chapel.
Join us on Saturday, December 7th for one of our most popular events of the year, Breakfast with Santa.
Enter through the downstairs, rear door of the building to find a festive atmosphere, a warm, hearty breakfast, crafts, and of course the arrival of our very special guest. There will be many opportunities for photos with Santa, as well as a chance to help give back to our community by organizing items for “Bags of Love” which will go to those in need this Christmas season.
The price for Breakfast / Admission is $4 per person.
This year we are adding one new way to help give back to others. We will be collecting new, unwrapped toys to donate to A Wider Circle, one of our wonderful community partners.
This Sunday is Calvary’s annual emphasis on Stewardship titled: Consecrated Stewards. Members are invited to place pledge cards on the altar as an act or worship and commitment of giving for the year to come. Pledge cards may also be mailed to the church office or placed in the offering plate on Sundays between now and December 1.
Many of us know the story of Zaccheus, if only because of the children’s song. He was a chief tax collector who had become wealthy by overcharging the poor. And because tax collectors worked for the Romans, it had become a source of national pride to despise those who did this work. For these reasons, Zaccheus was far from popular, and many considered him a thief. He would likely have been ostracized by others, and few would have wanted to be seen spending time with him. That is, until Jesus came to town.
Luke writes that Jesus sees Zaccheus in a sycamore tree. He had climbed up high, to attempt to see the teacher. And upon seeing Zaccheus, Jesus does what no one else is willing to do. He speaks to him with kindness and respect. And then, something found nowhere else in the Gospels: He invites Himself to dinner. From where He stands on the ground, Jesus calls up to Zaccheus, “Hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house” (Luke 19:5). Jesus has been the guest of notorious sinners, of self-righteous Pharisees, and of faithful supporters, but only here do we read of Him initiating the invitation.
In a sense, though, this little story sums up all that Jesus does. He has come for each of us, though we are unworthy. On our own we are all far from God, unable to see him, or get close. But Jesus calls to each of us, and even invites himself over, letting us know he has come to change our lives, rescuing us from our own sin, and its destructive work.
At the end of the story, Zaccheus proclaims he will give half his possessions to the poor, and repay four times over to anyone whom he cheated. Jesus did not direct him to do this, but having experienced grace, Zaccheus desires to change the way he lives. Generosity begets generosity and Jesus’ compassion towards Zaccheus leads not just to a changed heart, but also a changed life.
This then, is the starting place for our own generosity and desire to be good stewards. We have been given much by our God, and desire to be responsible with all God has entrusted to us. Because we have been shown grace and generosity, we are moved to extend the same to others. This is what stewardship is all about, using what we have, for the good of creation, and for one another, with thanks to God for his grace.
