This Sunday, thanks to the work of many hands, the Sanctuary and church building have undergone a beautiful transformation!
All of the Christmas decorations are up and there is beauty everywhere as we prepare to celebrate the coming of Jesus into the world.
Each year, we choose a theme for our decorations to focus our thoughts during this time of waiting. Our theme this year is “Incarnation” which means to become flesh or to become part of this world. We celebrate God’s “incarnation” as Jesus who came and made real to us God’s love for us and God’s creativity in creation. The stars you see around you remind us of God’s desire to shine light and love in this world. God came to Earth as a baby to shine light and love.
As we journey through each week of Advent, I invite you to notice how the story of Mary and Joseph traveling to Bethlehem unfolds through the figures on the table in front of the pulpit. Currently, Mary, Joseph and the donkey are on their way to Bethlehem with the shepherds far off and nary a king in sight. We will follow them as they arrive in Bethlehem, and then make their way to the stable and finally are joined by the shepherds and kings.
We also have our medallions representing the four Sundays of Advent: Hope, Peace, Joy and Love. When you are here and through the week, I encourage you to see how many connections you can make between these pieces of art and what they symbolize. In this way we can be “fleshing” out how our faith is demonstrated and made real in the world around us. How do these connections help you apply your faith to your everyday life, so that you can be God’s love “incarnate”, made real each day?
Finally we look forward to our special events to prepare our hearts for receiving God in this world. From the Advent Tea to the special music of Vince Osborn and Billy Barnard, our Asbury Singers, the Praise Team, the Christmas program and lunch, and our Christmas Eve candlelight service: we celebrate throughout the month!
As you can tell, there is a lot to see and experience at Asbury this Advent and Christmas season. I hope you will join us as we continue to let our lights shine brightly and proclaim that God has come to be with us. Incarnation, the embodiment of love, means that we too can let love light our lives.
Blessings and Peace,
Katherine