wellborn my hometown

Wellborn United Methodist Church on Advent #1 Sunday

It is Advent season in the liturgical churches (Methodist, Episcopal, Anglican, Lutheran & Roman Catholic in this part of the world, Russian and Greek Orthodox too elsewhere) The church year begins with four weeks of Advent. It is a wonderful time of preparation of our hearts and minds for the coming of our Lord and Savior into our dailies. We make ourselves aware of the 3 different ways this happened, is happening and will happen! 1.We meditate on God's choice of entering our world as a baby in Bethlehem 2000 years ago. 2. We marvel how it is when He enters our hearts as we invite Him into our lives.3. The Bible promises He will come again. When that happens God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit will make all things right. Our world will be like the Garden of Eden in the beginning. Anyone with eyes to see and ears to hear yearns for an end to our world's wrongness. We really want desperately a world of peace, harmony & righteousness to live in. It will happen!
That is why our sanctuary decor looked like this when we arrived for worship on Advent's fist Sunday, November 30th this year.
The color of the season is blue/purple, colors of repentance and of royalty. We know about our sin, individual and corporate, and how we keep needing to be forgiven, yet we know that royalty lived amongst us and invites us into His Kingdom!
God partnered with the Geiger family to create a representation of the profound JOY of the season. The first candle, a deep blue purple reminds us to prepare purposefully and to dare to hope. That Advent wreath is just off the picture on the right hand side . Also further right is the new screen and this first Sunday of Advent was the first time we projected & scrolled through current announcements and coming attractions enhanced by pictures and, Best Of All, words to hymns appeared on that new screen!. Pastor Jim Messer said looking up when we sing allows him to hear our rejoicing in song better than ever before. Surely God is pleased too.
Pastor Jim used the circle of white candles (front & center) with a story during which he lit the candles, blew them out and lit them again. It was about how greatly we value God's light coming to our world. The Hope candle was the one saved to re light Faith, Love, and Joy candles.