Advent is the season of waiting and anticipation before Christmas: waiting to celebrate Jesus the Messiah who came as a baby; and waiting for Jesus to come again and make all things well. We live in the knowledge and hope of Jesus the God-man having come into this world already and started the kingdom of justice and peace, but we await his second coming when “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21: 4). Worship themes during Advent can vary greatly: we could look at Old Testament prophecies about the coming of the Messiah; or the characters in the birth of Jesus; or themes of waiting and hope. There is often a tension in the season of Advent between celebration and hoping. We aren’t quite at Christmas yet: the tone or mood can be reflective at times; this is intentional.

From Pastor Erick: This year our advent series is about how wildly inclusive God's plan is. The New Testament starts in what most of us would consider the most boring possible way - a genealogy, a list of names. If you take a closer look at the list, however, it has the surprising inclusion of Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba. A genealogy has the purpose of declaring your pedigree and showing you to be truly in line with whatever greatness came before you. In a patriarchal system, that is always done with fathers and sons. It doesn't normally include women; and if you were going to add women you would likely aim for people who would bolster your story and your standing. Each of the women mentioned in Jesus' line have a strange and unusual story. They come from the outside, or the sidelines, or the back. They have messy stories and even sordid pasts. By human standards, it is reckless to include them in the lineage because they don't really add authority to the line. Yet, Matthew includes them and they shape the beginning of the story of Jesus and therefore our story too. (see Tricia Robinson’s site for some beautiful Advent art and portrayals of “The Four”)

Some details:
Sunday Nov. 28: First Sunday of Advent: Rahab

Sunday, Dec. 5: Intergenerational Christmas Play - “Not Forgotten”

Sunday, Dec. 12: Third Sunday of Advent: Ruth

Sunday, Dec. 19: Fourth Sunday of Advent: Bathsheba

Friday, December 24 @ 7 PM: Christmas Eve Candlelight Service: “Longing for Peace in a Broken World”

Saturday, December 25: 10 AM Christmas Day service

Colour/Visuals in Worship:
Thanks to Tilda, Christina, and John we have some new blue Advent panels hanging in the worship space. The liturgical colours for Advent are usually purple or deep blue: representing repentance and anticipation (historically the preparation seasons of Advent and Lent often include intentional repentance).

I’m grateful to Ron and Alice for helping to prepare a new kind of Advent “wreath” for this year: birch stumps holding each week’s candle (“out of the stump of Jesse”). Traditionally the candles represent “hope, peace, joy, and love” but this year the candles will represent the characters of the sermon series (Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba). You will notice there are three purple candles and one pink: the colour purple being the standard Advent liturgical colour, and the pink representing “joy” on the third Sunday of Advent (getting closer to Christmas!).

I made an Advent/Christmas playlist for your listening pleasure in this season (linked on the home page of the Mountainview website). These are not your typical Christmas favourites, but rather a variety of arrangements; different genres; some with a great deal of Advent longing for God’s kingdom; others with lyrics to make us ponder the story of Jesus’ birth anew.

CHILDREN: There are Christmas colouring sheets for you to take home and colour during this season! Please bring them back to church when you have one or more of them coloured. You are welcome to keep bringing them back for the next 4 weeks! I will display them around the worship space so we can enjoy your work in this season. Thanks to a keen little girl, I’ve got one back already!! You may put them in my mailslot at church.

Thank you, Ruth Ann

Advent - November 23, 2021