Westminster Loving God & Neighbour

We worship as God’s people on this third Sunday in Advent, lighting the candle of Joy! We will also formally thank Jenn Harris for her 12-plus years of service and leadership as our Music Director! (And yes, there will be cake.) Jenn has provided leadership and friendship, encouragement and hope in so many ways. We will also welcome hats, mittens, scarves (and thermal underwear) for our Mitten Tree! It’s in the sanctuary in front of the choir loft. Thank you for any help you can provide. They will all be given to the client of the David Busby Street Centre. Pastor Ruttan will take us through John 14:1-14 and focus on Jesus’ words in verse 6 which have been a source of great comfort for many and controversy for others. “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” What did he mean by “the way, the truth and the life,” and aren’t his words very exclusive? We’ll unpack this text and explain the phrase “exclusive inclusion.” We will welcome Kathy Kuehl who will provide musical leadership. We will pray, sing, learn, and will benefit from Sunday School ministry, nursery care, and fellowship!

The fourth Sunday in Advent will be a service of lessons and carols. Here’s what that means. The service will include a lot of singing as we move into Christmas carols, including pieces like “Angels we have heard on high,” “What child is this,” “It came upon the midnight clear,” and several others. There is no formal sermon, but will include prayers and readings which help centre us in Christ and allow us to lift up our concerns and hopes to God. It is also White Gift Sunday; these are donations for the Food Bank which has seen a massive increase in need. The name comes from a traditional practice of wrapping donations in white; however, this is not necessary and will most likely be removed by the Food Bank employees as they organize and distribute food. (See separate announcement for more details.) We light the candle of love, have Sunday School and nursery care, and fellowship time after the service. We are delighted that Nena LaMarre is able to help lead the music.

On December 24th we have two Christmas Eve services at Westminster. 1. A Super-Family Friendly Christmas Eve This is a very short service of 35 minutes, from 5:30 to 6:05pm. It’s fun for everyone and is definitely friendly to those with very young children. If they make noise, that’s okay! It will include singing and a fun re-telling of the nativity story in the form of a puppet show. A donation can be made to Teen Challenge Canada, an organization which helps people 18+ overcome addiction. Note that this service is in-person only and not live-streamed. 2. Traditional Candlelit service This is from 7-8pm and will include carols, a reflection on the meaning of Christmas, and singing carols in the dark by candlelight. Everyone will be given a candle on their way in to the building. A donation can be made to Teen Challenge Canada, an organization which helps people 18+ overcome addition. This service is in-person and also live-streamed on YouTube. It’s been a difficult few years. Let’s celebrate Jesus’ birth in a way that is joyful and meaningful.

On Christmas Day we will have an uplifting 40-minute ‘all together’ service; there will be no Sunday School, but there will be nursery care. Christ is born! Don’t forget to join us Christmas Eve for our 5:30 family friendly service (including a nativity puppet show) and/or our 7-8 p.m. traditional candle-lit service. Read the blog post for it here, or watch the 30 second video that Pastor Ruttan put together here. We look forward to celebrating the birth of Lord and Saviour with you! Merry Christmas!

On New Years Day, the Reverand Claude Cox will be leading our service with a sermon titled ‘Beginnings, beginnings and beginnings’. He has been the chaplain for many years at Grove Park Home for Senior Citizens and adjunct faculty at McMaster Divinity College—Old Testament and Hebrew, for almost as long. His wife Elaine, has been a nurse in the ICU for a bit longer. They have 3 grown children, Michael, Jason and Laura. The text is Mark 1:1–13. Being New Year’s day it seems like an appropriate moment to talk about the place of beginnings in Scripture, beginning at the beginning ( ! ), from the beginning to the beginning of the Gospel, and from that beginning to our own beginnings. Sounds like a lot of beginnings, doesn’t it? Of course, we have the synonym “start,” but it’s not quite the same as “beginning,” is it? There will be worship, fellowship, music led by Kathy Keuhl on the piano and Sunday and Nursery school.

What do we really know about the historical Jesus, and how does that impact our faith? This Sunday Pastor Ruttan returns from vacation and will answer that question in his sermon. This is on the heels of Christmas and is a short hiatus from our series on the Gospel of John (which will resume on January 15th). We will sing and pray together as we wade into 2023. There will be Sunday School, nursery care, fellowship and mutual encouragement within the body of Christ. The service is at 10:01 am in-person and online via YouTube.

The Holy Spirit sometimes referred to the forgotten person of the Trinity. Well, perhaps not totally forgotten, but often misunderstood. This Sunday Pastor Ruttan will resume our teaching series through John’s Gospel and focus on John 14:15-31. We’ll explore who the Spirit is, why he is Holy, and his role in your life as a follower of Christ. There will be Sunday School ministry and nursery care. We will sing songs and hymns, lift up our prayers to God, enjoy fellowship, and be re-rooted in the hope and goodness of God! The service is at 10:01 am in-person and online via YouTube.

There are a lot of exciting, challenging or surprising topics when it comes to faith – like loving our enemies, the apocalypse, self-sacrifice, or heaven and hell. “Abiding in Christ” isn’t usually on that list. And yet it is something he invites us to do on a daily basis. He says it is a part of our love toward him and also a source of joy (and especially in January, who doesn’t want that!) But what does it mean to “abide” in Christ? That’s what we’ll explore on Sunday with a look at John 15:1-17. There will be Sunday School ministry and nursery care. We will sing songs and hymns, lift up our prayers to God, enjoy fellowship, and be re-reminded of our union with Christ. The service is at 10:01 am in-person and online via YouTube.

Jesus taught his followers that they would be hated by the world. They should expect it. So should we. But what will that look like, and how should they (and we) respond? That’s what Pastor Ruttan will teach about on Sunday via John 15:18-16:4. But we need to be cautious. When it comes to these issues, oversimplification doesn’t help. We will also learn a new memory verse (1 John 4:4). There will be Sunday School ministry and nursery care. We will sing songs and hymns, lift up our prayers to God, enjoy fellowship, and be re-rooted in the Lord of life! The service is at 10:01 am in-person and online via YouTube.