Once again, this year we will brighten the lives of four people who have requested help from the Christmas Bureau. We did this last year with beautiful baskets being distributed. This has been another  tough year for all of us and it will be good to help some people who already have difficult lives. They are all single people ages 67, 76, 75 and 80 and we have requests from them for things they would like. We need to give them a $50 food gift card and a Christmas gift of at least $50.00. We would like to be able to add some chocolates and a few smaller things for them, so our goal is to raise $500.00.

Donations can be sent to the church by mail or dropped off in person by cheque or cash, or e-transferred to myself or Shelley (not to the church). We need to have the baskets to the Christmas Bureau by December 13th, so time is of the essence.

Let’s have another successful year of spreading Christmas cheer to those in our community who have financial needs, as well as the need for the kindness and love of the Christmas season.

1. 

Lutherans  Connect LC† is once again offering their online Advent devotional from November 28 to January 6. The first devotion will be posted on Sunday Nov. 28 but after that, there will be devotions everyday except on Sundays. This year's theme, Love, the Guest is about  hospitality - exploring large and small moments of hospitality in Scripture as well as some contemporary stories - seems like  a very fitting theme as we prepare to make room in the inn of our hearts for Jesus. 

You can access the devotional on the Lutherans Connect Facebook Page - you do not need to have a FB account. Or you can send a request by email to lutheransconnect@gmail.com to have the daily devotion come to your mailbox every morning.

2. 

For those who like a more traditional format, check out Luther Seminary's 2021 Advent Devotional “Filled with Hope and Gratitude.” You can download the regular or large print edition right from their website here. There will also be a few printed copies available in the narthex for you to pick up before the worship service this Sunday.

3. 

Prepare your heart and soul for Christmas, with a prayer! Retired pastor Bruce Ehlert will email you a concise, meaningful prayer each morning, along with a picture to ponder and a bit of scripture to meditate upon. You can subscribe to the daily prayer by clicking on this  link:  https://mailchi.mp/telus/advent-2021-landing-page
or by sending Pastor Bruce an email with “subscribe” in the title: pbprayer@telus.net

Does your family have a favorite  Christmas movie you watch every year? We may think of this pastime as entertainment, but this simple tradition has a way of brining families togehter. Why? Because watching a movie together is not unlike sitting around a campfire listening to stories. As we watch the movie we enter into the story, laughing and crying with the characters. Psychologists say that when we watch a movie together, "we are synced up for two hours — vibrating at the same frequency, something that’s far more difficult to achieve at the dinner table." 

If watching movies is part of your Christmas or Advent tradition then Watching and Waiting is for you. It has been designed for families to engage in conversations about Christian faith and themes found in some of our favorite Christmas movies. There are questions to reflect and discuss together for every age group. The guide covers four popular movies. The Polar Express, The Grinch (2018), Elf, and A Muppet Christmas Carol. Watching and Waiting was written for distribution during the COVID-19 pandemic but could easily be used for any year during Advent. 

We have purchased a license so that you can download and print a copy for your family.

Did you know that this year's emphasis on LIVING OUR FAITH is worship?  We are very grateful that we can gather in person this year to pray, sing, and be nourished through Word and Sacrament  for the four Sundays of Advent and on Christmas Eve.  The choir is preparing special music for the first Sunday of Advent to help us deepen our worship and we will be celebrating Holy Communion on the first and third Sundays of Advent. On the fourth Sunday of Advent we are planning a more informal Family Service to hear and see the Nativity Story with Christmas carols. We are continuing to follow COVID-19 Safety protocols - requesting that everyone 5yrs and up wear a mask. We also have a large sanctuary so that there is ample room to give extra space for an added layer of protection. We do not require proof of vaccination, but do request that you stay home if you are feeling unwell. 

Four Sundays in Advent - 10:00AM

November 28 - Service of Holy Communion with Choir

December 5 - Service of the Word

Decebmer 12 - Service of Holy Communion with Choir

December 19 - Family Service (no Communion) 

Christmas Eve 7:30PM - Candlelight Service 

Christmas Day 10:00AM - Regional Service with Holy Communion at St. Agnes Anglican Church, 530 East 12th Street, North Vancouver, 1/2 block west of Grand Boulevard. 

December 26 - Service cancelled at Gloria Dei. You are invited to join our Anglican siblings at St. Clement's in Lynn Valleny at 9:45 AM,  or St. Catherine's in Edgemont Village at 10:00AM.