Christmas By Candlelight
December 20, 2019 7 PM
Bridge opens: 6:45 PM
Dear Friends of the Wholeness Service
May the Peace of our Savior’s coming be with each one of you.
Does anyone still think that the phrase “Hindsight is 20/20” will mean what it did before the year 2020? As we look back with hindsight and say good-bye, perhaps good riddance to 2020, we hope next year–the year of our LORD 2021–will be a season devoted to overcoming the pandemic and its affects. It brought us together, it tore us apart; it brought out the best in some, the worst some others, but through it all, I believe God used this shared experience to create new opportunities for the light of the gospel and Georgetown Ecumenical Wholeness Service to shine in places it never has before.
Personally, it was so good for Suzanne and I to worship with you online from Hanoi, Vietnam where we live and serve most of the year. While we are back in Texas for a few months, like you we won’t be back together for the worship service, at least not yet.
December 20 at 7pm (note different time) we are again meeting on Zoom to worship together in our homes for “Christmas by Candlelight,” a celebration of carols. The service is just four days before Christmas Eve that will be unlike any that have come before it, and it will find us longing for a peace that is not yet here.
Exploring the Fruits of the Spirit has been the focus of this year’s meditations. In November, Pastor Mary shared an excellent mediation on patience [click here to view her message]. This month our focus is peace in a meditation called “A Peace that is Not.” We will explore how peace can guide us in these uncharted days, and maybe how the cultural understanding of peace has misguided us in thinking peace is all puppy dogs and rainbows (it isn’t). I hope you will join us for this timely message.
This month our service will be without Rev. Dr. Ann Hagmann who has stepped aside to undergo major back/spine surgery and therapy to treat the pain and difficulty she has been courageously struggling with for some time. Ann has helped with this service for 18 years. Please continue to keep Ann in your prayers; we miss her already.
Ginger and Karen, graphic artists Keith Howell and David Arendsee, and the musicians who work with them will continue to provide for this wonderful worship experience for us. Pray for them also.
I hope you will invite someone new to worship with us in December. Better yet, get together with someone in your friend bubble to watch the service together and sing along with the Christmas carols. Its always more in the spirit to sing with others. We look forward to seeing you next Sunday.
Steven
www.ServingTheKingdom.org in Hanoi with TMS-Global.org
DECEMBER Gathering
WHEN: December 20, 2020 @ 6:45 pm – 8:00 pm America/Chicago Timezone
WHERE: Zoom bridge
Please see below message about ‘Viewing Our Zoom bridge’.
JOINING OUR ZOOM BRIDGE
LOGIN OR INVITATION REQUIRED (SEE INSTRUCTIONS ON WHOLENESS-SERVICE.ORG)
Our Zoom Portal: You may use our website’s Zoom Portal in order to join our meetings with one click. Simply log in (click the link above), and you will be directed to the page with all Zoom details. If you do not have an account, click the “register” button to create a new one. Registration takes only seconds, but give yourself time to complete it, and to reach out for support if you need.
Email instead: If you would rather receive a Zoom invitation by email, please send a request to inviteme@wholeness-service.org. A service leader will respond by sending you a Zoom invitation directly.
Joining the meeting: Connect by clicking one of the “join” links at around 6:15 pm on the day of the meeting (NOTE DIFFERENT TIME FOR DECEMBER 20). You will be placed in our waiting room, and the meeting coordinator will admit you.
Using Zoom in our meetings: At first your Zoom window may not fill your whole screen. Click on the Square at the top right of the Zoom window to expand it. Your microphone will be muted, as you may see by the microphone image in the bottom left. You may unmute by pressing the space bar when you wish to share. The stage manager will switch from a gallery view with all participants showing to another view for presentations, but you are in full control of your individual experience, and may change it at any time.
Recordings: Screen capture recordings of some segments of the service will take place. Prayers, meditations, candle lighting, intercessory litanies – all of these will be recorded for use in virtual service videos after the meetings. Please be assured that personal concerns and congregational sharing will NOT be recorded or shared publicly except with the consent of all person(s) involved.
Support: If you have problems with your computer or with joining the Zoom bridge, you may call Bill Marsh at 512-635-0035. You may also wish to watch this brief tutorial about joining a Zoom meeting.
