Dear Visitor,

The season of Advent, the four weeks before Christmas, is the beginning of another liturgical year of God’s grace. As the days grow shorter until the winter solstice, the darkness deepens around us. Advent is derived from the Latin word for “coming,” and it refers to the coming of God’s Son Jesus, the Light of the World, the Light whom the darkness of sin, death, and evil can never overcome.

Each week in Advent we light another candle on the Advent wreath until all four candles are burning. We count down the days until we celebrate the birth of the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. So, then, as the darkness is deepening, the Light of Christ is growing brighter. Our congregation adds Evening Prayer (sung LBW Vespers) services at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, December 4, 11, and 18. We cast our prayers and praises, all our hoping in Christ Jesus, against the primeval darkness that can never win.

Just as one doesn’t sing “Happy Birthday” to dear ones before the actual day, so Christ’s Church does not sing Christmas carols in Advent. The secular world around us may do its best to commercialize and debunk the coming of the Light of the World. But Advent, like the time of pregnancy, is a time for waiting, hoping, and preparing. Oh, how our world of instant gratification needs to learn to wait!

We invite you to prepare carefully and prayerfully with us for the joyful celebration of Christ Mass. Take your time. Count down the days slowly. Deny your will to self-gratification. Turn down the noise.

We are a congregation that values the lives and witness of the generations of Christians who have gone before us. Week after week, we do and say what those who have followed Jesus have said and done in worship for 2,000 years. The worship is beautiful, rich in imagery, and definitely not about the pastors, the musicians, or the people. It’s still about God’s Son Jesus and what He has done and promises to do! We invite you to walk through the glass doors parallel to South College Road across from UNCW.

Thanks for stopping by!

Pastor Sam Zumwalt+
szumwalt@bellsouth.net