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The Advent rituals of decorating, cookie baking, card writing, and Christmas planning usually lift my spirits. To bless an early nightfall, I’d light a candle and turn up the tunes. This year, that all seems frivolous. The horrific wars that are fought on foreign shores weigh on my heart. Our elected leaders seem to draw lines in the sand rather than try to draw us together. We bicker over the e…
By Becky Boyer, Director of Youth Ministry I am always asking the youth to look out for where God is working in their everyday lives. For example, where do they see people being kind to one another and being Jesus’ hands or feet to someone. It is my hope that it will open their eyes to the world around them and help them think about how the Holy Spirit is moving every day. A couple of weeks ago I…
By Sara Kyle Sara is the editor of the Spire and organizer of the Westminster Seminars As we turn our focus to the coming – advent – of Christ, an encouraging starting point is Mary’s joyful and yet humble song in response to the news that she will bear the Christ Child. Mary’s song of praise (Luke 1:46-55) is known as the Magnificat, after the opening phrase: “My soul magnifies the Lord.” Magnify in …
By Ed Sutter, Senior Director of Christian Education “How does a weary world rejoice?” It truly is a fantastic question, isn’t it? It strikes me as particularly poignant because we so rarely (if ever) equate the two feelings. Weary but joyful. Worn out but jubilant. Bedraggled but delighted. The ideas seem to oppose one another. So, how does a weary world rejoice? Well, if we remain stuck in seman…
By Kristy Berrott, Elder When I was first told about the Spire’s theme for Advent, I immediately knew that I could connect. I had been feeling weary with the world as it was, and I was looking for a way to overcome this feeling. My daily interactions were leaving me with less and less hope for humanity. Therefore, when the Adult Spiritual Development Commission was looking for people to run some n…
By Laura Ecklin, Youth Ministry and Administrative Manager “What is the most important thing I need to know about you?” The question Ed Sutter asks every new student who walks up the ramp entering the youth wing. You can imagine that question gets a variety of answers from middle and high school kids. They talk about the sports they play, their favorite school subject, pets, video games, a spe…
By Denise Burke, WECEP Executive Director Children teach us so many things that we never realized we needed to know. Not that long ago, I witnessed a precious moment among three little boys on the WECEP playground. The three boys pictured in the photo worked up a great thirst while running after each other during a fun game of what I would call tag. They all paused from their fun to run over to…
By Dave Davis, Sr., Member, Stewardship Commission The Advent season will soon be upon us. In the church this season is dedicated to the hopeful arrival of Jesus the Christ. Yet in this season of hope, there often is a spiritual weariness. Every day we are overwhelmed by stories about our world, our nation, and our communities that contribute to spiritual weariness. Each of us can compile our own…
