Weekly Greeting - December 1st, 2023
Dear Bethlehem Family,
I’m very excited about our Hanging of the Greens service this Sunday as we enter a new church year and the season of Advent. Different Christian communities “hang the Greens” at different times and in different ways.
The earliest practice, begun in Europe, is to hang the greens at the conclusion of worship on the fourth Sunday of Advent to prepare for Christmas Eve and the Christmas season. Live greens are typically used and are left up until January 6 which marks the end of the Christmas season and the beginning of the Season of Epiphany.
Other communities, like here at Bethlehem, choose to hang the greens at the beginning of Advent for use throughout Advent and the Christmas season.
When hung for Advent, the symbolism of evergreen points to the unending life of the age to come when Christ returns, the dead are raised, and the righteous enter life in the new creation.
Advent and Christmas are a special time to be a part of the Bethlehem family. We will also be welcoming our new youth director, Alison Bocking, to our staff at both worship services this Sunday. God has blessed us in enumerable ways!
Blessings,
Craig
Dr. Vona Wilson, our District Superintendent, will be preaching this Sunday as Pastor Craig recovers from COVID.
One definition of the word “Advent” is “the arrival of a notable person, thing, common or event.”
This first Sunday of the Season of Advent we are reminded that Jesus came into our world as a baby and is returning as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.
Our Hanging of the Greens ceremony and the introduction of our Chrismon tree during worship also reminds us of the fullness of Christ’s coming to earth. It is an unspeakable honor to worship Christ in all his glory as we give God thanks for all the ways we have been blessed.