WORSHIP: "Waiting on the world to change"

Sundays, 9:30am, Facebook Live

November 29th  "Hope Can't Wait"
December 6th "Peace Can't Wait"
December 13th "Joy Can't Wait"
December 20th "Love Can't Wait"

BLUE CHRISTMAS SERVICE: DECEMBER 20th
5:00 PM - LIVESTREAM ON FACEBOOK
a service to name the people and things
​we are missing and grieving this year

​CHRISTMAS EVE WORSHIP: DECEMBER 24th
5:00 PM - LIVESTREAM on ZOOM
gather with the congregation beginning at 4:45 PM
includes live interactive "Silent Night" candlelighting

LIGHT THE ADVENT CANDLES - AT HOME

The Advent wreath was originally a German and Scandinavian home devotional practice used to mark the four weeks of Advent. Families would light a candle for each past week and the current week at their dinner or evening time of prayer. The configuration of candles, whether in a line or a circle, did not matter. Neither did the color of the candles. This private home practice eventually found its way into public worship and is now one of the ways we mark time in Advent while increasing light as Christmas approaches. This year, we are returning to more of a private home practice as we take our worship rituals and celebrate them in our homes.

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You are invited to gather together 4 candles for each week of advent, as well as a "Christ Candle" (typically white). The readings are linked below. You are invited to make this part of your evening worship practice, as well as to join us in the lighting of the advent candles during online worship each Sunday. We hope this will be a meaningful way for you to mark the time as you worship at home and online. ​

We would love to see a photo of your home advent wreath! We're also collecting videos of individuals & families reading the liturgy and lighting the candles so we can share them in online worship!

Advent Candle REadings

SIGN UP TO LIGHT THE CANDLES

UPLOAD YOUR PHOTOS & VIDEOS

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CORONAVIRUS WORSHIP STATUS: RED

we will worship inside when positivity rates are below 15% for our zip code

The re-entry team has finalized our congregation's policy for moving to in-person, indoor worship, based on the guidelines provided to local churches by the Iowa United Methodist Conference Crisis Response Team.  Our policy allows us to hold indoor services if the positivity rate is below 15% in the 50226 zip code (Polk City). These rates are published on the Polk County Health Department's website.  Online worship will always be available. We encourage each person to consider his or her own health and comfort when determining whether to worship in-person or online.  Each Wednesday, we will notify the congregation of the plan on our homepage, via email, and on Facebook.

​When we RSVP for indoor worship, we make a covenant with each other to follow the above guidelines.  In doing our part to decrease contact and increase sanitation, we will use easy-to-clean plastic folding chairs arranged in groups, keep worship leaders 12-15 feet away from worshippers, spray-sanitize the entire worship space after use, provide children's materials in baggies for you to take home (please bring your own crayons), and place the offering plate at the exit.  We also ask that you open the bulletin on your device by clicking here, sit only with your household, and refrain from singing aloud.

As soon as worship ends, everyone is asked to leave the sanctuary and exit the building; fellowship is encouraged outdoors.

Small groups that are currently meeting for Sunday School, youth group, committee meetings, etc. can continue to meet indoors, masked and socially distanced, but will prioritize outdoor meetings as the weather allows.

Online worship will be livestreamed to our Facebook page at 9:30 AM, and then made available as a recording on our website on Mondays.