Cultivating Love through HOPE!

The Nebraska Synod has invited us all to engage in Cultivating Love in many and various ways. At the heart of love is hope, but without love there is no hope.

The Advent and Christmas seasons begin the year anew and ground us in hope. Hope is made possible through Emmanuel-God with Us. The hope is made real through God doing a new thing, which the prophets have long foretold. John the Baptist proclaimed,  “Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God” (Luke 3:5-6, NRSV). Hope is abundant in this time of year, as long as we make space for it. We need to come to the manger and be filled with awe and hope. We need to be fully present with God’s beloved, and not overly caught up in the busyness of the season and our schedules. Hope is cultivated as we gather together to watch for signs of the kingdom, here now and yet to come.

Here are two questions for your reflection as we think about the way we might cultivate love through hope: (Feel free to send thoughts to Pastor Becky. She’d love to hear your responses!)

  • What are two or three ways that you will cultivate hope this month? How will these ways bring hope to you? To others?
  • How might light shine in the darkness as a sign of God’s hope being cultivated around us today?

Midweek Theme: Cultivating Love Through Hope

Each Wednesday in Advent:
5:15pm-6:30pm – We gather for a free-will offering meal and fellowship.
7:00pm – Holden Evening Prayer service
December 4:  God brings hope in unexpected ways.
December 11:  God promises light will come to shine in our darkness.
December 18:  We prepare to receive and proclaim hope.

Sunday Focus and Special Events: 

December 1: Hope
December 8: All Church Christmas Program
This is an intergenerational Christmas Program. Any in attendance are encouraged to pick out a costume before entering the sanctuary and come up and participate at the appropriate time during the service.
Following worship, all are invited to the fellowship hall for coffee or hot chocolate and donuts. You can help make Project Linus blankets, a Christmas Craft, or write on cards for those special people in our congregation.
Saturday, December 14 – 9am – People are encouraged to bring 2 dozen cookies to pack in Christmas Cookie Bags for members. Afterwards, there will be time to enjoy a cup of coffee and a few extra cookies together.
December 15: Joy
Christmas Caroling to our shut-in members and others in need of seasonal cheer. Gather at the church at 12:15pm to get books and cookie bags and be assigned to a group. Caroling should be complete by 2:30pm based on the number of visits each group needs to make.
December 22: Love

Christmas Eve Worship, Tuesday, December 24

Our two Christmas Eve worship services both include Communion and singing Silent Night by candlelight.
4:30pm – Worship for families and those not wishing to travel at night. Nursery staff will be available for this worship service.
10:30pm – We gather for prelude music.
11:00pm – Christams Eve worship
These services will also be available on the Lord of Love YouTube channel.

December 25: NO Christmas Day worship service
December 29: Lessons and Carols Service

January 5: Epiphany Sunday
The actual day of Epiphany is January 6, but we will celebrate a day early.
The Magi came from afar, following his star and finding the newborn king. After worshipping him, they went home to share the story about the newborn king.

Advent and Christmas Special Offerings
Each season we provide opportunities to give in support of mission at our midweek meal and worship. This year our Advent and Christmas special offerings will be split between Sleep in Heavenly Peace and Lutheran Disaster Response.
Sleep in Heavenly Peace: A bed isn’t just a piece of furniture; it’s a platform for dreams, a space where children can grow and thrive. A good night’s sleep can significantly impact a child’s physical, mental, and academic well-being. Sleep in Heavenly Peace is committed to ensuring no child in our community sleeps on the floor.
Lutheran Disaster Response shares God’s hope, healing and renewal with people whose lives have been disrupted by disasters in the United States and around the world. When the dust settles and the headlines change, we stay to provide ongoing assistance to those in need.

Blue Christmas/Longest Night Services

For some, grief, loss, fear and difficult family situations have left people not experiencing Christmas as the most wonderful time of the year. Therefore, there are Blue Christmas Services, or The Longest Night services offered close to Christmas and often on the longest night of darkness of the entire year, which for us is Dec. 21st. While we are not hosting one at Lord of Love, we wanted to tell you about a few places where you might find a Blue Christmas Service if that speaks to your heart this year. Please see below for a few options:
IN PERSON:
Wednesday, December 18 – 6pm – St. Timothy’s, 510 N 93rd St
Saturday, December 21 – 7pm – Immanuel Lutheran, 2725 N. 60th Ave
ONLINE:
Saturday, December 21 – 7pm – Women of the ELCA – ONLINE Blue Christmas Service – This service is hosted on Zoom. Register at this location. Your name and email are needed to register.

Resource Groups for more support in dealing with grief 

GRIEF SHARE
www.griefshare.org includes FAQ & a listing of grief support groups with wide selection of times/places

THE COLLECTION OF HOPE: groups formed based on age & developmental level
 Grief’s Journey: for pre-teens, teens & adults 
HEALing Embrace: pregnancy & infant loss
Ted E. Bear Hollow: Children groups using play, music, art & reflective sharing
Family groups for ages 3 thru adult with a wide variety of art/craft activities such as fingerprint jewelry, memory bears from clothing, etc.
Administrative Office: 7811 Farnam Dr.
Evening & Weekend Programs: 8000 Chicago St. in Omaha – 402-502-2773

THE KIM FOUNDATION: non-profit to increase awareness around mental health & suicide prevention.  Has grief support groups for survivors of suicide.
402-8916911 – thekimfoundation.org

*More resources are also available at the Faith Partners area in our Narthex.