Not religious, you say? Romance in our culture is more than an idea or a segment of life. It’s an industry that feeds our entertainment, our wardrobes, our decorating choices. It woos us, hungrily demanding our devotion and promising fulfillment ... but more often than not, on its own it leaves us empty. Not attending a place of worship doesn’t mean we don’t worship ...

Not religious, you say? Many of us carry our best offerings to the places we work, the projects we’re part of. We sacrifice to earn our living and our standing. We look to our labours to bring structure and meaning to life; our efforts to define who we are. Not attending a place of worship doesn’t mean we don’t worship ...

There are days where everything goes wrong ... And then there are whole seasons where the best we can do is hold on. When all our best efforts seem to get us nowhere, we've done all we know to do, and we're at the end of our rope. Where do we look when there's no hope to be seen? This weekend, as our ministry staff enjoy some well-earned rest over the holidays, we’re offering content originally offered in June of 2017 that is eerily appropriate to current reality.

Home ... Where the heart is ... Where we feel complete ... Where life just feels right. It’s more than a place, more than what we fill that place with. It’s an intangible something that feeds our hope ... Allows peace to settle ... Joy to bubble up quietly ... Love to fuel each moment. Christmas ... the coming of the Christ ... calls us home.

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We hope you’ll join us for our Christmas Eve service of Carols by Candlelight – an hour of music and narrative celebrating the birth of Jesus.

“The virgin will conceive a Child” ... “name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” ... “Glory to God and peace on earth” ... The Messiah ... the Christ ... Emmanuel — God with us!

Familiar, yet foreign ... A house — welcoming and warm, but not quite home ... Residents, but restless, in a place where permanence can be fleeting, but purpose can still be found not in where we are but in Whose we are. In a love that defines us and compels us to share it. What if the why behind where we live has to do with Who we represent — and to whom?

It can take you by surprise ... Be where you’d least expect to find it ... Transcend logic or circumstances ... Inexplicably appear with the simplest offerings of care. The joy of simple acceptance and trust and community. At the end of a journey that began in fear, life can feel overwhelming and lonely ... What small gift can we offer to ease the loneliness?

The search ... The relentless restlessness of unanswered questions ... Of leaving the familiar to settle the deep longings ... The long-sought-after missing puzzle pieces that would complete the picture too long left incomplete. Seeking peace that calls the heart by its very absence. Many have searched and arrived ... Who will welcome them? Who will extend the peace so desperately needed?

Leaving behind all they’d ever known ... Saying yes to what seemed impossible ... Fixing their eyes on the promise of freedom ... Trusting, believing God would do what only He could do. Choosing to hope when hope is nowhere to be found. Mary’s and Joseph’s journey resonates with many of us ... What are we called to leave behind as we prepare to celebrate this Christmas season?

There’s a perception that the church is always after your money ... That if you don’t drop something in the offering plate or donation box, you’re seen as less than. Or worse, that religious leaders are just looking to pad their pockets. What’s the deal with money and church? Does the Bible say how much we’re supposed to give? Why we should give?