On this second Sunday in Advent, the candle of PEACE will be lit, along with the candle of HOPE, and we will celebrate communion. Pastor Debbie Bennett Reynolds’ meditation, titled “From Doubt to Faith,” is a reflection on the scripture reading from Luke 1:67-79. The choir will be singing “Magnificat” by Ralph Vaughan Williams, and Christopher Morgan Loy has selected for the offertory “Scottish Dance #3” by Malcolm Arnold, arranged for piano by John York. We would love for you to join us in person or online!

Then the baby John’s father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied: “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for God has looked favorably on God’s people and redeemed them. God has raised up a mighty savior for us in the house of David, as God spoke through the mouth of the holy prophets from of old, that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us. Thus, God has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors and has remembered the holy covenant, the oath that God swore to our ancestor Abraham, to grant us that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies, might serve the Lord without fear, in holiness and righteousness in God’s presence all our days. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give his people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins. Because of the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to shine upon those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”