Advent, Week 4: Joy – Resilient Joy: The Lord is Near.
As we are nearing the end of Advent, we look forward to the “good news of great joy for all people” that the angels proclaimed in Luke 2. But joy is sometimes elusive, and it can ebb and flow with the ups and downs of life. This week we will look at Phillipians 4 and at Paul’s instruction to believers to “rejoice in the Lord always”. Is that even possible?!?. We will see Paul’s basis for a resilient joy throughout the seasons of life: “The Lord is near”
Join us for our monthly Service and Learning gatherings. Some activities require registration, and some are drop-in. Please read below for all the details.
Community Ministry, a group of people from some local churches, come together weekly to prepare and serve a meal at 22 Willow for those seeking a hot meal and a place to find community. We have the opportunity to join them on the 2nd Thursday of the month to eat with them, build relationships and support the work of creating community.
No Registration Required
Sunday, December 14, 2025:
Learning in Sanctuaryat 22 Willow (9AM)
No registration Required.
Cooking & Baking at 22 Willow for A Better Tent City (9AM)
We will prepare food in the kitchen at 22 Willow to be shared with our friends at A Better Tent City.
Christmas Cookie Decorating & School Supply Kit Assembly at 22 Willow
We will divide the group into two, and take turns decorating cookies for our friends at ABTC, and put together school supply kits for school in need in our region.
This week we continue the Advent season by lighting the candle of Peace. In this act we recognize our longing for peace to come fully to this world, often gripped in the horrors of violence and hatred. We will be exploring the calling to peacemaking in Jesus teachings, and how scripture guides us towards peace as an outward expression of the peace in our own hearts. We will ask questions like; how can the state of our own hearts guide our outward approach to peace? And does scripture bring anything meaningful to our search for peace in ourselves?
As we enter into the season of Advent we light the candle of Hope. What does hope look like in a world that seems to be unravelling around us? Is it just a feeling or is there something more practical to it? Join us as we examine how to have defiant hope in a chaotic world.
This Sunday we are excited to have Heather Morgan join our gathering to teach on the theme of Disability Justice and the Church, and invite us into a conversation to grow in our understanding and practices as a community. Heather shares her time between co-pastoring at Vox Community Church in Barrie and working on her PhD at Emmanuel College at the University of Toronto, where she draws from her lifelong experience of disabilities and neurodivergence to think about the intersections between bodies and systematic theology. Together, we’ll be considering the ways we read scriptures that deal with disability, and exploring how what we believe about who Jesus is might help us respond better to our own bodies – disabled and able-bodied alike.
