Pointe of Grace Lutheran Church ~ Mukilteo, Washington ~ 425-263-8730 ~ www.pointeofgrace.org

December 24, 2017

Grace Notes

Sunday, Dec. 24

ADVENT 4 Worship

9:30 AM with Lessons

& Carols, Holy Com-

munion; then Fellow-

ship. All classes re-

sume Jan. 7.

CHRISTMAS EVE

WORSHIP 7:00 PM

with carols, commun-

ion, candlelight. Christ

the Savior is born!

Monday, Dec. 25

CHRISTMAS Day

Worship 9:30 AM with

carols, communion,

candlelight. Full of

grace & truth!

Tuesdays & Fridays

POG WALKERS

resume Jan. 2.

Wednesdays

WOMEN’S BIBLE

STUDY resumes Jan. 3.

TEEN LOUNGE re-

sumes Jan. 10.

Thursdays

SPACE FOR GRACE

prayer and meditation

resumes Jan. 4.

Sunday, Dec. 31

EPIPHANY SUNDAY

(OBSERVED) 9:30 AM

with Holy Commun-

ion; then Fellowship.

Children’s and adults’

classes resume Jan. 7.

NEW YEAR’S EVE

POTLUCK AND

GAMES, 6-9 PM

(observing New York

New Year’s). Members

of the Islamic Commu-

nity of Mukilteo will

join us. To welcome

them, please bring

vegetarian or seafood

dishes to the potluck.

Sunday, Jan. 7

RECEPTION OF NEW

MEMBERS in worship.

Welcoming children,

welcoming Christ

CHILDREN’S MEMORIAL (above). On Dec. 10, for the second

year, we offered a respectful

grief ritual for people

mourning a child’s death.

WINTER PARTY (right). Students at the Teen Lounge’s

winter party built several

gingerbread coffee houses

from kits generously donated

by Starbucks in Mukilteo.

The Starbucks manager (right, center) was impressed by the

Lounge’s interactive style.

WINTER PARTYGOERS at the Mukilteo Teen Lounge Dec. 13. Thanks to adult volunteers and coordinator Laura Crawford

(front row, right), about 40 students were welcome to stop by, eat, talk, laugh, play games, dance, and have fun.

As we celebrate Jesus’ birth as a baby, we are glad that Pointe of Grace serves children: through Packs for Kids (feeding more than 80 each week), the Mukilteo Teen Lounge after school program, Godly Play Sunday school, and our preschool (117 students).

Pointe of Grace Lutheran Church 5425 Harbour Pointe Blvd.

Mukilteo, WA 98275

Church phone 425-263-8730 is forwarded to Pastor Joan Beck. Pastor John Beck 503-998-2331, john@trinitylutheranchurch.com Pastor Joan Beck 503-804-3384, joan@trinitylutheranchurch.com Volunteer office hours T & Th 10 AM–2 PM and W 1–4 PM. The pastors have days off after Christmas. Please feel free to call them on their cell phones or via the Pointe of Grace number.

GODLY PLAY “ADVENTURERS”—the older students—prepare to assemble small models

that are part of LEGO Advent calendars, such as the Christmas tree (right).

LIGHTS FOR THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. Ron Evans, Rolf Olsoy, and Jason

Raaum (above) hung the lights around the building entrance

(right). John Yanni and Kris Taylor (upper right) placed the indoor greens with Ron Evans, Colleen

Nollette, Lanny Parish, Mary Roper,

Susan Torgerson, and Rungfa Yanni.

Advent morning,

Christmas evening

There might be people who think that Christmas Eve lasts all day on Dec. 24. Technically it doesn't begin until sundown. It’s not really Christmas Eve until 4:22 PM on the 24th.

Starting a new day at sunset (rather than at midnight by the clock or at sunrise) is something the Christian church calendar adopted from Jewish believers. We can see the “evening and morning” cycle marking each day in the Genesis 1 creation story. The Jewish Sabbath still begins on Friday evening. Our big festivals like Christmas and Easter both begin with an “Eve” service the night before.

Why is this important? Because if you are thinking that every service on Sunday, Dec. 24, is a Christmas Eve service, you will be surprised. Our morning ser-vice is an Advent service. The gospel reading is not from Luke 2. The baby is not yet in the manger. We will sing a few Christmas carols Sunday morn-ing because they make sense with the readings, but most car-ols will be saved for the actual Christmas services at 7 PM the 24th and 9:30 AM the 25th.

Advent is the season of prepara-tion for Christmas, starting four Sundays before Dec. 25. This year, since Christmas is on Mon-day, the fourth Sunday of Ad-vent happens to be Dec. 24 and it gives way to Christmas in less than 24 hours.