Zoom Link: http:// https://us04web.zoom.us/j/499545065?pwd=aXd4M3EwcmdOWTh0SC80TVNGeW44dz09 

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/firstlutheransmtx/
(If the above links do not work, try the red buttons on the top of https://flcsm.org/ instead.)

 

More full instructions are on the website. Additionally, if you cannot access from the usual links, check the website because Zoom often implements updates on the weekend.  The website can be changed in minutes if needed to update links or passwords. You can find all the information at https://flcsm.org/onlineworship/ and more complete instructions at https://flcsm.org/worshipaccess/

The worship book is posted at https://flcsm.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Nov-8-WEB.pdf

The readings for this Sunday are: 

• FIRST READING: Amos 5:18-24
  Let justice roll down like waters
• Psalm 70
  You are my helper and my deliverer; O Lord, do not tarry. (Ps. 70:5)
• SECOND READING: Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25
  Joshua calls Israel to serve the Lord
• GOSPEL: Matthew 25:1-13
  The story of the wise and foolish bridesmaids 

You can find the readings each week by going to https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/ and clicking on the date. Our Old Testament reading and Psalm are the second set listed. 

Our hymns are: 

Gathering Song O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (ELW 257)
Gospel Acclamation: Wait For The Lord (ELW 262)
Hymn of the Day Lost in the Night (ELW 243)
Communion hymn: Bread of Life from Heaven, (ELW 474, chorus only, repeated)
Sending Song Rejoice, Rejoice, Believers (ELW 244)

The worship book now has a permanent address so you can find it easily and there will be fewer chances for errors. It will be at http:// http://flcsm.org/next-sunday-worship-book/ . You might find a placeholder file there during the week. It will be posted by Saturday at the latest.  (There may be changes in prayers and other small items, but the link should remain the same. If there are any major changes, which we do not anticipate, we would send another email on Sunday.)

IF YOU GO there on Saturday and Sunday and find last weeks file you need to fully refresh your browser because your computer is reading its cached version. 
If that does not work try getting the file from the specific date link on the worship page. 

 

Advent is a time for waiting. Something we are familiar with this year. But unlike most waiting, we know the end of the Advent waiting story. This is a waiting in faith for an ending that is certain: the promises that God is in Christ reconciling the whole world.  Does that mean there is nothing to fear, nothing to worry about, no reason to say we are tired of waiting? No. Advent hope has room for all of that, but also ties to our faith that tells us we know the end of the story. Just as we stood at the cross knowing that the end of the story is not the end of the story, we hear the prophet’s reminder that God is already at work to save.

In that sense, we have already been in Advent for a while. But this year we will make it official earlier. Advent was once marked for 6 to 7 weeks, and has had different themes to it. Sometimes it was celebrated in much the same way as Lent (Many may remember when it used purple as a sign of preparation and fasting as we do in Lent, rather than blue as a sign of hope.) We will be using many of the regular November texts but with worship and preaching around a theme of waiting and longing. We will also have some other texts that do not show up in our lectionary but give a richness to the coming of Christ. 

This Sunday we have a slight change, and are using an alternate 2nd Reading so we can focus on the roots of faith in the stories from the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). We will hear the words of the Prophet Amos about what God truly calls us to, and also the covenant that the people of Israel made with God as they entered the Promised Land from the book of Joshua. 

So yes, it is Advent already. We will spend these weeks in the rich images of waiting and hope. We need to keep hope now more than ever. 

Livestream will continue permanently for those who are not ready to be back.  

This is not a “return to normal”.  There are several reasons that is not feasible or advisable. Thus  described as a “live studio audience”.  No singing, no moving around the sanctuary (communion in pews, offering received beforehand, other modifications) and still our amended liturgy adapted for online.

Basic rules are that masks must be worn the entire time you are in the building. Only our worship leaders will sing, others may hum to themselves but are asked not to project as that is a danger for spreading aerosols. Full details are available at https://flcsm.org/in-person/ . PLEASE read and understand those if you plan to join us. 

It is also contingent on maintaining a low or steadily declining number based on Hays County Health Department statistics as well as information from the wider area that impacts us. If that ceases to be the case we will return to our practices from the past 6 months. 

If you are coming, we ask you to RSVP to the church office so we can have worship materials ready. firstlutheran@grandecom.net is still the one to use, though if you reply directly to this email (info@flcsm.org) it will also get here. 

For now, we have plenty of room. If you have not RSVPed come on anyway... having the list is mostly for our records and preparation, but we do not anticipate having too many to safely fit. If we begin to get close to that, we may need to have a 'waiting list' and rotation, but we are a good ways from that being necessary. 
  

The answering machine is occaionally cutting messages short. If you get it and want to make sure the message gets through, be double sure with email!  firstlutheran@grandecom.net is still working at this time! 

We are still taking hymn suggestions! if you want to submit a favorite hymn, email it to pastortim@flcsm.org . You don't need to put down a number but it does need to be in the ELW hymnal.  

In addition to hymn suggestions (which we are now running short on) we also want to hear other ideas for worship. Some have offered ideas from other services they have been watching online. Others have asked for changes to the worship book to make it easier to follow. The good side of worship this way is it is very flexible in format and open for experimentation. If you have suggestions or critiques, Pastor Tim wants to hear them. Not everything may be possible, but we can try!  
 

If you have any challenges accessing worship, let us know! We recently learned that one of the links in this email was not working!  Pastor Tim tries to keep them all correct but the ways he gets on and starts worship are not the ways an 'end user' would. If you ever have a hard time getting online, email him at pastortim@flcsm.org and he can troubleshoot it.