Advent
Our Advent Worship Series
Words for the Beginning
Starting on the first Sunday of Advent, November 30, and continuing through Epiphany on January 4, our worship series will be filled with blessings, Words for the Beginning. We will all find ourselves in a state of beginning, a lot of the time, whether that beginning has to do with jobs or retirements, relocations or relationships, diagnoses or births or losses, not to mention the many new worries that arise regularly when we read the news, pay our bills, or wonder about the meaning of life.
We’ll learn a new song, Echolocation, and sing parts of it together. Do you know the word “echolocation”? It has to do with the navigation system used by animals like dolphins and bats, when they emit sound waves and interpret the returning echoes to map their surroundings. We’re invited to think of Advent as a time when we can send echoes out into the dark and listen for, and interpret, what might come back. We hope you’ll listen ahead of November 30 so you’ll be ready to join in stomping and clapping with the music!
Christmas Eve Before You Leave Service
Wednesday, December 17th
6:30 pm Sanctuary
Holiday plans taking you out of Ames on Christmas Eve? Have other Christmas Eve commitments and can’t make it to any of our Christmas Eve services? Do you love Christmas Eve services so much that you want an early opportunity to attend one? We would love for you to join us at Christmas Eve Before You Leave. This interactive, intergenerational service will include special music, carols, the Christmas story, and candle lighting while singing Silent Night. Following the service, stop by the hot chocolate bar and take some pictures at the photo booth.
The Longest Night Worship Service
Sunday, December 21st 4:00 pm
Sanctuary
For many years churches have offered services on or near December 21 to mark the “longest night,” the winter solstice, which feels like an appropriate time to notice that this season is not simply merry and bright for all of us. Sometimes such services are called “Blue Christmas” and are held earlier in the season–in either case aimed at those who are grieving the loss of a loved one or other life circumstances that feel heavy.
While our Longest Night service on Sunday, December 21 will be fitting for those who grieve, it’s also meant as a time for bringing heavy emotions of all kinds, whether they relate to your personal lives or our shared cultural and political life. There are plenty of shared things to grieve in this season: hunger, health insurance premium increases, inflation, the loss of transgender protections, court decisions, decreasing civility, deep dividedness, and much more. We’ll notice how our Advent theme of endings and beginnings connects with these individual and cultural experiences, and we’ll offer all of this up to the God who comes to us.
This service will be suffused with music, words, silence, and light. We’ll gather in the sanctuary because we want to make room for all who are aware of the mismatch between what God wants to do in our own lives or in our midst and what we’re seeing when we look around ourselves. Do come.
Christmas Eve Services
Celebrate Christmas Eve with Us!
You’re invited to a beautiful night of hope, music, and community as we gather for Christmas Eve services at 4:00 pm, 7:00 pm, and 11:00 pm. Each service will include communion, the soft glow of candlelight, beloved Christmas carols, special music, and the timeless story told through scripture.
Whether you prefer the energy of early evening or the peaceful stillness of late night, there’s a place for you here. Come and experience the wonder of Christmas as we make room for joy, connection, and the light that meets us all.
All are welcome—just as you are. All services will be onsite and online.
Wednesday, December 24th
4:00 pm, 7:00 pm (livestreamed) and 11:00 pm
Advent Special Offering
Advent Special Offering:
Supporting the ACSD Hope Pantry
This Advent season, our special offering will support the Ames Community School District’s Hope Pantry, a vital resource helping students and families meet their basic needs with dignity and care. Your generosity will directly strengthen the pantry’s immediate needs—from stocking essential items to making much-needed upgrades to their space. Funds raised may help purchase larger equipment, including the possibility of an industrial freezer, allowing the pantry to store more fresh and frozen foods and expand what they can offer families.
As we journey through Advent—waiting, preparing, and hoping—we invite you to give in a way that brings hope to our neighbors right here in Ames. Your gift makes a real and tangible difference.
You can donate online at cwames.org, through the pew envelopes starting Nov. 30th or by mailing a check to the church office. to learn more about the Hope Pantry head to https://amescsd.org/parents-
