Sunday, December 15th, 1-3pm
In the Sanctuary
You and your loved ones are invited to come to the church and walk through the Forest of Advent at First United Methodist Church of Pittsburgh. The First Church community is coming together to "grow" forests in the sanctuary, dedicated to Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. Live music will fill the space as you enjoy the sparkling beauty and creativity of this Advent Forest, share in each other's company, and reconnect with the ever persistent, ever emergent spirit of assurance that God is with us.
Advent 2024
And yet…
Well, here we are… standing on the edge of Advent. Around us swirls a bit of chaos and uncertainty, and in front of us, is the unknown. In front of us appears to be a deep forest that seems to lead to nowhere in particular. Christmas is on the other side – but we can’t see Christmas through the forest. We have heard that as we journey in this Advent Forest, there will be Hope, Peace, Joy and Love to be discovered. We know, to get to Christmas, we must walk through and with this Advent Forest, but… we are tired and worn…
And yet… we remain a people invested in the Hope of Christmas, God with us – we are not alone.
And yet… we remain a people who pray for peace, a peace that is beyond our imagination, a peace that ends wars, a peace where children sleep safely at night.
And yet… we are a people who find Joy, even in our grief, even in hardship joy comes in the morning.
And yet… we are a people who live in the Love of the Almighty. God loved us first and proved that love in Bethlehem.
