Weekly News from Zion and our Ministries Under the Cross: Evergreen Academy & Nina's Place

November 29, 2023

The Hanging of the Greens is a ceremony in which many congregations adorn their churches with Advent and Christmas decorations on or directly before the start of the Advent season, in preparation for Christmas. Biblical passages and other readings help explain the significance of the holly, the Advent wreath, the evergreen trees, and other special decorations.

You are invited to join us for this festive and interactive worship service. We will even get to sing a few Christmas carols before Christmas!

Good Lord, by your mercy guide our outward actions in such ways that our inward being is formed in faith, hope, and love. May the decorations we offer engage our senses during the days of Advent and enliven our praise and worship, in the name of the child of Bethlehem, our risen and coming savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Opportunities to "Just Show Up"

2nd Annual Santa Pub Crawl

In lieu of our First Friday in December, you are invited to join the Kiwanis Club of Deerfield Beach at their 2nd Annual Santa Pub Crawl on Friday, December 1st, beginning at 4:00 p.m. There will be food and drink specials available at each location, and all proceeds from the wristband sales will go toward the work of Kiwanis in our local community and other areas in need around the country.

The DFB Kiwanis meets at Zion and is a sponsor of Nina's Place and DBCC.

Wednesdays in Advent 2023

December 6, 13, and 20 in Katie Luther Chapel

5:30 p.m. Dinner & Fellowship

Soup & salad will be provided. Bring your favorite beverage and/or something else to share. We will continue to eat as we study and discuss our book, so join us when you can! 

6:00 p.m. Book Study & Discussion

What does it mean to follow Jesus together with fellow believers? How can we reflect Jesus in our daily lives? To help answer these questions, we will be reading “I Am a Christian“ by Thom Rainer.

7:00 p.m. Holden Evening Prayer

Join us in person or on Facebook Live for a Zion Advent tradition. This year, we will introduce a beloved musical setting of Evening Prayer, led by Cantors Kurt Schmidt & Peter Rizzo. 

Special Congregational Meeting

Sunday, December 10th following Worship

With our recent congregational vote to move the fiscal/financial year to a calendar year (ending December 31st), our council has called a special meeting following worship on Sunday, December 10th to approve the budget for the 2024 fiscal year. (Next year, this December meeting will become our annual meeting.)

Also on the agenda is an endorsement of the council's recommendation of a listing agent for the property to be sold. If you are a voting member, please plan to join us for this important business meeting.

Opportunities to Serve Joyfully & Give Selflessly

We are so proud to be partnering for the 5th year in our Reverse Advent Calendar. Again this year, we are working to stock Nina’s Place, which continues to serve 150+ families in need every week.

If you would like to donate financially rather than shop, click here. We will do the shopping for you. Food donations can be dropped off at the Evergreen Academy office or at worship on Sunday mornings. Thank you for your generosity!

Help Restock the Pantries

We are restocking our pantries in preparation for the holidays and in order to begin 2024 with plenty of items for our neighbors of all ages. If you would like to donate, click here for the wish list and Amazon will ship the items directly to Zion. Thank you for your generosity!

Sunday at 11:00 a.m. – In Person & Online

First Sunday of Advent / Hanging of the Greens

Stir up your power, and come! The psalmist’s plea in Psalm 80:2 has become familiar to us in the Advent prayers. Isaiah wants God to rip the heavens open. Both cry out for an apparently distant, angry God to show up, to save, to restore. When we hear Jesus describing the coming of the Son of Man with stars falling from heaven, it can sound dire and horrible. But when we really look at the suffering of people God loves, we can share the hope that God would tear open the heavens and come.

New Ways of Praying in Advent

Beginning in December 2023 with the season of Advent, we will be praying for people by name on Sunday mornings. All names submitted online (click here) by Saturday at noon will be included in the prayers of the people the next day. Alternatively, those who attend Sunday morning worship in person will have the opportunity to fill out a prayer card each week to include whomever they wish in our community's prayers. In order to keep our prayer list current, all names must be resubmitted each week if you desire continued prayers.

Cantor Kurt R. Schmidt

954-421-3146, option 2 (Church) • 954-913-2125 (Cell)

kschmidt@zion-lutheran.org

Zion is a Reconciling in Christ (RIC) community, and extends God's radical welcome to all people, because we're all created in God's image.