🕯️ Advent 2025: What the World Needs Now, Christmas with The Chosen

 
This Advent, as we continue to navigate uncertainty and hope for renewal, we are reminded that the story of Jesus' birth is God's answer to the deepest needs of the human heart: Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love.
 
Join First United Methodist Church for a powerful journey through the season, featuring Scripture, music, and short, evocative clips from the three-episode series "Christmas With The Chosen." We are invited to experience the nativity not as a distant miracle, but as a living promise. The use of clips from The Chosen makes the humanity of Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds tangible, reflecting the struggles—fear, fatigue, rejection—that our world faces today.
 

✨ Welcome to What the World Needs Now: An Advent Journey 🗓️

As we continue to navigate a world marked by uncertainty and grief 😥, we invite you to anchor your heart in the timeless story of hope, peace, joy, and love ❤️. This interactive Advent calendar, inspired by the message of "What the World Needs Now: Christmas with The Chosen," is designed to remind us that the birth of Jesus is God's perfect answer to the deepest needs of the human soul.

This Advent, we invite you to experience the Nativity not as a distant miracle, but as a living promise. Each day offers a moment of reflection, centered around a powerful Word of the Day 📖 and a corresponding Scripture from the Bible.

May this journey fill you with Hope 🕯️, Peace 🕊️, Joy 😄, and Love ♥️ as you await the coming of Christ.

📅 Worship Schedule: Finding Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love

Our Sunday worship services will be held on the following dates, focusing on the core themes of Advent:

​Sunday, November 30 - Week #1: HOPE

Hope begins while we're still on the journey.
Scriptures: Isaiah 2:1-5, Matthew 24:36-44

Sunday, December 07 - Week #2: PEACE

Peace transcends circumstances and heals broken places.
Scriptures: Isaiah 11:1-10, Romans 15:4-13
 

Sunday, December 14 - Week #3: JOY

Joy is born through perseverance.
Scriptures: Isaiah 35:1-10, Luke 1:46-55

Sunday, December 21 - Week #4: LOVE

Love becomes real in service and proclamation.
Scriptures: Matthew 1:18-25; Isaiah 7:10-16

🌟 Finding Comfort This Season: Blue Christmas Service Online 🌟

This year, find a moment of peace and healing with our pre-recorded Blue Christmas Service, available to watch online at home starting Sunday, December 21.

The holidays are often joyful, but for many, they are also a time when grief, loneliness, illness, or loss feel especially heavy. A Blue Christmas service acknowledges these feelings and offers a space for reflection, comfort, and hope.

This special online service will feature scripture, meaningful prayers, and calming music designed to soothe the soul.

If you are carrying a heavy heart this holiday season and need a time for healing and gentle acknowledgment of your pain, we encourage you to watch.

Watch anytime, starting December 21, for comfort and quiet hope.

The Blue Christmas service is a relatively modern tradition within Western Christianity, emerging in response to a clear pastoral need.

  • Origin: While its precise starting point isn't definitively known, the tradition is generally traced back to the mid-1990s in North America, often starting in hospice communities or mainline Protestant churches.
  • Purpose: It was developed as a quiet, contemplative alternative to the often-forced cheer of typical holiday celebrations. Pastors recognized that for those experiencing grief, loss, loneliness, or illness, the Advent and Christmas season can amplify their pain.
  • The Name: The name "Blue Christmas" likely comes from the well-known 1957 Elvis Presley song, though the liturgical service is distinct from the song. Some churches prefer the alternative name: "The Longest Night" Service.
  • Timing: These services are often scheduled on or around December 21st, the date of the Winter Solstice (the longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere). This timing symbolizes gathering for a time of comfort and hope when the darkness is at its peak, awaiting the return of the light.
  • Characteristics: Unlike joyful Advent services, a Blue Christmas service typically uses a more subdued liturgy, includes special candle lighting for remembrance, and offers prayers and readings that name and acknowledge pain and sadness, ultimately seeking solace in the promise of God's presence.

🎄🌟 Special Combined Christmas Eve Worship Service! 🌟🕊️

This Christmas Eve, First UMC Elgin is delighted to announce we will be joining our friends at First Congregational Church of Elgin for a special, shared worship service! 🤝

Experience the profound mystery and joy of the season as we blend the themes of Immanuel's Echo and What Child Is This? ✨ This unique service will explore the enduring promise of "God With Us" (Immanuel) and the awe-inspiring identity of the Christ child. 👶👑

Join us for a beautiful evening of scripture, familiar carols, candlelight, and community as we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. 🙏🕯️

  • Date: Tuesday, December 24
  • Time: 6:30 pm⏰
  • Location: First Congregational Church of Elgin
    🗺️256 E. Chicago Street, Elgin IL, 60120
  • In-person & live streaming on Facebook and YouTube

All are welcome to share in this festive and meaningful celebration! ❤️