Advent and Christmas at Suquamish Church

Advent is a season of endings and beginnings. As the calendar year comes to a close this Sunday, a new church year begins on December 1st. Christ’s birth ushers us into new ways of living and loving; and yet, the world as we know it spins madly on.

In many ways, pregnant Mary was surrounded by endings—large and small, personal and political. But Mary proclaimed hope in a God who was and is making all things new. Christ’s birth offered a beautiful new beginning for shepherds and Magi alike—all the while, King Herod tried to bring Christ’s story to an end. In seasons filled with endings and beginnings, we need reminders. We need words that can feel like steady ground, like a path for our feet to find as we step forward into the unknown.

This Advent series is filled with blessings, with the words we need to hear again and again as we begin a new season and new year. The creators of the series imagined the words Mary would speak to her newborn son. What scriptures and stories would she impart to him? What lessons would she teach him as he grew?

The medium of quilting is an ancient craft , and transcends countless cultures, regions, and time periods. It is a craft rooted in community and storytelling, in family and legacy, and many of us have quilts that are treasured heirlooms, representing love, protection, and care sewed into each stitch. The images of quilts and the metaphor of quilting will accompany us this season, reminding us all of the legacy of love and care gifted to us.

We hope this series feels like a blanket wrapped around each of us, providing warmth and comfort as we begin again. Like a quilt formed by scraps of old fabrics and meaningful family items, this worship series stitches together the ancient scriptures and reminders we need to hear again and again.

As you journey through this season, may you find words for belovedness and hope. May you find words for beginning again. For no matter what you are facing, no matter what this new day brings, love is your beginning.

— Pastor Amara and the whole worship team

“For me, this Advent series imparts a feeling just as much as a message. It feels like a warm blanket wrapped around us, giving us courage to face the increased anxiety and intensity that an election season brings. It feels like steady ground, a path for our feet to find as we step forward into the unknown of a new year. It feels like a soft whisper in our ears, reminding each of us of who we are and whose we are. It feels like love. This season, may God’s all-embracing and steadying love be our companion.”

—Rev. Lisle Gwynn Garrity, Founder, Creative Director of Sanctified Art who provided this year’s theme.

Resources to enrich your experience of this holy season.

Come to church! Each Sunday we will explore another blessing, and how we are called to live into it as we prepare for Christ’s arrival.

Invite a friend or family to join you. We want others to feel wrapped in the coziness of these blessings and our community this Winter season, with all of its challenges.

Pick up an Advent Devotional at church, filled with poetry, scripture, art, and an opportunity to reflect. If you would like a PDF emailed to you instead, please let Kathy know.

Engage in a photo-a-day devotional practice. We’ll have calendars available at church, or we can email you a PDF.

Kids and families: we will have special bulletins for each Sunday. In addition, you can take home an advent coloring sheet calendar that supports conversations at home. And we hope you join in the Pageant fun!