Category Archives: Advent

Advent

Dinner, Devotions, and Holden Evening Prayer

Wednesdays in Advent: Dec. 6, 13, 20
Dinner and Advent Devotions: 6 pm
Holden Evening Prayer: 7 pm

Join us for each week for dinner, devotions, and a brief midweek Holden Evening Prayer worship service to fill your heart with the sights and sounds of hope this Advent season!

Come at 6 pm to enjoy a soup dinner and community Advent devotional time studying “The Dawn Chorus” Advent devotional book. Then attend the Holden Evening Prayer Service at 7 pm. Written in 1985-1986 while Marty Haugen was the musician-in-residence at Holden Village, a Lutheran retreat center in Washington State, this lovely setting of vespers follows the traditional form while using contemporary and inclusive language.

Wednesdays: December 6, December 13 & December 20
6 pm Advent devotions in the Narthex
7 pm prayer service in the Sanctuary or via Livestream

Worship via Livestream

Advent, Mission Work

Angel Tree 2023

It’s that time of year again! Gethsemane Lutheran members and families are invited to continue a neighborhood holiday tradition by sponsoring T.A. Brown Elementary School children and families. Once again, we’re asking individuals/families to donate gift cards that can be purchased through Gethsemane Lutheran Children’s Ministry (GLCM).

Choose an Angel Tree Ornament

Angel Tree Instructions

  1. Visit the Angel Tree Sign Up and select a family dinner, blanket, and/or a child to sponsor. Provide your name, email, and phone number.
  2. Once you have signed up, purchase gift cards from either HEB (for family dinners) or Target/Walmart (for children’s gifts). For the blanket, give a check or $15 cash, do not buy a gift card. Please bring your gift card and/or money to Pastor Susie or Dar in an envelope labeled with the Angel number, the name of the family and/or child, and your name.
  3. Recommended amounts: children’s gifts $50 each and family dinners: families of 3 at least $75, families of 4-5 at least $100, and families of 6-8 at least $175.
  4. The deadline to complete your Angel Tree gift is Sunday, December 17th.

Thank you for your support of this ministry. Merry Christmas!

Advent

The Dawn Chorus: An Advent Devotional on the Wonders of Birds

Free Advent Devotional Available to Gethsemane Members

Pick up a copy in the Narthex beginning November 19 or check G-News for a downloadable version.

Songbirds know a thing or two about singing into darkness: in the wee hours of the morning, before the sun appears over the horizon, they begin a great symphony that scientists call the “dawn chorus.”

Advent is the church’s dawn chorus. In this devotional designed for families of all shapes and sizes, we walk with scripture through the season’s four weeks of hope, peace, joy, and love, singing into shadows and looking to the light.

Sign Up for G-News to receive a free digital copy
Advent, Events

Advent and Christmas at Gethsemane

COME AND FILL YOUR HEART WITH THE SIGHTS AND SOUNDS OF THE SEASON!

November 27: Watch
December 4: Prepare
December 11: Rejoice
December 18: Behold
December 24: Christmas Eve
December 25: Christmas Day and First Sunday of Christmas
January 1: Second Sunday of Christmas
January 8: First Sunday of Epiphany

Lighting of the Advent Candles

NOVEMBER 27, DECEMBER 4, DECEMBER 11, DECEMBER 18
Each week during worship, we light advent candles in anticipation of Christ’s birth. Join us during these weeks of expectation to prepare for the birth of Jesus.

Advent Activities

GIVE TO THE ANGEL TREE, NOVEMBER 24 – DECEMBER 12
Choose a virtual ornament and then donate gift cards for blankets, meals, and gifts for children and families in need.

PREPARE YOUR HEART THROUGH AN ADVENT DEVOTIONAL
Download your free Advent devotional, “E.E. Cummings and the Joyful Poetry of Advent” – a perfect way to prepare for the hope, peace, joy, and love of Christmas day.

CALM YOUR SOUL AT HOLDEN EVENING PRAYER SERVICES, NOVEMBER 30, DECEMBER 7 & 14 AT 7 PM
Join us for midweek Holden Evening Prayer worship services to fill your heart with the sights and sounds of hope this Advent season!

SHOP THE SWEDISH CHRISTMAS MARKET & ENJOY THE LUCIA CHOIR CONCERT, DECEMBER 4 FROM 3-6 PM
The Swedish Women’s Education Association (SWEA) invites you to their annual Swedish Christmas Market & Concert in the Gethsemane MPR and Sanctuary. $5/person, Children under 12 free. Enjoy the Swedish Café and Christmas Market with crafts, dancing, and Santa. Then hear the SWEA Lagom Singers.

BEHOLD “LOVE’S PURE LIGHT” AT THE DRIVE-THRU ADVENT/CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION, DECEMBER 10 FROM 6-8 PM
Gethsemane youth and Gethsemane Lutheran Children’s Ministry invite you to join us for “Love’s Pure Light,” this year’s Drive-Thru Advent/Christmas Light Celebration.

Christmas Eve Services – Saturday, December 24 at 4 pm, 7 pm, 9 pm

FAMILY WORSHIP SERVICE AT 4 PM
Join us for a Family Christmas Eve carol sing and Holy Communion service.

WORSHIP WITH CANDLELIGHT, LESSONS, AND CAROLS AT 7 PM AND 9 PM
A traditional service of candlelight, Santa Lucia, and Christmas apples. Listen to the familiar words of scripture that foretell and proclaim the birth of Jesus. Sing the carols that help us tell that story. All are welcome! View the Christmas Eve Livestream page.

Christmas Day Service – Sunday, December 25 at 9 am

CHRISTMAS DAY NATIVITY OF OUR LORD AT 9 AM
Come join in the Eucharist, singing Christmas Carols, and hear the Christmas Story.

Advent, Giving Opportunitites, Mission Work

Angel Tree 2022

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It’s that time of year again! Gethsemane Lutheran members and families are invited to continue a neighborhood holiday tradition by sponsoring T.A. Brown Elementary School children and families. Once again, we’re asking individuals/families to donate gift cards that can be purchased through Gethsemane Lutheran Children’s Ministry (GLCM).

Choose an Angel Tree Ornament

Angel Tree Instructions

  1. Visit the Angel Tree Sign Up and select a family dinner and/or a child to sponsor (in the children’s slots, the M or F indicates gender). Provide your name, email, and phone number.
  2. Once you have signed up, purchase gift cards from either HEB (for family dinners) or Target/Walmart (for children’s gifts). For the blanket, give a check or $15 cash, do not buy a gift card. Please bring your gift card and/or money to Pastor Susie or Dar in an envelope labeled with the Angel number, the name of the family and/or child, and your name.
  3. Recommended amounts: children’s gifts $50 each and family dinners: families of 3 at least $75, families of 4-5 at least $100, and families of 6-8 at least $150.
  4. The deadline to complete your Angel Tree gift is Sunday, December 11th.

Thank you for your support of this ministry. Merry Christmas!

Advent, Events

“Love’s Pure Light” Drive-Thru or Walk-Thru Christmas Light Show

Saturday, December 10, 6-8 pm

Gethsemane youth and Gethsemane Lutheran Children’s Ministry invite you to join us for “Love’s Pure Light,” this year’s Drive-Thru or Walk-Thru Advent/Christmas Light Show! We’ll have Christmas carolers, greetings from Santa and a special surprise treat for you at the end. Don’t miss out on all of the fun!

Sign Up to Help With Set Up or Take Down
Advent

Advent Holden Evening Prayer

Join us for brief midweek Holden Evening Prayer worship services to fill your heart with the sights and sounds of hope this Advent season!

Written in 1985-1986 while Marty Haugen was the musician-in-residence at Holden Village, a Lutheran retreat center in Washington State, this lovely setting of vespers follows the traditional form while using contemporary and inclusive language.

Wednesdays: November 30, December 7 & December 14
7 pm in the Sanctuary or via Livestream

Worship via Livestream

Advent, Learning

Joyful Poetry of Advent Devotional

Joyful Poetry of Advent: A pilgrimage through Advent based on the poetry of E.E. Cummings

Free Advent Devotional Available to Gethsemane Members

Pick up a copy in the Narthex or check G-News for a downloadable version.

The son of a pastor and a thoughtful theologian in his own right, E. E. Cummings often explored spiritual terrain in his poetry – including a group of brilliant, inventive, provocative poems related to Advent and Christmas.

In this Advent devotional, biblical texts and Cummings’ poems call us to keep awake, watch, and wait for God to arrive on Christmas morning. All you’ll need is your favorite Bible and Cummings’ “Complete Poems” (all the poems referenced in the devotional can also be found online). Week by week, simple candlelight services and weekly practices will help us read, reflect, sing, and prepare – all for the sake of deepening the joys of the season.

Sign Up for G-News to receive a free digital copy
Advent

Christmas Services

Online and In-Person Christmas Worship Schedule

Christmas Eve on December 24th:

In-person in Gethsemane Sanctuary
(RSVP to attend and follow all safety guidelines listed below)
5:00pm, 6:30pm & 8:00pm

Online Zoom Christmas Eve Service
(See details below to access)
6:00pm

Christmas Day on December 25th:

In-Person in Gethsemane Sanctuary
(RSVP to attend and follow all safety guidelines listed below)
9:00am

In-Person Worship Service Details:

PLEASE CALL THE CHURCH OFFICE, 512-836-8560 OR SEND AN EMAIL TO info@gethsemaneaustin.org TO RSVP TO EITHER THE 5PM, 6:30PM, 8PM ON CHRISTMAS EVE OR THE 9AM CHRISTMAS MORNING
IN-PERSON SERVICES. THANK YOU!

***REQUIREMENTS TO ATTEND IN-PERSON SERVICES***

  • Please wear a mask
  • Enter through the narthex only
  • Please use the hand sanitizer available at the door
  • You MUST call the church office and leave a message with your phone number to RSVP to attend
  • Maximum attendance is 75
  • If you are sick, have been around someone who has been sick or have any symptoms, PLEASE stay home

Online Christmas Eve Worship Service Details:

Download the Christmas Eve Zoom Worship Bulletin

To participate in the online service, you will need to download the Zoom app or program on you phone or computer. Here is the link to access the worship service: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6996794165?pwd=WnVETVBQZHEzNTJRdnhCeWU2ODBQdz09

If you’re on a phone, you may not be able to access that link directly. In that case, you will need to go to www.zoom.com, click “Join a Meeting” and enter the following:

Meeting number: 6996794165

Password: 234133

If you do not use Zoom, you may view the Facebook live stream of the online service through our Gethsemane Facebook page.