What's Happening at ECV

Advent Teaching Series This past Sunday, we kicked off our Advent series "Surprised by a God who Draws Near." The story of Jesus' birth is one where people experience God from places of hope, disbelief, or obscurity. Yet, all are surprised by God's nearness. On Sunday, Josh spoke on Mary's availability to be approached by God and to remain available once she heard God's plan. Next week, Jim Rolf will speak about unmet expectations in our life through the story of Zechariah, a man whose disappointments cause God to meet Zechariah in a very strange way. As always, you can hear past talks online.

Preparing for Christmas ECV will celebrate Christmas in two ways. First, we will hold a joint Christmas Eve service with First and Summerfield's congregation at 5:30pm on 12/24 upstairs in the sanctuary. Expect to hear many carols and to hear the story of God drawing near to us. Childcare will be provided. We will also have a Family Christmas service upstairs on 12/28 with the whole church, including Sprouts(!). We hope this season is a blessed one for all. Feel free to invite friends to either of these holiday gatherings. Open Our Eyes Jesus says to his disciples, "Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear?" At ECV, we want to have our eyes and ears open to what God is doing around us. At times, we are blinded. In this season, we will ask God to "open our eyes" to see the expansive picture of the Kingdom that Jesus is bringing to our city and our world, especially as it relates to God's justice. That often starts with repentance - admitting we are blind and asking God to restore our sight. Here's what we highlighted this week. Transition Check-in If you have been with ECV this Fall, you know that we have undergone some exciting transitions - not just our building one either. We want to carve out some time to check in, as a congregation, to see how these transitions are going. This will take place January 18th, Sunday, downstairs right after church. This will include discussions on vision, staffing and leadership, and other structures in the church. The staff and elders would love to hear what is important to you as we continue to follow Jesus as a community.