Al McKay (PHS chaplain) described the "Blue Christmas" services that he leads at Single-Room Occupancy (SRO) hotels in which people can turn over to the Creator the tensions and burdens they carry in this season as a result of losses and feelings of isolation. Our lives can be (and even smell) messy, like the first Christmas must have been – not the happiest time of year! He read two poems by the late Bud Osborn, a Downtown Eastside poet, opening our eyes to seeing God in the faces of streetwalkers and binners. Institutions tend to value the lives of the successful, while in the upside-down Kingdom, every life is important. Are we open to seeing Jesus in unfamiliar yet authentic places? [KH] NOTE: you can read the transcript of Krista Tippett's interview with Pádraig Ó Tuama (whom Al quoted from) in her On Being podcast interview from March 2, 2017.

Passage: Isaiah 61:1-11; Psalm 126; John 1:6-8,19-28; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24; Luke 7:36-50
Communion: No
Ecumenical or Event: 3rd Advent
Potluck Lunch: No
Congregational Meeting: No

Speaker: Al McKay
Worship Leader: Paul Thiessen
Song Leader: Ann Marie Mossman
Pianist: Ruth Enns
Usher: Henry Neufeld
Zoom Coordinator:
Children's Feature Leader:

Bring Flowers:
Coffee Helper:
Sound Helper:

Child Care Volunteer: