Greetings, Lakewood!

It seems like it is less frequent, but on average Christmas Eve falling on a Sunday happens every seven years. I make that observation because having Christmas Eve on a Sunday causes us to step back and look at our worship planning. Here at Lakewood UMC, as well as many other congregations, the Christmas Eve candlelight service is one of, if not the most, beloved services each year.

Several months ago, the staff began thinking about how we wanted to approach preserving the afternoon/evening candlelight services while offering a non-repetitive Sunday

morning service. I became curious and volunteered to take the lead in developing a plan. My curiosity led me to think, are there Christmas Eve worship traditions in other cultures that

would provide a guide and expand our understanding of the nature of God. After searching around I decide to look in The United Methodist Book of Worship. Being a worldwide denomination, I was only slightly surprised to find a liturgy titled “A Christmas Eve Service of Las Posadas.”

“A Christmas Eve Service of Las Posadas” as presented in the current version of The United Methodist Book of Worship is an updated version of the service originally created by Augustinian Father Diego de Soria around 1587. The service was created to introduce Christianity to the “New World” and now is a tradition in Latin American countries.

Hopefully this brief introduction triggers your curiosity about how we might be re-introduced to God with us in this life through the birth of Jesus.

Join us this Sunday at 9:00 a.m. in the sanctuary for our only morning service. This service will not be live-streamed, so please join us in person this Sunday at 9:00am in the sanctuary for our only morning service.

Grace and peace,

Pastor Ken