Hi Church Family -
What a delight it is to spend our first Advent and Christmas Season with LaSalle! This is my favorite time of year and such a sacred time to remember Emmanuel - God with us - in the midst of real life, alongside the twinkling lights and the bills to pay, the family time and the loneliness times - in all of it God is with us. Right in the middle of things, in a smelly stable, and in busy December schedules today Jesus came with skin on to BE WITH us, to live out the story of redemption and healing and Good News!
And as we walk through Advent focusing on Hope, Peace, Joy, and soon Love together, I am reminded of all the ways that we need one another to access these Advent truths. We need each other to keep the faith, to press into the work of hope, and to be active peacemakers when the world is at war! We need each other to choose joy even when we also hold grief, and to feel the extravagent love of God that infuses the incarnation. We need one another - and we get to be community for one another too.
Our family has been looking back lately and noticing that time has been flying by - we moved to the northside just five months ago, the kids are finishing their first semester in Chicago schools, and we are still waiting on our first big midwest snowstorm! And already in this time, we've been welcomed in and made part of this story at LaSalle Street Church in so many ways. I want to thank you for your generosity, your voices, your meals delivered and lovely gifts and notes sent; I want to thank you for getting to know how amazing Peter is, and welcoming Sam and Graham into this Body; I want to thank our amazing staff for their many skills, and friendship, humor and readiness to build a team together.
Thank you - for being Jesus with skin on this season, for me and my family! Thank you for helping me see hope, peace, joy, and love as we figure out faith and life together. Thank you for being the Body of Christ on LaSalle and Wells and in your neighborhoods and beyond! Thank you LaSalle Street Church!
Blessed Christmas to you all - with much love
- Rev Liz and the VerHage Family