Here at Our Savior’s, when the weather gets cool, we get cooler!
There’s lots happening here at church to keep us warm, both inside and out.

For additions, corrections, or more information, please email Pastor Anna at oslcpastor@comcast.net. 

Advent is the first season of the church year: it’s a time to prepare! We prepare to celebrate Christmas, but we also prepare to welcome Christ in our everyday lives. 

ADVENT FESTIVAL
December 1, 9AM
Kick off the Advent season by making your very own Advent wreath — we’ll help you! Join us for this intergenerational event. You’ll also receive short readings and short prayers to go with each Sunday of the season. You don’t need to bring anything; just yourself!
Last year’s wreath making with a few of Our Savior’s awesome members!

ADVENT DINNERS
December 4, 11, and 18, all at 6:30PM
Each Wednesday during Advent, we have dinner, share communion, and study something together, led by Pastor Anna. This year’s theme is “People Look East: A Theology of Work and Vocation.” Food is prepared by Our Savior’s members, and it’s free! 

Our Savior’s members Debbie and Dan discuss the topic of the evening during an Advent dinner.

ADVENT SUNDAY WORSHIP
December 1, 8, 15, and 22, all at 10:15AM
And of course, join us on the Sundays of Advent as we prepare our hearts for Christmas! Each service includes prayer, a sermon, and the Eucharist, and each service is visitor-friendly, with helpful notes in the bulletin to let you know what we’re doing together and why.
Advent in a nutshell.

BEER & CAROLS
December 17, 6PM, Sok’s Bar (30 Bridge Street, South Hadley). 
Join us for good beer & Christmas cheer! Get an early taste of Christmas as we sing carols and raise our glasses together. Note: Sok’s has a diverse drink menu with both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. You don’t have to drink beer, or drink alcohol at all, to enjoy your time with us. Just come, drink whatever you want, and sing some carols!

Our Beer & Carols (typically Beer & Hymns) band!

LONGEST NIGHT SERVICE
December 22, 4:30PM, Trinity Episcopal Church (27 Strieber Drive, Chicopee)
Join Pastor Anna and Pastor Daphne Burt of Trinity Episcopal Church for this special service. The service is designed especially for those who are experiencing emotional hardship during the Advent and Christmas seasons (due to an illness, death of a loved one, or other hardship), but all people are welcome. These services are known by many names, including “Blue Christmas” and “Longest Night,” and it is held on the longest night of the year. The service will include times of prayer as well as anointing for healing. 

CHRISTMAS & EPIPHANY

When Advent is over, the celebration begins! The festival of Christmas begins at sunset on Christmas Eve (December 24) and lasts for twelve days, and we’ll be right here to help you celebrate! 

CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICE
December 24, 5PM
Join us for this special celebration of the birth of Jesus. This is a service of light (candles are provided for adults; glow sticks for children). The Eucharist is celebrated, a short homily is preached, carols are sung, and we read the story of the birth of Jesus. Join us!

Pastor Anna, Jeff, and Dan — our ushers for Christmas Eve one year.

CHRISTMAS
Ever heard of the “twelve days of Christmas”? They’re a real thing!
December 29, 10:15AM – the first Sunday of Christmas, featuring Dan Steininger, preacher.

EPIPHANY SUNDAY
January 5, 10:15AM
Join us for Sunday school for children at 9AM, followed by worship at 10:15AM, as we remember how the magi came to find the Christ child. This is also the Sunday when we  bless chalk to mark and bless our homes for the new year, a ritual that has been practiced by Christians for centuries. As the Holy Family welcomed the magi, we also commit to welcome guests into our homes with joy.

EPIPHANY: A SEASON OF LIGHT
Epiphany Sunday signals the end of Christmas, but the season of Epiphany has only just begun! As light returns to us in the Northern Hemisphere and the days get longer, the church celebrates a season of light, living with the teachings of Christ our light as we enjoy the lengthening days. The season of Epiphany lasts until Ash Wednesday (observed this year on February 26, 2020), when Lent begins.

Dawn from Mount Tom, here in the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts. 

We’ll celebrate this season of light every Sunday in worship at 10:15AM in January and February, ending with Transfiguration Sunday, February 23, when we’ll burn last year’s Palm Sunday palms, which will make the ashes for this year’s Ash Wednesday.

The palm burning.