As Advent approaches, consider the new ways you might extend an invitation to your community of faith this season
The messenger said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people.” The Advent and Christmas story is filled with invitations to see that the world is being made anew in light of the coming and present Christ.
Mary is invited by the messenger of God to receive the promise of a miraculous child that will upend her earthly life, and she does so in humility and strength. Joseph is invited by the messenger of God to believe that the unlikely story of his betrothed is true, and he does so with great devotion. The shepherds respond to the invitation of a chorus and join in God’s song. The wise ones respond to an invitation in the stars and join creation in welcoming the Christ.
But there is also the “blameless” (Luke 1:5) Zechariah who responds to good news proclaimed to him by an angel with uncertainty, unable to fully receive the invitation without first receiving more proof. And you have Herod, told by those wise ones from afar and the priests in his own court that the Spirit of God might be fulfilling ancient messianic prophesy in his own time. He decides that this invitation into the good way of God ought to be met with deceit and violence, in order to preserve his own earthly power. Not every invitation in the story is received fully or warmly.
How will we respond to God’s invitation in this story, an invitation to hear the good news of Christ’s arrival, an invitation to become messengers of God’s good news ourselves, an invitation to proclaim that the world continues to be made anew in light of the still-coming and still-present Christ?
Canadians are much more likely to attend church on Christmas Eve than they are at other times during the year. In a study of Canadians done in 2013, 18 percent of Canadians attended church at least monthly, but an additional 14 percent attended on Christmas Eve. In 2014, 19 percent of Canadians said they attended church at least monthly with an additional 18 percent attending on Christmas Eve. Among those who identified as mainline Protestants, just 20 percent attended church at least monthly, an additional 28 percent attended on Christmas Eve, and 52 percent did not attend at all.
Many of our siblings in Christ and many other curious Canadians are coming to church on Christmas Eve. Still others who say they find belonging among us will need something to change in their lives if we want them to show up. That change might be as simple as a personal invitation. A 2022 study in the United States found that 56 percent of Americans who don’t attend a Christmas Eve service would likely attend church at Christmas if someone they know invited them.
You probably don’t need more programs at this time of year. Almost every church I know has a packed calendar! But you may want to prepare intentionally for new people to arrive among you, and you may want to equip the people of your church to share their stories of God’s good news, and invite their friends and neighbours to some of the events you have on that calendar. We know that not every invitation will be received fully or warmly, and so we sometimes shrink back from making them at all. Let us instead encourage one another to overcome our fears, and choose to faithfully invite others to join us in the transformational way of Christ.
The United Church’s Growth Department has created a resource to help congregations as they do this. The “Advent as a Season of Invitation” resource can be found on the Advent Unwrapped page, under Related Material. If you would like to work with a Growth Animator to implement some of the suggestions in this guide, or if you have a story or practice of invitation you’d like to share, you can get in touch with us at growth@united-church.ca and start a conversation.
Would you like to work with a Growth Animator on developing your congregational invitation for this Advent, or at any time of the year? Contact us at growth@united-church.ca.
—Rev. Scott Reynolds serves Christ and the church as the Growth Animator for the Chinook Winds and Pacific Mountain Regional Councils.
The views contained within these blogs are personal and do not necessarily reflect those of The United Church of Canada.