SHEPHERD OF THE HILLS
  • About
    • Beliefs
    • Staff
  • Church Ministries
    • Children's >
      • Sunday School
    • Church Library
    • Global
    • Middle School Ministry >
      • Sermon Notes
    • Special Needs Ministry
    • Worship
  • Community Ministries
    • Comfort Dog
    • Hillside
    • Ruby's
    • Small Groups
    • Sports
    • Teens
    • Women's
    • Young Adults
  • Events
    • Church Calendar
    • Submission Form
    • All Ministry Events
    • Children
    • Sports
    • Young Adults
    • VBS
    • Women
    • Youth
    • Baptism Request
    • Wedding Request
  • Give

a covid Christmas

11/30/2020

1 Comment

 
I was really planning to write something this month that didn’t have anything to do with COVID. In fact, my intention was to focus entirely on God’s gift to the world: His Son, Jesus Christ.

But COVID keeps getting in the way of even the best laid plans. Still, nothing gets in the way of the amazing, unconditional, unbounded saving grace of God in Christ. Not the masks. Not the social distancing. Not even the overflowing hospitals and the growing business at the funeral homes.

Not even death itself can separate us from the love of God in Jesus, and no pandemic can steal the hope and the joy we experience when Jesus comes into our world, into our homes, and into our hearts.
So we will have our Christmas. Carefully and as safely as possible. But we are having Christmas, because we’ve all tested positive for Christ. He’s in our blood. He’s part of us.
 
Barring any extreme shut-down orders, we will return to in-person worship on Christmas Eve, 
according to plan:

9:30 a.m. - Traditional
3:00 p.m. - REACH/Blended
5:30 p.m. - REACH/Blended
8:00 p.m. – Traditional
  
There’s one condition to in-person worship on Christmas Eve: you need to register in advance.  That’s what Joseph did in Luke 2: “Everyone went to his own town to register.” The reason is that we are capping attendance at 200 for each service, and we’d rather not turn people away at the door.

You can register in any one of three ways:

  1. Through our website – shepherdhills.org
  2. Via email – [email protected]
  3. Call the Office – 920-757-5722
 
You’ll need to tell us which service you plan to attend and how many in your family are attending. Registration opens November 29 and closes December 14. In the event that we get a massive response, we will plan to add an additional service or two to accommodate the crowd. Registration only applies to Christmas Eve at this point.

This is not the way we wanted our first Christmas in our new Worship Center to go. This is not the way we wanted our 2020 to go. But the devil tried to use Herod to stop the first Christmas, and he failed. Now he’s using COVID for the same purpose. He will fail again.

Christmas belongs to Christ, and to Christians. Amen?

Pastor Steve Kline
1 Comment

    Author

    Pastor Steve Kline was installed as Senior Pastor at SHLC on May 25, 2014, after serving 12 years as Senior Pastor at Zion in Wayside, WI. He was ordained in 1992 and previously served congregations in Pulaski and Hales Corners.

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    October 2024
    September 2024
    June 2024
    April 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    July 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    January 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    June 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020

HOME

​VISIT

WHO WE ARE
History
​Mission, Values, Beliefs
Our Team
MINISTRIES
Comfort Dog
Library
Outreach
Ruby's Pantry
Women Connect
Young Adults
​
More

​CHILDREN & YOUTH
Birth-3
Kids
Special Needs Ministry

Middle & High School Youth
Hillside Preschool, UA
NEXT STEPS
Baptism
​Events
Groups
Membership
Serve
Stay Up-to-Date
Watch Online

​GIVE
RESOURCES
Calendar
Church Center
Prayer Requests

Room Reservation
Wedding Request

SHEPHERD OF THE HILLS
N1615 Meadowview Drive
​Greenville, WI 54942
PH 920.757.5722
​EM [email protected] 

​CONNECT WITH US
OFFICE HOURS
Monday-Friday
8 am - 4 pm*

*Friday hours: 8 am - 4 pm
​Labor Day through Memorial Day


WORSHIP SCHEDULE
Traditional
Saturdays @ 5 pm & Sundays @ 8 am

Contemporary/REACH
Sundays @ 9:30 am & 10:45 am*
*Offered Labor Day through Memorial Day

​
Watch Online
  • About
    • Beliefs
    • Staff
  • Church Ministries
    • Children's >
      • Sunday School
    • Church Library
    • Global
    • Middle School Ministry >
      • Sermon Notes
    • Special Needs Ministry
    • Worship
  • Community Ministries
    • Comfort Dog
    • Hillside
    • Ruby's
    • Small Groups
    • Sports
    • Teens
    • Women's
    • Young Adults
  • Events
    • Church Calendar
    • Submission Form
    • All Ministry Events
    • Children
    • Sports
    • Young Adults
    • VBS
    • Women
    • Youth
    • Baptism Request
    • Wedding Request
  • Give