St. Andrew’s Anglican
The week after Christmas, the focus for the morning worship services at St. Andrew’s Anglican Church shifts from the temporal story of shepherds, angels and manger, to the eternal beginning of all things, when “the Word was made flesh.” On Sunday, December 27, 10 a.m., Fr. Winston Welty’s sermon, “We Interrupt This Service …” suggests that it’s in the prosaic, “non-spiritual” weekly announcements that God’s Word continues to take flesh in the lives of believers.
The children’s bilingual Sunday School is at 9:45 a.m. and the coffee hour in the garden follows the worship service.
On the last Sunday of each month, donations from the congregation provide lunches for Mezcala schoolchildren. Every Sunday of the year, the feeding program supported by St. Andrew’s welcomes donations of non-perishable items, left in baskets by the church doors.
The men of the parish will join for lunch at noon on Wednesday, December 30 at Lety’s Mariscos Restaurant in San Antonio Tlaycapan.
St. Andrew’s is at Calle San Lucas 19, a block south of the Carretera in Riberas del Pilar.
Lake Chapala Baptist
Brother Bob Hendrick recalls a story to illustrate a point: “A magazine editor received a letter that stated, ‘I am cancelling my subscription. Your magazine is not what it used to be.’ The editor answered, ‘It never was.’ We often mourn, ‘Things are not what they used to be.’”
But Hendrick also notes that “some things never were what we think they used to be.”
He continues: “Remember that enormous house in your town that seemed to have shrunk when you visited it years later? Past memories are a gift of God. But, keep in mind, some memories are good, some are bad, and some are inaccurate. An even greater gift from God is what is ahead. You may accurately remember that Jesus has not been Lord of what has passed. Why not make him Lord of what’s left?”
Attend the service at the Lake Chapala Baptist Church on Sunday, December 27, 11 a.m. The church is at Santa Margarita 179 in Riberas del Pilar.
Lakeside Presbyterian
“There is one Bible story about Jesus which occurs between his birth and adulthood,” says Pastor Ross Arnold. “It is the wonderful account, in Luke 2:41-52, of how the 12-year-old Jesus amazed the scholars in the Temple while his parents were frantically searching for him.”
During the Sunday, December 27, 10 a.m. worship service at Lakeside Presbyterian, Arnold will help parishioners understand how this story illustrates a great deal about both the humanity and the divinity of Jesus, and how we can be inspired by these complementary aspects of a precocious boy.
Following the service, the congregation gathers for refreshments and fellowship. “The Pastor’s Forum” convenes in the church library at 11:30 a.m., when those present may ask questions concerning the sermon, the church, the faith or any other subject of interest.
Lakeside Presbyterian Church is at San Jorge 250 in Riberas del Pilar, two blocks south of Mom’s Deli.
Unitarian Universalists
Karyn Carpenter presents “A Holiday Scrooge Shares Stories of the Season” at the Lake Chapala Unitarian Universalists (LCUUF) on Sunday, December 27. Teresa Sande will lead the service and the LCUUF Choir will perform.
The Unitarian Universalists now have an enhanced personal sound system that is helping those with hearing issues during their Sunday services. Attendees may use headphones or ear buds connected to an FM radio or FM capable cell phone.
The Lake Chapala Unitarian Universalists are an English-speaking, lay-led fellowship that meets every Sunday at 10:30 a.m. on the west side of Ajijic in Plaza de la Ribera, Rio Bravo 10A, in a wheelchair-accessible facility.
San Andres English
Fr. Basil G. Royston, D. Min., leads the English-speaking congregation of San Andres Parish Church in a celebration of the Holy Family during the Sunday, December 27, 9 a.m. mass.
Says Royston, “We celebrate that Holy Family of Nazareth which is the model for all who ‘Fear the Lord and walk in his ways.’”
The English-speaking group meets again on Friday, January 1, 9 a.m. for the annual New Year’s Mass.
Christ Church
Christ Church Episcopal will celebrate the Holy Eucharist, Rite II on Sunday, December 27, 9:30 a.m. in the Little Chapel by the Lake at Carretera 10 in Chula Vista.
Fr. Danny Borkowski will preside and present the message, “In the Beginning,” from John 1:1-18.
The congregations of Christ Church and the Little Chapel share a common coffee fellowship between their respective services from 10:35 to 11:10 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall of the Little Chapel.
The Christ Church sponsored Bible Study will not meet on Tuesday, December 29.
New Hope
The non-denominational New Hope Christian Fellowship congregation will follow up their Christmas service with a service emphasizing the new year on Sunday, December 27, 11 a.m.
Pastor Gene Raymer will deliver a message centering on the new understanding Jesus gave to old laws. “Jesus presented a new perspective on old ideas like ‘an eye for an eye,’ ‘love your friends and hate your enemies’ and ‘what is in your heart makes you as guilty as if you had committed the act (of adultery).’” says Raymer.
The group will follow the service with fellowship at a local restaurant. New Hope Christian Fellowship meets at the home of its association president. For directions or more information about the group, contact the pastor at (376) 766-3435.
Little Chapel by the Lake
The Little Chapel by the Lake is holding an “End of the Year” service on Sunday, December 27,11:15 a.m.
Coffee time at the church starts at 10:30 a.m. each Sunday, in conjunction with Christ Church, followed by the celebration of the Little Chapel’s morning worship service. Those wishing to give thanks for 2015 happenings or those who seek prayers are invited to participate in the service, which will include song, prayer and testimony.
For more information, call (376) 766-2538. The Little Chapel by the Lake is on the Chapala/Ajijic Highway at the east end of Chula Vista.
Buddhist Group
When The Heart of Awareness Community meets on Wednesday, January 30, Noble Silence begins at 4 p.m., followed by a formal meditation, dharma teachings and discussion at 4:30 p.m.
Following the meditation period there will be a group exercise, “Beginning Anew,” adapted from a ceremony by Thich Nhat Hanh to celebrate 2016 and set intentions for the New Year.
The sangha location is at Guadalupe Victoria 101, suites A-B, in Ajijic. For further information on the community and scheduled activities, visit heartofawareness.org, or call Janet Reichert at (376) 766-6069.