St. Andrew’s Anglican
This coming weekend, St. Andrew’s will celebrate the annunciation of the Angel Gabriel to the Blessed Virgin Mary on Sunday morning, and then that evening, Christmas Eve, and the next day, Christmas Day, we will celebrate God coming to us in the flesh in Jesus Christ.
In both the annunciation and the nativity of Christ we learn something very important: that, as someone once pointed out, words are always approximate. To truly experience something, words need to be enfleshed.
“From the conception of Christ, to his birth among us, to his death for us, God could have told us again and again of his love, but his coming among us as one of us — his love becoming enfleshed for us — said far more than words alone ever could. May we, this Christmas season, not only rejoice in God becoming enfleshed, but may we also, in our lives, enflesh the love of God in Christ to others,” says Mother Liza Spangler.
Christmas Eve, Sunday, December 24, St. Andrew’s celebrates the fourth Sunday of Advent at 10 a.m. The congregation’s annual Carol Sing begins at 6:15 p.m., followed by Holy Eucharist at 7 p.m. After the service, St. Andrew’s traditional bonfire will be lit. Attendees are asked to bring a savory or sweet treat to share.
On Christmas Day, Monday, December 25, St. Andrew’s service of Holy Eucharist begins at 10 a.m. Coffee hour, a time of fellowship and welcome, follows the service.
St. Andrew’s is located at Calle San Lucas 19, a block south of the Carretera in Riberas del Pilar.
Lake Chapala Baptist
Says Brother Bob Hendrick: “A seasoned shepherd was keeping watch over his appointed flock when an angel appeared to him. This angel had news to share with the shepherd. Now, this shepherd, being a seasoned shepherd, was a bit skeptical of newsagents. He had heard of all the news that was not real news and had pretty well lost confidence in all media. But, he listened half-heartedly; especially since this reporter was surrounded by what was purported to be the glory of the Lord. The angel said, ‘I have good news.’ The shepherd said, ‘Sure.’ The angel: ‘Christ the Lord is born in Bethlehem.’ The shepherd: ‘I read that in the prophet Micah a long time ago.’ The angel: ‘He is born today. I can tell you where to find him so you can worship him.’ The shepherd: ‘I prefer to worship every week here at home with my favorite TV prophet.’ When the angel went away, the seasoned shepherd stayed with his sheep and became even more ‘seasoned.’ And that’s the way it could have been, December 25, 4 A.D.”
Sunday, December 24, 11 a.m., Brother Hendrick will give the sermon at the worship service of the Lake Chapala Baptist Church, located at Santa Margarita 147, Riberas del Pilar.
Lakeside Presbyterian
Sunday, December 24, the eve of Christmas, only the regularly scheduled 10 a.m. service will be held. This is so family and friends can share time together that evening to reflect on the miracle of the birth of Jesus so many years ago. Pastor Ross Arnold’s sermon “Amazing!” will look at how various people (and angels) expressed amazement at the birth of Jesus, and how — if we’re looking at it correctly — it should amaze us as well. The sermon Scripture will be the Christmas story from Luke 2.
Immediately following the service, gifts will be distributed to the children of the Spanish congregation. No service is scheduled for Christmas Day.
Lakeside Presbyterian Church is located at San Jorge 250 in Riberas del Pilar. Turn toward the lake at Mom’s Restaurant and it is two blocks down on the right. English-language services begin each Sunday, 10 a.m. and Spanish-language services are 9 a.m. and noon. Everyone is welcome.
Christ Church Episcopal
Christ Church Episcopal, a mission of the Diocese of the West in the Anglican Church of Mexico, will observe the fourth Sunday of Advent, December 24, with Lessons and Carols at 9 a.m. in the Little Chapel by the Lake.
Lessons and Carols is an Episcopal/Anglican service consisting of Bible readings and carol singing. There is no sermon and no communion service. Refreshments will be served in the Fellowship Hall after the service. No Sunday Lunch Bunch has been scheduled so that people can prepare for the evening potluck.
Following the Christmas Eve tradition, Christ Church and Little Chapel will hold a joint Candlelight Christmas Eve Communion Service, which will begin with a musical prelude at 5 p.m. The actual service will begin at 5:30 p.m. with carol singing. Pastor Ken Armstrong of Little Chapel will deliver the message. The service ends in candlelight while singing “Silent Night.” Following the service there is a finger-food potluck in the Fellowship Hall.
The Bible Study will not meet on Tuesday, December 26, nor in January. It will resume on February 6.
Abundant Life Church
Says Pastor Gary Neighbor: “Oh, how Jesus loves us! Thinking about all that he did for us by coming and choosing to be born in a manger causes us to realize just how great his love is for us. This kind of love edifies and allows us to be people who we could never have been before. Some people in religious circles think that their great knowledge is what saves them, but in reality it is just the opposite. 1 Cor 8:1 says, ‘But knowledge puffs up while love builds up.’ Come Sunday, December 24, to experience the kind of building up of love that only Jesus can give.”
Note that service times will change on Christmas Eve, Sunday December 24. Rather than the normal time for Sunday services, they will start in English at 7 p.m. for a special candlelight communion service. Service time in Spanish will be at 5 p.m.
Abundant Life Church is affiliated with the Assemblies of God of Mexico and has services for everyone. An English-language worship service is held each Sunday, 10 a.m. and Bible Study Wednesday, 3 p.m. Spanish-language services are Sunday at noon. Spanish-language Bible studies are Wednesday, 6:45 p.m. A children’s ministry is held Saturday, noon, and youth meet Sunday, 6:30 p.m.
The Church is located at Carretera Chapala-Jocotepec 140, San Antonio Tlayacapan, a block from Super Lake. For more information, call 331-417-7038 (cel).
Little Chapel by the Lake
Little Chapel offers two Christmas Eve service opportunities.
“In these often chaotic times, we need to remember that we are just strangers passing through a strange land,” says Pastor Ken Armstrong. “It helps to focus on what happened in that manger long ago. A sense of the miraculous. A sense of the immense and of the intimate. Let God take you there.”
That’s the topic of Pastor Armstrong’s conversation, “O Holy Night!” at Little Chapel’s regular morning service Sunday, December 24, 11 a.m. It is drawn from the Gospel accounts of the nativity. Everyone is invited to stay for a friendly comida (church meal) after the service.
In addition to their morning service, Little Chapel will celebrate Christmas Eve in a joint service with Christ Church Episcopal. The service is a fun and sacred combination of Episcopalian traditions and Little Chapel’s nondenominational service. The service starts at 5:30 p.m. Join us for a musical prelude at 5 p.m.
San Andres English
“Today’s Mass is a great song to the everlasting love of God revealed in God’s covenant (love – pact) with God’s people. We praise the mystery of God’s love kept secret for endless ages, but now revealed through a new Arc of the Covenant, Mary of Nazareth.”
So says Fr. Basil G. Royston, D. Min., who will offer the homily “Mary, the Arc of God’s Covenant,” at San Andres Catholic Church’s English-language service on Sunday, December 24, 9 a.m.
On Christmas Day, “We celebrate the birth of Christ who was to bring the joy of God’s saving love to the whole world. And we make our own the jubilant cry of the angels: ‘Glory to God in the highest.’ We celebrate the marvelous events of the first morning of a new world, when the kindness and love of God our Savior made us God’s holy people, the Lord’s Redeemed, God’s ‘sought-after,’ and God’s ‘city-not-forsaken.’”
Fr. Royston will offer the homily “A Savior is Born for Us,” at San Andres Catholic Church’s English-language service on Christmas Day, Monday, December 25, 9 a.m.
San Andres is located at the corner of Ramon Corona and Parroquia, one block from the Ajijic main plaza.
Unitarian Universalists
On December 24, the Unitarian Universalists will have a special Christmas Eve Music Service, continuing its holiday tradition of choir, carols, and candles. The message will be from the Rev. Matt Alspaugh.
The Unitarians meet 10:30 a.m. at Hidalgo 261 in Riberas del Pilar, opposite the bell tower, on the north side of the Carretera. Questions? Call Fred at 766-1458.
Jewish Congregation
Shabbat Torah services are held the first and third Saturday of the month, 10 a.m., and Shabbat evening services and potluck every second and fourth Friday, 6 p.m. at the Lake Chapala Jewish Congregation.
The synagogue is located at Sta. Margarita 113, Riberas del Pilar (mountainside of the Carretera, diagonally across from Mom’s Restaurant). Call (376) 766-2668 or go to lakechapalajewishcongregation.com.
Home Church Int’l
History is full of unusual phenomena that are a little hard to explain. This virgin birth of Jesus truly stands at the top, especially this season. In the world of fantasy, reindeer on a roof? Then our thoughts turn to miracles, of which the aforementioned virgin birth is one. God’s miracle working power is prolific in the Bible.
And what about the star of Bethlehem? The wise men seemed to follow a star which moved ahead of them, coming to rest over where Jesus was born. What they did right was to follow the star, the light which showed them the way. Being warned, they returned home by another way. In their obedience, they were guided by God’s Spirit. In John’s gospel, the first few words told about Jesus in whom was life and was the light of men. Jesus later spoke of true condemnation, that Light has come, but people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. Pastors Paul and Susana Allen remind us that the Light of the world should be our life’s focus.
For further information, contact the pastors at (332) 242-8648, or at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Feliz Navidad!