“Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.” Colossians 3:14 (NRSV)
This Sunday we marked the Second Sunday of Advent — the Sunday of Peace — and gathered at the Lord’s Table for Holy Communion. As always, we held you in our hearts, especially those who could not be with us in person.
We know this season can sweep us into a flurry of family gatherings, work commitments, preparations, travel, and care for others. Even when we’re scattered, we remain one in the Spirit, connected by God’s grace and the love we share as a community.
If this recording blesses you, or offers a quiet pause in the middle of a busy week, please consider sharing it with someone who may need a word of peace, a moment of worship, or simply a reminder that they are not alone.
May the peace of Christ find you wherever you are this week.
Stay warm, stay encouraged, and stay loved.
-Trinity United Church, Winnipeg
Worship Link for Sunday, December 7: https://youtu.be/R61b8HFE2V4
Worship: Sunday, December 14, 2025, 10:45 a.m.; Choir-Led Service, 3rd of Advent
🍪 🍪 COOKIES OF JOY – The Fellowship committee invites you to bring 1 dozen of your favourite Christmas cookies to share at coffee time on Sunday, December 14th
Scripture to Ponder & Prayer
Third week of Advent
Scriptures this week: Isaiah 35:1‒10; Psalm 146:5‒10 or Luke 1:46b‒55
James 5:7‒10; Matthew 11:2‒11
To Ponder: Isaiah 35:1–10 & Luke 1:46–55
Time slips by so quickly, doesn’t it? Somehow, we’ve already stepped into the third week of Advent — the week shaped by joy. Not the thin, glittery joy of holiday ads or tidy perfection, but the deep-rooted, God-shaped joy that grows even in harsh places.
Isaiah paints this incredible picture:
“The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom.”
Joy shows up where you’d least expect it — in the desert, in a weary heart, in a community longing for healing. It’s the kind of joy that doesn’t deny sorrow but blooms right beside it.
Mary takes up Isaiah’s image and sings it into her own life in Luke’s Gospel:
“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour.”
Her joy is an act of courage. She sings while the future is still uncertain. She sings before anything is easy or neat.
Her joy is rooted in trust — in the God who lifts the lowly, fills the hungry, and keeps promises from generation to generation.
So as part of your spiritual practice this week, pause and ask:
Where is the desert beginning to bloom in me?
Where is God whispering joy — slow, steady, stubborn joy — into my life?
Let’s pray,
God of Joy,
You make deserts bloom and weary hearts rise again.
Open my eyes to the quiet places where joy is growing.
Give me Mary’s courage to trust Your promises
and to let Your joy take root in me.
Send me into the world
as a bearer of Your joy and compassion. Amen.
Trinity United Church 