Annual Celebrations

ADVENT FESTIVAL is an annual, intergenerational, early December tradition at Resurrection.  Music, cooking and crafts help us prepare for the coming of Christ.  Advent Festival is typically held during the Sunday School hour between worship services on the second Sunday in Advent.


    


CHRISTMAS EVE:  We celebrate the birth of Christ with two services on December 24:
At 5pm, a brief, fast-moving family service features the leadership of Sunday School children, often presenting a traditional Christmas pageant in the place of the Gospel and sermon.  The streamlined liturgy still includes Holy Communion and the singing of hymns, including Silent Night by candlelight.  At 11pm, we celebrate Holy Communion as part of a full festival Christmas worship with traditional liturgy, hymns, candlelight and carols.
    
HOLY WEEK is the center of the Christian year, summoning us deeply into the sacred story at the center of our relationship with God.  On Palm/Passion Sunday, we follow Jesus into Jerusalem and learn his grisly fate.  We share his Last Supper on Maundy Thursday, meditate upon his crucifixion and its meaning on Good Friday, and celebrate his resurrection as the climax of God's saving history at the Vigil of Easter on Saturday night, a celebration that continues the next morning, Easter Sunday.
    
PRIDE:  Resurrection annually marches in the Chicago Pride Parade in late June as a member of the Chicago Coalition of Welcoming Churches.





   
WRIGLEYVILLE SUMMERFEST - Wrigleyville SummerFest is the annual summer street festival hosted by Resurrection Lutheran Church. The event has grown from humble beginnings to welcome thousands of people partying in the street on Seminary Avenue!  SummerFest includes children’s activities and entertainment during the day, vendors, great music, games, food, beer, and more.

    
BLESSING OF THE ANIMALS:  In early autumn near the anniversary of his death (Oct 4), we commemorate the life and witness of Saint Francis of Assisi, befriender of creation, with a blessing of the animals.  Pets and their owners are invited to Resurrection for a brief worship service, complete with individual blessings for all animals and tasty treats for dogs.