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Advent Services Near Lancaster, PA
The season of Advent is one of the Church’s most ancient and treasured seasons, a time set apart for watchfulness, repentance, hope, and joyful expectation. At Mount Calvary Lutheran Church in Lancaster, Pa, we invite our neighbors throughout Lancaster County and beyond to recover the richness of Advent and to join us in preparing our hearts for the coming of Christ. If you’re searching for an Advent Service near me, then you’ve come to the right place.
Unlike the hurried spirit that so often defines December, Advent teaches the Church to slow down, to pray, and to look carefully to God’s promises. For centuries, Christians have observed these weeks before Christmas as a sacred time of waiting, not merely for the celebration of Christ’s birth, but for His coming again in glory. Mount Calvary joyfully carries this historic practice forward through reverent Advent services held every Sunday and Wednesday, rooted in Scripture, shaped by the Church’s liturgy, and centered on Christ alone.
Advent Services near Lancaster on Sundays and Wednesdays
Throughout Advent, Mount Calvary gathers for worship each Sunday in the Divine Service and again on Wednesday evenings for our midweek Advent services. The Sunday services follow the historic lectionary of the Church, allowing the faithful to hear once again the ancient prophetic promises of the Messiah and the Gospel accounts that proclaim their fulfillment in Jesus Christ.
On Wednesday evenings during Advent, the congregation gathers for worship using the Order of Evening Prayer, a service cherished by the Church for generations. The psalms, Scripture readings, hymns, and prayers of this service draw worshipers into the quiet confidence of God’s promises and provide a peaceful refuge amid the busyness of the season.
Before each Wednesday Advent service, Mount Calvary hosts Advent Soup Suppers, giving members, guests, and neighbors an opportunity to share a simple meal and fellowship together before worship. These suppers reflect the Church’s understanding that Christian life is lived in community, gathered around both Word and table, prayer and fellowship.
The Historic Celebration of Advent Services in the Church
Advent has been observed in the Christian Church since at least the fourth century. From the beginning, it served as a season of preparation, marked by Scripture, fasting, prayer, and catechesis. Unlike Lent, Advent’s tone is hopeful rather than penitential, yet it carries a sober attentiveness to the reality of sin, judgment, and Christ’s return.
Historically, Advent hymns, Scripture readings, and liturgical colors have helped Christians hold together two great truths: Christ has come, and Christ will come again. The Church does not rush past Advent to reach Christmas; instead, she waits with Mary, watches with John the Baptist, and prays with longing hearts, “Come, Lord Jesus.”
In keeping with this ancient practice, Mount Calvary Lutheran Church embraces Advent as a time of deep spiritual formation. Rather than skipping or minimizing the season, we invite all to enter into it fully, just as the Church has done for centuries.
Biblical & Historic Church in Lancaster, Pa
Mount Calvary Lutheran Church is a confessional congregation of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, committed to the Holy Scriptures as the inspired and authoritative Word of God and to the Lutheran Confessions as a faithful exposition of that Word. As a historic, biblical, and traditional church in Lancaster County, Mount Calvary stands firmly in the stream of the Church catholic, holding fast to the faith once delivered to the saints.
Our worship is reverent and Christ-centered, shaped by the liturgy that has served the Church well for generations. Here, the focus is not entertainment or novelty, but the delivery of God’s gifts, His Word proclaimed, His Sacraments administered, and His people strengthened in faith.
Advent at Mount Calvary is not a performance or program; it is an invitation to live within the Church’s ancient rhythm, to hear God’s promises as they have been heard for centuries, and to receive Christ where He has promised to be present for His people.
All Are Welcome to Join in the Advent Hope
Whether you have long belonged to the Lutheran Church or are only beginning to explore Christianity, you are warmly invited to join us for Advent at Mount Calvary. Those new to the faith, returning to the Church after time away, or searching for something deeper and more enduring will find a welcoming congregation and a faithful proclamation of Christ.
Advent reminds us that the Church is always waiting—waiting for forgiveness, waiting for renewal, waiting for the return of the King. In a world filled with noise and distraction, this season offers stillness, hope, and promise grounded not in ourselves, but in Jesus Christ, who came once in humility and will come again in glory.
As the ancient Church did, so we do today: we lift our heads, light the Advent candles, pray the psalms, hear the prophets, sing “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” and wait in confidence that the Lord who promises is faithful.
We invite you to join Mount Calvary Lutheran Church this season for Advent Services near Lancaster, PA on Sunday, for Wednesday Evening Prayer, for Advent Soup Suppers, and for the joy of waiting together for Christ our Savior.
Come, Lord Jesus. Amen.