Please join us on Sunday, November 26, 2023 as we gather for a worship service at 11 AM in-person at the Chapel (2700 W 14th street) on the campus of San Sofia Apartments.

Reign of Christ Sunday brings our season after Pentecost and the church year to a close. Christ is victorious at the cross, defeating death, and calls us into a deeper way of life. With gratitude, we remember all that God has given us, and through Christ we have inherited the dominion of heaven. We prepare to turn to Advent, beginning the liturgical cycle again, as we watch and wait for signs of Christ’s return in our world and in our lives in a new way. Reign of Christ Sunday is a reminder that we are always at the moment of living into Christ’s reign now, as we wait for it to manifest.

Start the holiday season with us this Sunday, November 26 with our annual church decorating for Advent and Christmas (Hanging of the Greens)! Join us as we bring out our beautiful Advent and Christmas decorations following worship on Sun-day. Meet new and old friends while enjoying a turkey chili and cornbread lunch, hot coffee & tea, and warm hearts to fill the day. All are welcome to join us for food and fellowship!

To join us at the Chapel, buzz Zion Church (Bob Bucklew) from the Directory at the front of the 2700 Building on the campus of San Sofia apartments or enter from the accessible ramp from the rear parking lot. When you arrive, call Bob at 216-375-5323 to open the parking lot gate.

The Sunday Bulletin is attached in PDF format. You may use it as a devotional during the week.

Adam D. Petrosino, Music Director

Adam can be reached by e-mail at: [email protected] and by phone at 234-205-9397.

Zion’s Administrative Assistant, Beverly Wurm

Beverly will be keeping some limited Office Hours at church/home. The days and hours are:
Fall Schedule
Tuesday – 9am – 1pm
Wednesday – 10am – 2pm
Thursday – 9am – 1pm
Beverly can be reached at: [email protected] or by phone at: 216-273-7561 (church) or 216-310-6810 (mobile).

Our new website address is: zionchurchtremont.org
Check out our website and Facebook for updates

Next Sunday (December 3rd) is celebrated as the beginning of a new Church Year and the season of Advent. Advent is a season of spiritual preparation for the celebration of the birth of Christ (Christmas) and looks forward to the future reign of Christ. Rather than personal penitence, the central theme of the season is eschatological expectation (that is expectation of the end of the present age, human history, or the world itself – and in Christian belief the return of Christ). Advent is a preparation for, rather than a celebration of Christmas. The first Sunday of Advent is not the beginning of the Christmas season. The Christmas celebration begins on Christmas Eve and continues for the next “twelve days of Christmas.”

Purple is traditionally Advent’s liturgical color, associated both with the sovereignty of Christ and with penitence. Deep Blue is also sometimes used (we do at Zion Chapel) to distinguish the season from Lent. As the color of the night sky, Blue symbolizes hope in Christ, who in one ancient Advent song is called the “Dayspring” or source of day. As the color associated with Mary, Blue also reminds us that during Advent the church waits with Mary for the birth of Jesus.

We will light the first candle in our Advent wreath – and as the first Sunday in the month, we’ll join in a celebration of Holy Communion. At Zion Chapel, Christ’s table is Open to All, as Jesus Christ is our Host – and Christ welcomes everyone!

The Focus Scripture reading is Matthew 25:31-46

Gospel Reading: Matthew 25:31-46

The Gospel lesson culminates the season after Pentecost and the series of Jesus’ last parables and discourse with these versions in Matthew 25, in a vision of when the Promised One comes in glory. The Promised One will judge between all the peoples of all the nations, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. Those who are faithful are the ones who have lived out all Christ has taught of loving one’s neighbor as themselves: feeding those who are hungry, giving water to those who are thirsty, welcoming the stranger, giving clothing to those in need, caring for those who are sick, visiting those in prison. Those who refused to do these things are the ones who will be sent into eternal punishment. The judgment is harsh, but as a final parable, it summarizes everything Jesus had taught the disciples and all his followers: if you want to love God, you must love one another, especially those most vulnerable of our community, as you love yourself.

The Reflection/Sermon is: “Living Justly” by the Rev. Scott Rosenstein inspired by the gospel reading in Matthew 25.

Please join us to give thanks to God this Sunday, in-person in the Chapel at 2700 W. 14th Street on the campus of San Sofia Apartments.

Pastor Scott Rosenstein
216-273-7561 – church
216-577-1514 – mobile

Bulletin Cover Image:
Christ in Glory
Apse Mosaic at the Church of the Transfiguration, Orleans, MA, U.S.
By a commissioned mosaic artist from Ravenna, Italy – in the tradition of the mosaics of the early Byzantine churches in Ravenna and elsewhere
Photo by Karemin1094
Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Apse_mosaic_Christ_in_Glory.jpg