God calls us to be disciples of Jesus, building community through
service and fellowship and sharing the love of Christ with all.
“The United Methodist Church of Westford is an open and welcoming community of Christian
Faith. Without any exceptions, we welcome anyone who seeks to love and to serve God.” Learn More
On this Third Sunday of Advent—our Sunday of Joy—we turn our attention to a young woman who discovers joy right in the middle of uncertainty and doubt. Mary is not singing because her life suddenly became simple. She sings because God meets her exactly where she is—bewildered, unsure, vulnerable—and gives her a story big enough to hold all her questions. Her Magnificat rises out of mixed emotions. She is a teenager from Nazareth with every reason to feel overwhelmed, yet the first word out of her mouth is magnifies. “My soul magnifies the Lord… my spirit rejoices.” She moves from fear to faith, from trembling to trust, not because her circumstances changed, but because God’s presence changed her in the midst of her circumstances.
This Sunday, we’ll reflect on how joy and faith often grow strongest in seasons of doubt. Mary reminds us that faith is not pretending; it is participating—trusting that God is already doing something deep and surprising long before we understand it. And Mary’s joy doesn’t come from her own strength. It comes from God—and from community. Elizabeth blesses her. Zechariah confirms her. Even the child in Elizabeth’s womb leaps for joy. When Mary cannot hold joy on her own, the community holds it with her. Sometimes we need others to rejoice for us until we can join the song ourselves.
So this Sunday, we will let Mary lead us—to sing when we don’t feel ready, to trust when we are afraid, and to rejoice not because everything is perfect, but because the Mighty One looks with favor on ordinary, unsure people like us. And we will discover again that joy is not the absence of doubt, but what God grows right in the places where doubt has been living.
Luke 1:46-55
December 14, 2025
Pastor Jinyong Choi
Special Music by the Adult Choir
Join us in-person at 9:30 or online later in the day
Sunday, December 14
7:00 pm, Outdoor Live Nativity
Come celebrate Christ’s birth with a recreation of that special Bethlehem nigh
Sunday, December 21
9:30 am, Sunday School Christmas Play During the In-Person Worship Service
Special Music from our Youth Choir
Wednesday, December 24 Christmas Eve
5:30 pm, Family Service with Candlelight
Wednesday, December 24 Christmas Eve
10:00 pm, Traditional Candlelight Service with Holy Communion
Poinsettia Sales
We will be taking orders for poinsettias starting November 30 through December 14. You may pick up your plant after the service, or you may leave it for the Christmas Eve services.
Price per poinsettia plant is $11.00.
Please click to order online, or print an order form.
Order forms will also be available at the back of the church.
Join 4-Week Advent Study
This Advent, we invite you to journey with us through "Voices of Advent" by Matthew L. Skinner.
Let’s prepare our hearts for the wonder and joy of Christmas, together. Come, join us in this reflective journey.
Weekday and Weekend Sessions
See the eNews for more details