Good Friday:
Friday, Mar. 29 // 5:30p // the Battery
join us as we spend time together singing, praying, and reading scripture as we remember and journey through the story of Jesus’ crucifixion. there will be childcare available crawling - 3yo.
Resurrection Sunday:
Sunrise Service // 6:25a // the Battery (parking lot)
for our sunrise service, we will gather outside in the battery parking lot to sing, read scripture, pray, and hear a reflection as we anticipate the coming Light of Easter Morning.
Pot-Luck Breakfast // 7:30a
following our sunrise service, we invite you to join us for an Easter celebration and to feast together. it we will share breakfast, pot-luck style, together.
Gathered Worship // 9:00a // the Battery (inside)
We will finish the morning with our Sunday gathered worship, inside the Battery as we do each week.
Note: 9:00a for worship, not our usual 10:00a.
childcare will be available for crawling - 3yo following the child dedication portion of the service until the end.
GOOD FRIDAY
Our Good Friday service will be at 5:30p at the Battery on Friday the 7th.
It will be a reflective service and moment of prayer and worship as we prepare our hearts for the gift and joy of resurrection. We will follow a stations of the cross format as we read from the different texts and pray and sing together.
Childcare will be provided for crawlers - 5yo/PreK children (a small snack and drink will be provided in the back for them).
EASTER SUNDAY
Weather permitting, our service will be outdoors at the Battery. We love this special celebration - and again this year, we will bring flowers to put on our wooden cross to recognize the beautiful gift that comes from the Cross.
We will also be dedicating the many new babies that have become a part of our community - reach out to Johnathon, Kyle, or Julia if you have questions or want your child to participate. Mosaic Kids will still have their classes but with an adjusted format.
We will start at our normal 10a Sunday morning service time.
Volunteers are needed, both before and after the service to bring everything down and flip the outdoor space for worship. If you could arrive at 7a and help clear out the patio area at the bottom of the steps and help get everything down from our normal space, please respond to this email or contact Johnathon or Kyle.
If you want to come early and head back home before service, we should only need everyone there for ~45-55 minutes as long as we have a good number of volunteers.
After the service, we invite you to either bring your own lunch or hit up a spot nearby and grab lunch, to stick around and enjoy a time of feasting and fellowship as a community to linger in the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
After that, we will need help again getting everything back upstairs.
EASTER SEASON
For the 7 weeks following Easter (that's Resurrection Sunday to Pentecost), we invite you into a Season of Feasting and Celebration. These are the practices that we don't spend as much time thinking about.
For 5 of those Sundays, we will center our time together on Sunday mornings around the Life we have in Christ, and how we are looking for it. As we sit in the Easter season we will explore what it means to inhabit this space and time we find ourselves in.
The last two weeks will be centered around the Ascension of Jesus and Pentecost respectively.
We also want to encourage you during the day-to-day, to embrace feasting. Host a dinner, focus on Sabbath rhythms, and incorporate the intentional practice of delight into your week for a season - all as a reminder of the gift of life through the resurrection of Jesus.
It is that time of year again when we enter into our 21 Days of Prayer.
For so many of us at Mosaic it is a familiar, and assumed, part of our calendar. And we love that. This year we want to think of it a little differently, we want to see 21 Days connected to the liturgical calendar and see the joy and depth in a life of prayer.
So as we center our time around the spiritual practice of hospitality these next few Sundays, we hope that you will see how these things can connect and build off of each other as our goal is to put into practice these different ways of finding union with God and being aware that Heaven is all around us.
We will have some additional ways to connect corporately and pray together during this season. Yet, we also want to encourage you to open up your schedule and your home as possible and find moments in your own life where an attitude and posture of prayer can seep into the life of a follower of Jesus.
For the corporate times, see the options below.
Mondays: 6:35a online, contact Johnathon or Kyle for the link, or reach out to a small group leader.
Wednesdays: 11:55a-12:35p, Prayer Lunch at the Battery. Please make sure to RSVP by Tuesday at 10:00a and lunch will be provided for you.
Thursdays: 5:15a some men of Mosaic gather at Johnathon’s house in West Homewood, join them during this time as they have a particular focus on praying with, and for one another.
Sundays: Pre-Service Prayer with childcare, 9:20a-9:40a, at the Battery, before service begins.
And, there will be a special time of prayer at the Battery on the morning of MLK day (Jan. 16). Coffee and pastries will be provided, and we encourage you to bring your family at 9:00a for a short guided time of family prayer and a few familiar stations to join your kids in different ways that are helpful for them to pray.
Everyone is welcome, and we will have our normal online time, as well as the ability to be in person that morning, starting at 6:35a.
Lastly, the women of Mosaic are planning an evening gathering Monday, January 23. Contact Anna for more details.
We will not gather on Sunday, December 25th. Enjoy the time with family, worship and gather with friends, allow yourself to be caught up in the presence of God with those you find yourself near on Christmas day, or join a worship service with a friend or family meber's church.
We will gather on New Year's Day at our normal time at the Battery for a special worship gathering to ring in the new year and to continue to celebrate the Christmas season. This will be a family worship service, meaning our kdis will be in the service with us. It will be a normal but stripped down and shortened service.
Join us on December 23, Friday Evening, 5:30p at the Battery for our Mosaic Christmas Service. (Christmas Adam as it has become known in our community).
We will gather to worship and celebrate the gift and reality that Jesus came to us in this world. We will pray and sing together, reflect on the promises and fulfillment of the ancient text and end our gathering with a candle light song as we carry with us the light of Christ, a great light flickering in the darkness for a desperate and weary world.
We are hosting our annual Thanksgiving Dinner.
Join us, Thursday, November 17th at the Battery @ 6:00 pm.
This is a staple in our calendar, and a great event to participate in. It is an excellent event for everyone, new, regular, around forever, haven’t been around in a few months, or thinking about coming to Mosaic … join us as we gather to celebrate and feast as a community, to give thanks for all that the Lord has done for us and provided and kick off the Holiday season.
If you would like to contribute, you can follow the link to sign up. https://link.mosaicbirmingham.com/mosaicthanksgiving2022
If you are interested in decorating or helping with setup, contact Johnathon Miller or Laura Walker.
And if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out and ask.
As summer starts to come to its inevitable end, and we look towards the start of a new school year, we will once again be collecting school supplies for students at I3 Academy.
They return a little early this year (July 28) so we will start collecting this week (Sunday, July 10). The following list covers one student and they are asking that all items be brought in a paper sack, or two-gallon ziplock bag, labeled school supplies. Bring your supplies on a Sunday morning or to your small group and we will deliver the items to the school.
SCHOOL SUPPLY LIST
1 boxes of facial tissues
1 package of large glue sticks
1 bottle of white Elmer's glue
1 package of notecards
1 pad of Post-it notes
2 boxes of pre-sharpened #2 pencils (12 count each)
1 box of dry erase Expo markers (fine tip; black)
1 fabric pencil pouch
1 pair of scissors (5")
2 packs of loose leaf paper, wide ruled or college ruled
5 folders with pockets and brads
2 composition notebooks (any color)
1 box of washable markers
(10 count; classic colors; broad line)
1 box of colored pencils (12 ct.)
1 box of Ziploc bags (quart size)
It has been a minute since since we gave the updates page, well an update.
As the weather the last few days (and foreseeable future) has made clear, Summer is upon us. And at Mosaic, that means a few extra ways to connect. Summer season is an important time for growth and formation. We encourage you to take advantage of these opportunities.
For the summer on Sundays we will be centering our time of corporate worship together around the story of the Exodus. We kicked things off this past week and you can catchup if you missed it on our youtube channel, or on the sermons page on this website.
Blueprint:
One of the primary ways to get connected to Mosaic is our Blueprint class. We offer this class a few times a year as an on ramp to learn more about who we are as a community and our story and history here in Birmingham. It is also a great way to get to know other folks in the Church and for us to get to know you and your story as well. We will gather at the Killough's home in West Homewood both nights.
Each run of Blueprint consists of two nights.
We will meet this summer on:
Sunday June 26th at 5:00p &
Sunday July 3rd, also at 5:00p.
You can click here to signup.
Field Day:
A classic day of fun and recreation is being planned, and it is being organized by the Katie Read.
Date: Saturday June 25th
Time: 9AM-12PM
Bring: own snacks & drinks (bottled water & orange slices will be provided)
Location: TBD
Mosaic at the Barons:
Join us as we head to Regions Field to enjoy a baseball game together as a community. We will sit along the third baseline in the grassy General Admission area. Stick around to the end of the game and enjoy a great view of Birmingham's Thunder on the Mountain firework display.
Date: Monday July 4th at 6:30p
*Tickets are $7, you can register by clicking here, you need to register, and pay Mosaic for, anyone attending over the age of 2. Mosaic will purchase the tickets ahead of time through the box office to get the group rate. The tickets will be distributed before the game. Please register by Sunday, June 26th. ... If the $7 is prohibitive to your ability to attend, email us, Mosaic will be glad to help.
Men's and Women's Ministry:
Along with our corporate events and gatherings, we find an easy way to connect and to spend time with each other is through our Men's and Women's Ministries. The women have a few fun things planned already and have had one week of a summer bible study. If you want more information you can email women@mosaicbimringham.com. In addition to their bible study, they have some prayer times and fun events planned as well. The men are a little slower to get organized but if you are interested knowing what is going on, email men@mosaicbirmingham.com and we will get you in the loop as things take shape.
In a church where families are growing and the kids are starting to almost outnumber the adults, these ministries provide an easy way for our people to get to easily participate and enjoy good conversation. We value and prioritize the whole church being together but sometimes the practical answer is a viable one!
Small Groups:
As a way to kick the summer off, all of our small groups spent the first few weeks going through A Deeply Formed Life together. Most of the groups are nearing the end of their time around the book and will move back to their regular format and scheduled programming. If you would like to know more about small groups you can reach out to us or check the groups page under connect.
Sunday Morning Volunteers:
If you have attended on a recent Sunday morning, you recognize that we have a lot of people in and out, that means our volunteer pool gets a little thin during this season. If you are not currently helping out on Sunday mornings but you are interested, you can email and let us know! Or, even if you already serve in an area but for the summer have the time to help out little extra, or in another area, just for the summer that would be great. Our three teams, beyond the ever obvious Mosaic Kid's Team, are Hospitality, Worship, and Media. And, it is worth noting that during the summer just being around and present early before a service, and lingering after, is a vital and important role in the life of the church. Sundays, especially in the summer, are a really great way to be connected to people and the rhythms of Mosaic at a deeper level.
To be Continued ...
Just like it is with Stranger Things Season 4, we are planning for more adventures to come in July... and August. We will do our best via the app, email, website, social media, etc. to keep you informed.
The CDC has recently updated their guidance regarding masks.
It is no longer necessary to wear a mask inside for Jefferson County. The leadership at Mosaic Birmingham alongside of our Medical Advisory Team feel that it is no longer necessary for us to require mask at this time for Mosaic gatherings.
We have been navigating and living with COVID and the effects of a global pandemic for nearly two years now, and our priority since the very beginning has been the health and well-being of our community and our neighbors. We have done our best to pay attention to both metrics and mission while adapting the way we do things as the pandemic has morphed and changed.
It is worth stating that there are many good reasons that an attendee would choose to still wear a mask. Masks will be optional, but not discouraged. We encourage every person to do what you think is best for you and your immediate circle of friends, family, and co-workers. CDC suggest that if you are at high risk for severe illness, talk to your healthcare provider about whether you need to wear a mask and take other precautions.
In a moment like this, and in a time like now, as a community it is more important than ever to show charity and hospitality to one another and to extend understanding and honor to every member of our community. We acknowledge that this change meets each member in our community differently. To some this might seem long overdue and others might believe it’s still too soon. Wherever you fall on that spectrum, we would ask you to continue to respect and support one another as we make this transition.
We have found ourselves again as a believing community at the precipice of the season of death and life. Easily forgotten among the coming beach trips of Spring Break and the turn of the seasons is a long standing practice of sustained preparation for the feasting of Easter.
ASH WEDNESDAY
As a way to enter into this season together, we will begin with a corporate service to observe Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent. We will gather at the Battery at 5:30p and together confess our finiteness in life and remind one another that it is from dust we came and dust we shall return. As we leave, we will enter into the Lenten lands of spiritual formation.
LENT
Lent is a season of hope. By finding ourselves in a time where we are made aware of our brokenness and need for a savior, we journey to the foot of the Cross first before we stumble upon the Empty Tomb. Over the next 6 weeks, we will enter into this season. Lent is 40 days minus the Sundays because Sundays are for Celebrating. 40 days to respond to a call of discipleship and self-sacrifice as an act of spiritual worship that we might be formed into the new creation that Christ intended us to be. Lent is not a time where we earn our forgiveness, or a time to flex our spiritual muscles by abstaining from everything. But, instead, it is a season to remind us that we are creatures not Creator, and daily we need to come to the cross.
FASTING TOGETHER
Along with all the other ways that one might observe this season, we specifically want to invite each member of our community into a corporate observance of Lent by fasting together.
Fasting is one of those spiritual practices that seems foreign to us in the Western, developed world. Practically, most Western Christians don’t understand fasting and choose not to participate in this discipline for a number of reasons. Our relative affluence has trained us to see food in a very particular way and the idea that we could, or should, go without food seems unnecessarily ascetic or legalistic. Fasting seems like the practice of mystics alone and we prefer not to wade into those deep waters, or perhaps venture into that desert wilderness with Christ.
Our misunderstanding either keeps us from fasting altogether or taints all of our attempts at it. Many people see fasting as a spiritual feat—an opportunity to accomplish something they have never been able to do. Some see it as an opportunity to rid their lives of unhealthy habits they’ve been needing to deal with. Still, others see fasting as a means of acquiring what they need—whether that be direction, provision, or favor. Ultimately it becomes self-centered or manipulative. That kind of fasting yields very little, and after these frustrating and futile attempts, we simply stop bothering altogether.
The invitation during the season of Lent is toward the opposite— self-denial. In this season we embrace humility and obedience. Fasting cannot be embraced as a means of elevating or bettering ourselves. Isaiah 58 draws attention to the fasting the Lord has chosen for his people. True fasting is always centered on the Lord and the other—the oppressed, hungry, and forgotten. Our lives must begin to take on the same sacrificial shape as that of Christ’s ministry. We choose to take up our cross and walk with him toward the death of ourselves. But our fasting is filled with the hope and expectation of resurrection life! We have the hope of being sustained in the wilderness by God himself.
So we invite you, fast with us in the days ahead. During the season of Lent, as a community we will be fasting from Thursdays after dinner until 3 pm on Fridays. This is an observance of the time from the Last Supper until Jesus was taken down from the Cross.
There are other ways to fast too: all day, sunrise to sunset, one meal a day. And, if Fridays just can't work for you, that's okay. As we have said, this is a practice that is intended to shape and form us deeper into the life of Christ, it is not a hard and fast rule. Find a day that is possible for you and commit to it in this season.
THE PRACTICE OF ABSTAINING
In addition to fasting, many people elect to also abstain from something for the duration of the Lenten season as well. We highly encourage this practice. Give up something reasonable, something that you will notice, something that you don't have to, or need to, give up. Give up something that is good - this reminds yourself of something greater that is available to you through the presence of the Holy Spirit.
If you do abstain, pick up a practice as well. Many during this time will give extra to the poor among us in our city, or to organizations across the globe. Give yourself to prayer or study in a different way than you would in the normal pace of your life.
In all of this, there is no rule. We aren't earning anything or proving our holiness. Our hope is that we would draw closer to Jesus and be more and more shaped by him - allowing our lives to reflect who he is.
Happy New Year once again.
As life gets back in rhythm and we find ourselves heading back to our jobs, we wanted to let you all know about our upcoming 21 Days of Prayer at Mosaic.
21 Days of Prayer
This Sunday we will start our 21 Days of Prayer.
We love to enter this time as a way for us to corporately engage in prayer with one another, as well as a great time to begin the year seeking the Lord first.
The last several years we have highlighted different spiritual practices, for our 21 days we encourage all of you to engage with God in Solitude and Silence. We will practice together in our gatherings, and center our time on Sundays around how God speaks to us in the quiet and stillness.
Below is attached a schedule of different opportunities in-person and online to participate in the 21 Days.
Join us for the first Sunday of the new year as we continue to celebrate the Christmas season as a church!
This Sunday is a Family Worship Sunday, meaning our kids will be in the service with us. The nursery room will be open and available for parents to sit with their kids if they need a space for them to roam around. They are also free to sit in the back on the rugs. We like the sounds of life and children in the service!
Also, due to the rapid increase of Covid cases in Jefferson County, and the high exposure from the Holidays, our Medical Advisory Team has suggested that we ask all who attend ages 4 and older wear a mask per the CDC recommendations for Jefferson County.
Our Christmas service will be Thursday December 23rd at 5:00p.
We will gather for a time of worship through music and time to center and prepare our heart for the Christmas season through the word preached. We will conclude with a candlelight moment.
There will be no Children’s ministry or childcare, this is a family service and we look forward to having our kids with us.
There is NO CORPORATE Gathering Sunday December 26th.
We will gather again together for the second Sunday of Christmas on Sunday January 2nd at our normal 10a time at the Battery.
Read below for updates regarding COVID precautions, Thanksgiving, Mosaic Kid's Ministry, small groups, and Blueprint.
Masking and other COVID precautions
As we continue to monitor COVID case numbers, test-positivity rates, and vaccinations in Jefferson County, as well as the trends of the businesses and schools in our community, we will be moving to a mask-optional approach for Sunday morning gatherings and other corporate gatherings.
In conversations with our medical advisory board, they have suggested that Mosaic Kid's Ministry volunteers continue to mask as our kiddos are still unable to receive vaccines. They have also encouraged us to stress that if numbers rise again, the appropriate thing to do is to return to mask wearing.
We will continue to take other safety precautions which include offering our pre-packaged communion cups and socially-distanced seating. We fully support individuals taking the precautions they need to feel safe and comfortable, whether that be continued masking or watching from home. We do still ask that anyone experiencing symptoms remain at home.
Our small groups will also continuing gathering as each group feels comfortable. As always, if you have any concerns please fell free to reach out to your small group leader, leadership at church, or reply to this email.
Mosaic Thanksgiving
We are so excited to announce the return of our Mosaic Thanksgiving celebration! We will gather at the Battery on November 18th for a pot-luck style dinner. Mosaic will provide the turkey, utensils, and plates - you all supply the sides. Please visit this link to sign up for a side item.
Getting Connected at Mosaic
Mosaic Kid's Ministry
We are still in need of volunteers to serve in our Kid's Ministry through December. This is a wonderful opportunity to pour into our kiddos, get to know them better, and love on our Mosaic parents as well. You can sign up here, and if you have any questions/hesitations/concerns you can reach out to Anna or reply to this email.
Small Groups
We have groups that meet throughout the week that provide a great opportunity to connect and spend time with people in the Mosaic community. The Men's group "Sons" hosted by Drew Duvall is back up and running and the Miller's new Thursday night group is going now as well. You can browse our other groups here.
Blueprint
This is a class we offer to people who want to find out more about Mosaic as a church and community and want to get more plugged in. The Killoughs will be hosting our next Blueprint on Sunday November 14th at 5:00 pm at their home. Sessions usually run about 75 minutes and we will provide childcare and snacks.
Respond to this email or send a message to theupdate@mosaicbirmingham.com if you have any questions!
Good evening parents, hope you are all doing well!
As we continue returning back to normal, one of the things we are the most excited about is getting our kids ministry back up and running. As we build our volunteer base back up, we will continue to offer more and more opportunities to disciple and lead our kids in following the way of Jesus. We also have the chance to rethink and reevaluate how we approach children’s ministry - what’s best for our families and community at large as well as hospitable to those who might find their way inside Mosaic on a Sunday morning.
Thanks to the tireless efforts of volunteers and parents in our community, we’ve been able to put together some lessons and direction for the summer. This will allow for our children to once again begin to participate in learning about the deeper truths of who God is, being found in His love and mercy, and worshiping Jesus with their peers in a way that is accessible and life giving for them.
We have also made some minor changes to how things will be structured. This new age breakdown gives the best balance in our classrooms which will allow us to facilitate the love and care that each child deserves and give them their best opportunities to grow in the Joy of the Lord.
Our nursery class will be zero (sitting up) to three years old and will be offered the whole service.
Our middle class will be four years old to second grade and will be offered from the intermission (which will start again tomorrow Sunday June 20th) to the end of the service. This will allow for children to worship with the Church.
Our oldest class will be third through sixth grade. They will meet just during the sermon but will worship and take communion with their parents in the main gathering. This will begin July 4th.
What we hope to do is create an environment where our children feel seen and cared for at their level but also exposed to worship and community in a way that can reveal the glorious mystery of the gospel. Holding that in tension with loving on parents and giving space for their own personal growth. And we also recognize the time volunteers spend pouring out and we want them to feel loved and able to worship on a given Sunday. At Mosaic, we are a family of faith and we value they rhythm and routine of Gathering - we want as many people involved in the worshipping of King Jesus together. Embodied worship matters for all - no matter how big or small.
The CDC has recently updated their guidance regarding masks. It is no longer necessary for those vaccinated to wear a mask inside or outdoors, nor do they need to socially distance. It is still recommended that non-vaccinated people still mask in social settings. With that and the fact that the city of Birmingham and the state of Alabama no longer have mask mandates, the leadership at Mosaic Birmingham alongside of our Medical Advisory Team feel that it is no longer necessary for us to require mask during worship. Mask will be optional, and we will still create ways to accommodate for those who desire a level of social distancing.
It is worth stating that there are many good reasons that an attendee would choose to still wear a mask. Masks will be optional, but not discouraged. We encourage every person to do what you think is best for you and your immediate circle of friends, family, and co-workers.
In something like this, and in a time like now, as a community it is more important than ever to show charity and hospitality to one another and to extend understanding and honor to every member of our community. All we ask in all of this is that we be kind, attentive, and respectful of others as we all figuring out our comfort and preferences with masks and distancing as we attempt to return to some version of pre-pandemic normalcy. We continue to encourage those that would be experiencing symptoms of COVID to stay home and join us online.
As we enter into the Summer, and our college students head out of town, our Sunday Morning numbers in regards to attendance will go down a little. As the vaccination rate increases within Mosaic, around our city, and county, we feel it is no longer necessary for us to require reservations.
Our average Sunday attendance has been below our cap, which was below the 50% occupancy recommendation.
That said, we will continue to socially distance the seating in the space, and we will still require that those attending worship wear a mask. We will continue to require mask until the city of Birmingham removes their mask mandate.
We hope that this encourages folks to be around and present on Sunday mornings as we continue to take small, safe, and measured steps back to a normal rhythm of worship and gathering as God’s people as we seek to see the Kingdom come here in Birmingham as it is in Heaven.