Send announcements or events, which are open to the public at no or minimal cost, to The Loudoun Connection, 7913 Westpark Drive, McLean, VA 22102 or e-mail <a href="mailto:loudoun@connectionnewspapers.com">loudoun@connectionnewspapers.com</a>. Deadline is Friday, two weeks before the event. Photos/artwork encouraged. For more information, call 703-917-6454.
Our Savior's Way Lutheran Church will be celebrating Advent and Christmas with several worship services. Advent services will be held, Wednesdays, Dec. 10 and 17, at 7:30 p.m. Christmas Eve services include a 5 p.m. family Christmas service, a 7 p.m. carols and candlelight service, a 9 p.m. carols, candlelight and praise service and an 11 p.m. candlelight and communion service. There will also be a service on Christmas Day at 11 a.m. OSWLC is located at the intersection of Waxpool Road and Claiborne Parkway. Visit www.oswlc.org.
The 10:30 a.m. service, Sunday, Dec. 14, at the Unitarian Universalists of Sterling is "Humanism and Theism." Led by the Rev. Anya Sammler-Michael, this service reflects on two diverse belief systems that co-exist in Unitarian Universalist congregations as well as in the faith's history. UUS meets every Sunday, at 10:30 a.m., at the Sterling Oaks Commerce Center at 22135 Davis Drive. Call 703-406-3068 or visit uusterling.org.
Congregation Sha'are Shalom, 19357 Evergreen Mills Road, Leesburg, will hold its annual Hanukkah party Sunday, Dec. 14, 11:30 a.m. Tickets: $7 per person; $25 per family. Call 703-737-6500 or visit www.sha-areshalom.org.
Riverside Presbyterian Church, which gathers at Potomac Falls High School, 46400 Algonkian Parkway, invites elementary-school children and their families to a Christmas carnival Sunday, Dec. 14, 3-5 p.m. Visit www.riversidechurch.com and click on Share Christmas.
Sterling United Methodist Church, 304 E. Church Road, Sterling, is holding four Christmas Eve services: the family Nativity pageant, 5 p.m.; traditional candlelight communion services, 7 p.m., 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. Call 703-430-6455 or visit www.sterlingumc.org.
Stephen Ministry at Ashburn Presbyterian Church, 20962 Ashburn Road in Ashburn, is a one-to-one listening ministry for those who need support for reasons such as divorce, loss of a loved one, recent hospitalization or terminal illness. Although Stephen Ministers are not counselors, they do empathize with those they are called to support and help them to find comfort through God's loving presence. Call Mark Armstrong, associate pastor at 703-729-2012 or visit the church Web site at ww.ashburnpresbyterian.org.