Here is how we are handling the “Advent” Season—first of all we aren’t focusing on calling it Advent, but rather counting down to Christmas Day. For a long time—the clergy and churches has decried the early start of celebrating Christmas. We are taking the strategy to join the culture in celebrating Christmas during the month of December, culminating in the Christmas Eve services.

We are having a special service and a dinner and Christmas Music program with Carol Singing on December 2nd and have called it. “Come Home For Christmas.” We are going all out to invite people to come be a part if it. We will be sending out Christmas Cards to prospective guests and also inactives and semi-actives. We are encouraging our active people to not only send the cards but then to make a person contact and invite their guests for that Sunday worship and for a catered dinner afterwards followed by the musical program.

I will also be preaching the following sermon series based on J Elsworth Kalas’s book “Christmas From the Backside.”

Les Peine
Maybe I am way off but we are going to try this, this year. So the schedule will look like this.

Dec 2 “The Scandal of Christmas”
(CHRISTMAS DINNER 12:15 AND PROGRAM FOLLOWING 1:15 PM)

Dec 9 “Three Votes for an Early Christmas”

Dec 16 “Christmas Comes to a Back Fence”

Dec 23 “Celebrating Christmas In a Hotel”

Dec 24 “How the First Christmas Happened”
(5:30 PM CONTEMPORARY CHRISTMAS EVE CELEBRATION)
(7:30 PM CANDLELIGHT CAROL SERVICE)
(9:30 PM CANDLELIGHT COMMUNION SERVICE)

Dec 25 12:00 NOON “What’s Up?”
(CHRISTMAS DAY COMMUNION SERVICE which will be a version of a Blue Christmas for those with little or no family and who won’t be gathering together with others this day)

Dec 30 “Christmas and The Impossible Dream”