[Our Holy Hands Puppeteer ministry provided a Christmas skit, "All are Welcome" at both of our Sunday worship services that reminded us to reclaim the true meaning of Christmas which is to help others. Here are the people who were behind the puppets.]
O God, it is beginning to
look a lot like Christmas. Gifts have been donated to needy families. Hot
chocolate and donuts have been handed out to college students. Meals were
prepared for students during finals week. Our Growing Tree pre-school children
had their Christmas concert. And money is pouring in through our special
Christmas missions offering to help build a house for a family in need. O God,
it truly is beginning to look a lot like Christmas!
Thank you for the many ways
that our church is seeking to reclaim the true meaning of Christmas this year
by shining Christmas light, sharing Christmas love, singing Christmas joy, and
offering Christmas hope.
Loving God, we especially
pray for those who will be attending our Blue Christmas services this Tuesday.
May that service be a blessing to those who may be feeling blue during this
holiday season. May it be a way for them to express their deepest longings to
you as we join Mary, the mother of Jesus in pondering and treasuring the true
meaning of this holy time of year. Thank you for our Stephen Ministers who will
be assisting in those services.
As we near the wonder of
Jesus’ birth, we can also feel the wonder of new possibilities for our church.
We can’t wait to see what a difference our building improvements will make for
people who have accessibility needs, for more people who will be able to enjoy
fellowship time with an expanded narthex, and the beautiful new look of our
sanctuary.
And even beyond these bricks
and mortar improvements to our church, O God, we are so excited to see how you
will help us to continue to grow our congregation through our small group
ministry, our Core Courses, our Athens First Saturday outreach ministries, and
a renewed focus on hospitality so that everyone who comes to our church will
feel even more welcomed and part of our church family.
May this Christmas be a time
when your love is born anew through each of our lives and through the life of
our congregation. We pray this in the name of Christ who is our hope and who
taught us to pray together saying…
Our Father, who art in
heaven…
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