Happy Holy Days! Advent 2022

There are approximately 15 religious holidays during December according to the Interfaith Calendar. It seems there is something to celebrate every day. The phrase Happy Holidays has been tarnished in the past few years as if it’s an attempt to remove Christ from Christmas. However, the word Holiday is an Old English word meaning Holy Day. So, to say “Happy Holidays” is not some anti-religious code, but really a way of claiming that this is a season of holy connection with God. As Christians, we are celebrating that God entered this world as the Christ child, thus making every day a holy day.

Happy Holy Days will be our Advent theme this year. Some of you may remember this was our theme a few years back, and since this year Christmas and New Years fall on Sundays, meaning we’ll be together for worship on those days, we thought we’d reprise the theme. We also realize that COVID-19 kept us all from being able to celebrate the holidays “normally” in the past two years. So, this year we feel the need to celebrate in big ways with lots of fun. Each Sunday we’ll have a different experience to make the day special. There are other experiences throughout the season that will help you highlight the holiness of each day and the incarnate presence of God. Here are a few things to look forward to:

Sunday, November 27, 9:00 and 11:00 am, A Big Sing We Now of Christmas–a musical service in the style of the Big Sing we shared back in August.

Mondays, 6:30 pm, starting November 28, Holidays to Holy Days Advent Study led by Phil Reemes. (Zoom).

Sunday, December 4, 9:00 and 11:00 am, Holy Communion.
10:00 am Advent Fair (Church-wide).

Sunday, December 11, 11:00 am, Christmas Back on Center Street–Our annual choir presentation returns in person with some of the most beautiful music in the area.

Sunday, December 18, 9:00 and 11:00 am, A Moravian Love Feast– many of our most coveted Christmas traditions come from Moravian Christians, and this day we’ll share a Love Feast in both services.

Wednesday, December 21, 6:00 pm, Service of the Longest Night.

Saturday, December 24, Noon, Family Friendly worship in the Cokesbury Center.
6:00 pm, Candlelight and Communion Service.
11:00 pm, Candlelight and Communion Service

Sunday, December 25, 10:00 am, Church-wide Brunch and potluck in the Fellowship Hall.
11:00 am, Worship in the sanctuary.

Sunday, January 1, 11:00 am, Worship in the Sanctuary with Holy Communion.

There are many other opportunities for fun and celebration this season. Check for more details in this newsletter. May everything we do make the joyful presence of God obvious, and we experience every day as a Holy Day.

Gratefully,
David