We stayed away from Pure Water Hollow for much of this weekend to enjoy the Christmas activities of our church.
We are a part of a small country church, around 50 or so attending worship services. Probably 60 or 70 could squeeze into the sanctuary and still be fairly comfortable, but not many more. I am mentioning those numbers only to give you an idea of how crowded we were Sunday afternoon when we hosted a community Christmas Sing. There were probably over 200 in attendance! One reason there were so many was because the sing was a joint effort between us and three of our sister churches nearby. We put out every folding chair we had and even stuffed folks into the Sunday School rooms and kitchen where they could only hear the singing but not see anyone. There were still about 15 of us that had to stand for the entire time!
Even with the huge crowd, everyone seemed to have a wonderful time and blessings flowed freely! No one came forward during the invitation, but the gospel went forth and I think God's people were encouraged.
I preached during the morning service (when we only had about 50 in attendance) and that was a wonderful time as well. It was a message that leaned toward a Christmas message but was more about the perfecting of the saints and each of us doing the work of the ministry.
Moving backward in the weekend to Saturday and Friday, we hosted a “Christmas Shop” at our church, which was also hugely successful. It was a fund raiser for our women's group but it was a ministry to the community also.
They had the fellowship hall and Sunday School rooms packed full of items to buy as Christmas presents with free gift wrapping. Children could come in and shop for their friends and family and buy really nice things for only a dollar. Adults could buy things at a bargain also, but those rooms were priced at more than a dollar. The ladies collect and buy items to put in the Christmas Shop all year long.
They also sold baked goods, soups, hotdogs, and drinks and sponsored a free health screening with real nurses, and free flu shots. The health screening was only on Saturday, but it was a good part of the Christmas Shop. It was especially nice for people like me who seldom go to the doctor but just hope that everything is working right.
I am very thankful that most everything seems to be ok with my health, which was a little surprising given the fact that I am very much overweight and have some asthma trouble. Blood pressure, pulse rate, blood sugar level, and blood oxygen level were all in the normal range. They checked something else that was normal, too, but I forget what. (The only slight problem was that my total cholesterol was elevated in a borderline range.)
The Christmas Shop was a wonderful ministry and many families took great advantage of it. My children got much of their Christmas shopping done, even though they worked most of the day on Friday. While people were being ministered to, they were also helping the church. The ladies group raised almost $2,000 with the shop this year! Not bad for such a small church as ours! They use the money they raise to support various missionaries and ministries as well as help with our churches needs.
From Friday morning through Sunday evening we had a joyfully packed weekend of Christmas festivities at our church. But, like I preached Sunday, we all need to be careful to not only have the Christmas spirit, but most importantly, be sure to have the Holy Spirit! Being in the Christmas spirit is nice this time of year, but being in the Holy Spirit is essential this time of year and always!
2 comments
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HSB Front Porch on December 4, 2006 at 5:02 pm
You are our featured blogger this week! I've been really enjoying reading about your family's homestead and especially your pig raising updates. We may try to raise a few pigs someday so it's always helpful to hear what others are learning along the way. )
Just email me your family's home address and we'll get your package from Homestead Originals sent ASAP!
Blessings,
~Nancy Carter
SeniorEditor@HomesteadBlogger.com
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Chris on December 4, 2006 at 9:37 pm
You get blogger of the week! Congrats. Are you the pastor of this church? Sounds like a great weekend of activity. Thanks for sharing. -Chris
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