Holiday Happenings 2025

Mark a few things off your Christmas list at our Alternative Gift Market on Sunday, Nov. 23, between services, 9:30-10:45 am, and immediately following our 11:00 am services, 12:00-1:00 pm, in the Chapel. While shopping for unique and thoughtful items, you also are learning about and supporting our local and international missions partners! A few of our partners include: Oasis to shelter women from domestic violence, Casting Bread to increase food security, Blizzard Bundles of the High Country to keep local children warm, Christians of the Holy Land to support Christians in Israel who are experiencing hardship due to conflict in their country, and Dreaming for Change to promote human dignity and social development in Burundi. Our Market is the perfect opportunity to shop for meaningful gifts while also helping others!

Invite your family and friends to our Thanksgiving Meal, open to all, on Sunday, Nov. 23, 5:30 pm, in our Family Life Center. This annual dinner is a special time of breaking bread together and giving God thanks for the blessings in our lives. Traditional Thanksgiving dishes, including turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, and rolls, are being provided. Bring a side dish or two and dessert to share. A few ideas of dishes to bring include: fruit salad, salad, macaroni & cheese, sweet potato casserole, deviled eggs, pies, cakes, and cookies. Please label your dishes and serving utensils with your name…just like you learned in school! We need help to make this feast a success! CLICK HERE to volunteer with our great team for set-up, cooking, and clean-up.

Join us on Sunday, Nov. 30, at 11:00 am, in the Sanctuary for a special time of worship as we kick off the Advent Season with our Hanging of the Greens service. Our hearts are centered during this service by special readings and musical presentations as wreaths are hung, garlands are strung, the tree is decorated, and the Nativity is presented. Come back on Dec. 24 when the Nativity is completed with the arrival of Jesus.

The Advent season is a wonderful time of anticipation, joy, and celebration, and we are kicking it off with our Annual Advent Festival! Join us on Sunday, Nov. 30, 2:00-4:00 pm, in the Family Life Center for an afternoon of kid-friendly Advent crafts, hot chocolate, and cookies. Spend time with family and friends, grow in community, and prepare your hearts for this special season together!

Dedicate poinsettias for $16 each in honor or in memory of a loved one. Click here to complete our online form and pay for poinsettias no later than Monday, Dec. 8. Payment can be made by cash (place money in marked envelope) or by check with “Poinsettia” in the memo line to the Church Office or in the offering plate. Your dedication will appear in the Dec. 18 electronic newsletter and in the Sanctuary worship bulletin on Dec. 21. You may pick up your poinsettia(s) on Sunday, Dec. 21, following the worship service.

Our Music Ministry presents this year’s Christmas Cantata on Sunday, Dec. 7, during our Combined Worship Service in the Sanctuary at 11:00 am. This is a glorious, musical way to share the story of Christmas and to prepare your heart for Jesus’ birth!

Perhaps no other instrument is more associated with Christmas than bells! Come out to hear the Nexsen Ringers and Wesley Ringers Handbell Choirs perform holiday favorites, both sacred and secular.  This group of musicians with varying ages, musical backgrounds, and religious traditions come together to share their love of music and handbells. In addition to the beautiful sounds of the bells, you will enjoy the visual display of the choreography as the Ringers work together to perform their musical selections. You don’t want to miss this exciting Holiday Bells concert, which has become our traditional Christmas gift to the community!

Join us on Sunday, Dec. 21, at 6:30 pm for a heartfelt gathering during one of the longest nights of the holiday season. This special service is a time to honor and remember those we have lost, as well as to support one another through our shared experiences of grief. Together, we will reflect on the hope we find in Jesus, illuminating our hearts even in the darkest moments.

*Candlelight, carols, and communion will be part of each of the following services on Wednesday evening, Dec. 24:

• Family Service at 4:00 pm, in the Sanctuary, presented by children and youth

Gather the whole family for a special service as our Children’s Choir helps ring in the joy of Christmas with sweet songs and a Godly Play telling of the Nativity. This wonder-filled story of Jesus’ birth is one that children and adults will love. Come ready to celebrate, sing, and soak up the beauty of Christmas together!

• Crossroads Christmas Eve service at 6:00 pm, in the Family Life Center

Join us for a contemporary service of music, praise, and time in the Word as we celebrate the miracle of Jesus’s birth. This most sacred and holy night is why we gather together each week, and so we will worship on Christmas Eve, giving thanks that God loved us so much that He became flesh among us.

• Christmas Eve Service at 8:00 pm, at Blackburns’ Chapel in Todd, NC

Gather for a service around the table with cookies, hot chocolate, and friends new and old. The service will include beloved carols and conversation as we reflect on what Jesus’ coming to earth on that blessed day means for us today.

• Carols, Communion, and Candlelight Service at 8:00 pm, in the Sanctuary

Join us for this moving service in anticipation of Jesus’ birth as we marvel over the mystery of God’s entrance into the world as a vulnerable baby, born to a poor teenager in the tiny town of Bethlehem. The service features traditional Christmas carols, special music, and a brief message.