The youth are collecting coats. Our goal is to provide some warmth for any in our community who are without a coat this winter. We will also take sweaters, hoodies, and other jackets. So if you have a coat or jacket that you no longer wear, bring it to the Loving Kindness Room. Please make sure that it is laundered before you bring it! We will be collecting coats through Wednesday, the 19th.
Youth Lock-In
We will be having a Youth Lock-In on Friday, December 21st starting at 7 PM in the Mission and Fellowship Center. The youth will be helping to organize and pass out coats collected in the coat drive.
Christmas Eve Candlelight Service
Begin your family’s Christmas celebration with the story of Christ’s birth! Join us on December 24th for our Christmas Eve Candlelight Service. Come early at 5:00 PM to light a candle in memory of a loved one and to hear Christmas music before the service. Then, beginning at 5:30 PM, our family-friendly service will capture the wonder of Christmas with familiar carols, the retelling of the Christmas story and the glow of candlelight. Afterwards, gather your family together in front of our beautifully decorated Christmas tree for that classic holiday photo. Don’t miss this opportunity to create lifelong memories with your entire family!
Diaper Drop for the Parhams
You are invited to help celebrate the fast-approaching arrival of Elise and Caleb Parham’s baby boy with a Diaper/Wipes Drop! Diapers (above size 1) and wipes are an appreciated gift. Their two specific needs are a humidifier and a noise machine. There will be a box in the Loving Kindness room to drop gifts off in, or it may be dropped off in the office during office hours.
Moravian Love Feast
We will be having a Moravian Love Feast on Wednesday, the 19th, in the Mission and Fellowship Center at 6 PM following our usual Weds. Night Dinner. Join us for an affirming and uplifting program of carols, hot cocoa and sweet pastries!
*This will conclude our Sylva First Wednesday programs for 2018. Wednesday Night Activities will resume on January 9, 2018
What church is really about
"We recently had an opportunity to visit an international church that meets just a few subway stops away from our neighborhood. We thought it would be good to sing songs and hear a sermon in English.
While it was nice to meet other Westerners, and our daughter Juniper definitely enjoyed English Sunday school, we really missed our Chinese brothers and sisters that we normally meet with each Sunday.
Even though our Chinese fellowship is in another language (which is certainly a challenge), we really feel that we can worship and grow in our faith with our Chinese church family.
Church is about more than singing and hearing sermons. It is about the beloved community of believers coming together to share the love and transformation of God in our lives and the world. We are thankful to have the opportunity to witness God's love through our Chinese fellowship.
We are so glad that after a year of being here, we have such close bonds with our Chinese church. We are amazed at how it feels like returning home to be back with our Chinese brothers and sisters each Sunday."
- Brittney and Casey Ramirez, field personnel serving in Chengdu, China
Sanctuary Space at Christmas
I’ve found myself in our church sanctuary more often as of late.
I’ll freely admit the odd nature of that opening statement. One would think that the pastor of the church would spend the vast majority of his professional time on the church’s ‘home court.’ Our sanctuary is across the hall from our office and I walk by it numerous times each day. But in full transparency, my time in our sanctuary over these years has been limited to Sunday mornings.
So, what is it about the last few weeks that has changed?
Perhaps it’s a combination of a few things. First, our sanctuary is beautiful and transcendent at any time of the year, but it is particularly lovely during the Christmas season. Second, we’ve had the addition of a service or two this month that has demanded more of my time and attention in the sanctuary during the week. The third consideration, however, has the most bite. It’s this: I’ve been in greater need of sanctuary.
Which, of course, should surprise no one. Every one of us needs times of sanctuary.
I’m not talking about worship (yes, as children of God we are commanded to worship God). I’m referring to our Christ-like need to withdraw from the crowds, the madness, the discouragements, and the flurry of activity that we are immersed in to simply spend time in the presence of our Heavenly Father.
We seek out sanctuary because it is the place where God attends to our souls. Sanctuary is a place or an instance in which we can breathe deeply and become more aware of God’s presence. The experience of sanctuary is both comforting and liberating. When hidden away in the embrace of my Creator, I feel free to pray from the deepest parts of my being. I settle in to myself more quickly when I’m in a place of sanctuary and my pulse slows. My inner critic and most vocal demons fade to black and I can sense the strangest of sensations—peace.
The Advent and Christmas Seasons, for all their proclamations of peace and good cheer, are best understood as times of frenzied activity and panicked merry-making. In some circles, any suggestion of the challenges of the season are met with cold stares and disparaging labeling of someone’s Grinch-like or Scrooge-inspired inclinations.
Ah, but the practice of sanctuary (also known as Sabbath-taking, oh ye people of faith) is a balm to the Advent-wearied soul. By strategically practicing the spiritual discipline of sanctuary during the Christmas season, we are able to better appreciate the classic Christmas song, “Still, Still, Still.”
“Still, still, still,
One can hear the falling snow.
For all is hushed,
The world is sleeping,
Holy Star its vigil keeping.
Still, still, still,
One can hear the falling snow.”
Sanctuary can be experienced in a variety of ways. It can be felt after you’ve put your children down (and your devices, I suspect) while you sit by your Christmas tree. It can be savored on an evening stroll as snowflakes drift silently to the ground. It can be found while listening to great holiday music as you consider the proclamations of Christ’s birth in the evocative lyrics of old. It can be found in journal writing, and in the prayers at dawn that rise while you sip coffee on your front porch and listen to the frost form.
And Sabbath can happen in our church’s sanctuary, where we recall the power of God’s presence in a place of quiet power, remembrance, hope, and joy.
It’s open for you to drop in.
And I promise. The pastor won’t bother you if you do. You might just find him there as well.
"A Rockin' Royal Christmas" Children's Drama
SHINE proudly presents
Rockin’ Royal Christmas!!
Mystery! Music! Drama! When King Herod sends Sherlock Watson to find out why the kings from the East did not return to him, we discover, along with Sherlock, that Jesus is the King of Kings, and if we believe in Him, we answer to a higher calling than to any king on earth.
Wednesday, December 12, 2018
6:00 pm
Mission and Fellowship Center
Adult Choir Christmas Program
Due to the snowstorm this previous weekend, our Adult Choir Christmas Program is rescheduled to occur in this Sunday's 10:30 AM worship service. We hope you can join us!
Parents Night Out
This month's Parents Night Out Care will be on Friday, December 14th from 5:30 - 9:00 PM. Sign up on our website at: http://firstbaptistsylva.com/giving/