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Advent and Christmas

Planning Guide

I have fond memories of growing up in a home where the

singing of Christmas Carols around the piano was as common

as watching It’s a Wonderful Life or A Christmas Story. We

would have friends over on several occasions and we would

gather to sing a mixture of the sacred and the secular. It was

common to go from Away in a Manger to away from the

manger in a “one horse open sleigh” back to the manger to

sing What Child is This. Christmas Carols are such an integral

part of our experience of Christmas each year. For many of us,

it is the carols that usher in the season.

On December 2nd as we begin the Advent-Christmas-Epiphany

cycle, we will be offering a sermon series called “There is a Song

in the Air.” Not only will we be singing the carols but the

sermons will draw from the scriptures and from the carols we

love to sing. We will begin by singing “O Come, O Come

Emmanuel” as we read the advent scriptures that encourage

us to live in such a way that we welcome the coming of Jesus.

As we get closer to Christmas the advent carols will give way to

the songs of Bethlehem and we will finish the series with songs

about the visit of the Magi.

- Pastor Will

5:00 pm Children’s Nativity Service

Designed for parents with younger children, this service

presents the Christmas story as a narration. The children's

choirs will sing and ring handbells. Children wishing to

participate in the service, please contact Diane at

dbeatley@centreville-umc.org by December 9.

6:30 pm Candlelight Service

A contemporary service featuring the songs of the season in

a casual atmosphere. Communion will be served.

Refreshments available. This service meets in the Recreation

and Outreach Center.

8:30 pm Candlelight Service

A traditional worship service featuring

music provided by the youth vocal and

handbell choirs.

11:00 pm Candlelight Service

A traditional worship service featuring

music by adult vocal and handbell choirs.

Holy Communion is served.

Advent Study with Pastor Will

Thursdays, November 29 - December 20,

7:30 PM in Room 218

We will be studying “Travel the Highways of Advent”, by Stan

Purdum.

Highways get us from here to there. In Travel the Highways of

Advent, Stan Purdum invites us on a journey from the here of

our everyday lives to the there of Christmas hope and life.

The book is available for purchase at the Welcome Center.

Based on availability, childcare (infant –

2nd grade) will be provided for this

class, lecture or event with advance

registration. Please indicate the number

and age of children when registering.

To sign up for this study, visit

www.centreville-umc.org.

Christmas Decorating and Potluck

Sunday, November 25, 4:30-6:00 PM

Narthex, Fellowship Hall, Sanctuary

Don't you just love to see the church decorated for the

Christmas Season? Want to join in on the fun and make

that happen? If so, we hope that you will attend the

annual Hanging of the Greens! We will be getting the

church decked out for the Advent Festivities- singing along

to Christmas Carols while we work- and enjoying a Potluck

dinner when the work is complete. We'll work from 4:30-6:00

- then start dinner at 6:00.

The church will be providing

ham for our main entree. For the

potluck portion please bring the

following: Last Names A-M Side

Dish; Last Names N-Z Dessert.

You can sign up at

www.centreville-umc.org.

Don’t have time to cook

something? Join us anyway!

Ladies’ Christmas Tea

Saturday, December 1

2:00 PM in the Fellowship Hall

“For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love

and self-control.” (2 Timothy 1:7 ESV)

God has made us brave, not fearful beings. Join author and

blogger Kelly Johnson in considering a new way of thinking

about what it means to be brave. You will be challenged to

seek a greater intimacy with God and the people God has

placed in your life.

Through Scripture, stories, prayers, and thought-provoking

questions, you will recognize the seeds of divinely inspired

bravery and learn the strength found in

community. Using letters of the

word brave as a guide, Being

Brave highlights what God’s Word has to

say about the characteristics of bravery:

Bold, Resilient, Authentic, Vulnerable, and

Engaged and Empowered by the Spirit.

Men’s Advent Breakfast

Saturday, December 1,

9:00 AM in the Fellowship Hall

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth…

During the season of Advent we anxiously anticipate the

first coming of Christ and we celebrate the hope in

Immanuel—the presence of God with us. As followers of

Jesus we believe that this is not the only time that God will

come to earth. There will come a day when Christ returns.

Rev. Mac McKenney from Good Shephard United

Methodist Church will share with us about our Christian

hope in the new heaven and the new earth. Together we

will explore what this hope means for us today, and you

will leave with an assurance of

things hoped for and a

conviction of things unseen.

Men of all ages are invited.

Advent Noontime Concerts

December 5, 12 and 19

In the Sanctuary

On these three Wednesdays in Advent, the Music Ministry

staff will present 30-minute noontime concerts in the

church sanctuary.

December 5 – Laura Hesse and Becky Jackson, Advent

piano and organ selections.

December 12 – Jason Moon, baritone, Laura Hesse

accompanist; Becky Jackson, organ

selections.

December 19 – Laura Hesse and Becky

Jackson, Christmas piano and organ

selections.

You are welcome to attend the full

concert or come and go as necessary.

Service of Light

Sunday, December 16

at 7:00 PM in the Chapel.

All are welcome to attend this special service of worship. It is

especially suited for people who have experienced a

significant loss in the past year and for those whose

circumstances in life have changed, making this holiday

season difficult.

This is a contemplative service with piano music, and space

for reflection and introspection. Come as you are.

Poinsettia Tree

Remember a loved one by purchasing a poinsettia plant that

will adorn the church in their honor/memory during the

Advent and Christmas season!

If you would like to purchase a plant, the cost is $15.00 per

poinsettia. You can place your order and pay using the

online giving program on the church website,

www.centreville-umc.org. You may also submit a paper

order form (available at the welcome center) with a check

(payable to CUMC) to the church office, or place it in the

Sunday offering plate. Please indicate ‘Poinsettia’ on the

memo line.

Deadline to place an order is

Sunday, December 9.

Poinsettias may be taken home

following the 11:00 PM service on

Christmas Eve.

On Sunday, December 16 at the 9:30 and 11:00 services

Chancel Choir and guest instrumentalists will present “How

Great Our Joy,” a service of Christmas music. Anthems will

include Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, How Far is it to

Bethlehem for choir women, piano, flute and oboe, and a

beautiful new arrangement, See Amid the Winter’s Snow.

On Sunday, December 16, the Music Ministry will have one-

pound containers of yummy homemade Christmas cookies for

sale between services. The price per pound will be $6.00 – our

first price increase in over 25 years of selling cookies. One third

of proceeds go to mission with the rest being applied toward

unbudgeted Music Ministry expenses. We will also be selling our

Doggie Treats this year - $4.00 for a 6-oz bag. Profits will support

animals displaced by this year’s hurricanes.

After packing 242 food baskets for Thanksgiving, we have less

than 1 month to reload and get the Christmas baskets

out. Please support the Christmas Food baskets by providing

the “food item of the week” or by making a financial donation

(see www.centreville-umc.org).

Volunteers will be needed for packing and delivery on

Saturday, December 15, beginning at 8:00 AM. Contact Chris

Granberg at chris.granberg@gmail.com.

The Christmas baskets include:

Black Beans Tomatoes Milk

Canned Veggies Dry Beans Corn Bread

Canned Fruit/Applesauce Gravy Salt & Pepper

Soup Canned Chicken Stuffing

Potatoes - Instant Rice Peanut Butter

Jelly Spaghetti Sauce

Mac & Cheese Spaghetti Noodles

Pasta Flour

Sugar Fruit Juice Bottle

Oil Cereal

Yams Pancake Mix

Syrup Jello or Pudding

Brownie/Cake Mix Frosting

Alternative Gift Market

December 2, 9 and 16

In the Fellowship Hall

Do you struggle to find meaningful gifts for loved-ones who

seem to have everything they need? Are you tired of the

materialism rat-race? The Alternative Gift Market provides a

wonderful opportunity to support some organizations and

ministries CUMC is connected to, while honoring a loved one

at the same time.

This year’s alternative gift market will feature 5 ministries:

New Hope Fellowship Church—A local church congregation

that ministers with and to our area’s homeless community.

Heifer International—An international development and relief

organization that helps farmers in many developing countries.

Helping Hatian Angels—Supporting an orphanage and school

in northern Haiti. (HHA Coffee will also be

available for purchase).

U Feed Others—A CUMC ministry providing

backpacks of food to local school children.

Western Fairfax Christian Ministries—Providing

food and financial assistance to area families

in need.

After an overwhelming response from the congregation, there

are still a few tags available on the Angel Tree. This year we

are providing gifts for children and seniors at Jubilee Center

(Sneedville, TN), Hancock Manor (Sneedville, TN), New Hope

Fellowship Church (Chantilly, VA), Commonwealth Center

(Staunton, VA), Leland House (Centreville, VA), and Our

Neighbor’s Child (Centreville, VA). All gifts should be returned

unwrapped or in the gift bags provided by December 2.

We have been invited to deliver gifts for Our Neighbor’s Child

on Sunday, December 16 from 1:00-4:00 PM right here in the

Centreville area. Pick up the gifts from CUMC and deliver them

to specific homes in our neighborhood.

Sign up at www.centreville-umc.org.

Join us for our monthly food distribution as we spread holiday

cheer and a good meal to the homeless men and women living

in Franklin Park in Washington DC. Join us in the church kitchen

at 11:30 AM to cook. We will return from DC by 3:30 PM

Contact Kara: kstuebing@centreville-umc.org.

Volunteers and donations are needed for our biggest food and

clothing distribution of the year. In November we served 171

families, and we expect at least an equal number in December.

Donations of clothing, toys and household items are welcomed

beginning December 2.

Contact Phil at pmohr@centreville-umc.org to volunteer Friday

for set-up or Saturday for the distribution.

Join us for our annual youth holiday Christmas tradition of

Christmas Caroling. We will be caroling at Manor Care. Meet

in the church Narthex at 1:30 PM. We will be back at the

church by 3:30 PM for pick-up.

Celebrate the end of the fall Sunday School season with a

special youth Christmas Breakfast in the Fellowship Hall on

December 9 at 9:30 AM. Look for the sign-up genius coming

out soon, or contact Kara at kstuebing@centreville-umc.org for

more information.

On Sunday, December 9 at 9:30 AM, the children’s Sunday

school classes will be preparing for Christmas by having a

birthday party for Baby Jesus and bringing jars of peanut butter

and jelly to put in the Christmas Food Baskets. Volunteers are

requested to bake and help deliver mini cupcakes to the

Sunday school classes that morning. If you can supply nut-free

mini cupcakes or help serve, please email Diane at

dbeatley@centreville-umc.org.

Third - 6th graders are invited to serve as non-speaking actors or

scripture readers to share the nativity story. Children’s choirs will

sing during the 5:00 PM service. Children in choirs may also serve

as actors or readers. Adults are needed to help the actors. For

more information, rehearsal schedules or to sign up, visit

www.centreville-umc.org or email dbeatley@Centreville-umc.org.

THANK YOU! With the support of the

congregation, CUMC families filled and

sponsored shipping for 158 shoeboxes

for Operation Christmas Child. Thank

you for helping spread the gospel through these gifts.

Go Behind the Scenes

Ever wonder what happens at the Operation Christmas Child

processing centers? Before these special gifts can bring hope

and joy to children around the world, each one has to be

carefully inspected and made ready for overseas shipment by

volunteers like you. Centreville UMC is taking a small group to

serve at the processing center in Columbia MD on Friday,

November 30 from 3:00–7:00 PM. We’ll meet at the church at

1:30 PM and return by 9:00 PM. If interested, contact Diane at

dbeatley@centreville-umc.org by November 27.

Operation

Christmas Child

Throughout Advent we

receive a special offering

called the Advent Offering.

These funds are designated

toward a mission project

each year. This year’s

Advent Offering will be split

between two worthy

projects in our community. First, the offering will be used to

fund Christmas gift bags for 60 homeless men through New

Hope Fellowship Church, including such items as gloves, hats,

socks, hygiene items, etc. In addition the offering will be used

to fund U Feed Others weekend food bags for school children

in area elementary schools whose families are food-insecure.

To give to the advent offering, put “Advent Offering” on the

memo line of your check, or give online by visiting

www.centreville-umc.org.

Sunday, December 23, worship at 9:30 AM and 11:00/11:02

AM will be family worship experiences. Children aged 3

and older are encouraged to participate in worship.

Nursery care will be available for the youngest children.

Sunday, December 30, worship at 10:00 AM and 11:02 AM

will also be family worship experiences. Children aged 3

and older are encouraged to participate in worship.

Nursery care will be available for the youngest children.

During the Christmas Season, please note the following special

church office hours:

December 24: church office closing at noon

December 25 and 26: church office closed

December 27 and 28: church office open 9:00 AM—Noon

December 31 and January 1—church office closed

Regular office hours resume Wednesday, January 2.

6400 Old Centreville Road

Centreville, VA 20121

703-830-2684

www.centreville-umc.org

Image Credits:

Images used by permission from www.pixabay.com: Citrus and Nuts, by StockSnap;

Cupcakes, by cbaquiran; Candy Cane, by Skeeze; Red Candles by Myriam’s Fotos; Blue

Ornaments, by Geralt; Wreath, by Annalise1988; Cookies, by Congerdesign; Fir Tree, by

Maciej326; Pine Branches, by Monicore; Muffins, by Pexels; Santa Hat, by OpenClipartVectors,

Poinsettia, by Schartzenarzisse, Gifts with Owl Paper, by Stocksnap; Ornaments with Greens, by

Wilhei; Piano by Tree, by Twstringer; Black Piano, by Open Clipart Vectors; Swirl Tree, by Larisa K;

Waffle, by Cocozi.

Images used by permission from www.unsplash.com: Christmas Tea, by Daria Yakovleva; Red

Ornaments, by Sean Wells; Grey Gift, by David Everett Strickler; Red Gift, by Freestocks.org.

Images used by permission from www.newsletternewsletter.com: Holiday Office Hours, Family

Worship Sunday, Advent Offering, Lantern in Snow, Jesus Ornament, White Candles, Poinsettia

Closeup.

Other images used by permission: GRACE Ministry logo, courtesy Arlington District GRACE

Ministries; TOP logo, courtesy Teens Opposing Poverty; File photos: Food Baskets, Christmas

Decorating.