Twas the NIGHTS before Christmas
Ten services. Two days. December 23 and 24. Four Classic. Six modern. And a partridge in a pear tree.
Christmas Eve is the most popular, best-attended Chapel Hill service year after year. Christmas Eve EVE was a surprisingly well-received option which we first offered last year for the sake of those heading out of town…but who still wanted to share this sacred tradition with their own church family. We have always offered a lot of service times to accommodate the crowds.
But we’ve never offered 10 services. Over two days.
Well, if COVID has taught us anything, it has taught us to be innovative….and light on our feet. In order to welcome the throngs we hope and pray will join us—COVID concerns notwithstanding—we felt we needed to offer this many options. We are limiting service attendance to 200 per the governor’s mandate and accomplishing that through on-line ticket “sales”… although the price of the ticket is definitely right: FREE! And as with every Chapel Hill worship service, we will encourage face coverings and social distance… along with all our other COVID safety protocols.
That’s what WE are doing to open wide our doors in this holiest of seasons. Shoot, we’ll even have candles… although they, too, will be different. (Wait and see!)
Here’s what we need YOU to do. Pretend. Pretend that December 23 is really December 24. Select one of our Wednesday services to attend, you and your family. We cannot possibly accommodate all who will want to celebrate Christmas Eve with us if everyone shows up on December 24. We KNOW that unsuspecting guests will show up on the 24th. And we don’t want to turn anyone away.
SO… the BEST way you could help your Church is to sign up for a service on December 23. The NEXT best way would be… to invite a friend to do the same. And the NEXT next best way would be to volunteer at one of the other nine services. You can do both at the links below.
Ten services. Two Days. Fa la la la la…it’s going to be a Merry Marathon… and I look forward to running it with you.
Pastor Mark
P.S.—On January 3, we are going to celebrate a new year and (if giving continues to be strong) a new chapter in our life as a church with the announcement (God willing) that we are DEBT-FREE! That celebration will include a mortgage-burning. If you participated in our Beyond These Walls campaign and would like to be one of our mortgage-burners, be sure to be in one of the services for your chance to be selected. (You can also make a one-time gift to help us make it over the top here.)
DEBT-FREE. Dave Ramsey will be so proud!