The Giving Tree in the church parlor is one of our favorite Christmas traditions. The deacons set up the tree the same day that we decorate for Advent and Christmas, and the members of the congregation choose children to buy gifts for. Jill Yaryan keeps us organized, and Ronda Leiter makes lovely tags to go with the gifts so that they reach the right children.
This year we continue to honor the blessing of the Savior by sharing gifts with children in need. But with Cathy Kirk’s help, the display was revised by borrowing from Breakfast with the Christmas Angel. You might call it “same but different.”
And that might represent our year as a whole: same but different. We continued our ministries but modified them as needed to accommodate Covid, Pastor Karel’s retirement, and the needs of our community.
Our commitment to helping people with food issues was evidenced throughout the year, as we brought in nonperishables for the Thanksgiving and Christmas baskets. Lisa Hazelrigg kept us organized and on track with this this project. Some of the recipients were new this year, but the sharing and the giving thanks were the same.
Susie Rogers chairs our collaboration with other churches and organizations on the Community Meals program on Sunday nights. Mary Swope has been our contact as we serve as a nexus for the Hatch Program and work with the Food Council.
Bob Swope continues to share his musical talents during worship on Sundays. And this year Brandon Stanton, Max Kalkhoff, and Lisa Ginn blessed us, too.
Linda Ward and others shared their talents throughout the year as we implemented more choral readings and drama activities into worship. This initiative grew out of the Officer Training Session held in February.
And now we are livestreaming our worship services to our Facebook page, enabling us to reach shut-ins, people on vacation, and people who live elsewhere but are still interested in worshipping with us. Many thanks to Don Kirk and Linda Ward for their dedication to making this happen.
The old year comes to a close. Advent is here, and a new year begins. May God help us to keep the valuable parts and not be afraid of change.