FPC connects
The Chimes nline
Newsletter of First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta
SUNDAY Schedule Sunday, December 16 • Prayer breakfast for Homeless persons - 6:30 am, Fifield Hall • Communion Service 8:15 am, Winship Chapel • The Mustard Seed Bookstore 9:00 am - 1:00 pm • Cherub Choir - 9:30 am • Worship Service - 9:00 am, Sanctuary • Sunday School - 10:05 am • Christmas Concert - 10:05 am, Fifield Hall • Worship Service - 11:15 am, Sanctuary • Fellowship Hour - 12:15 pm Reception Room • Nursery Christmas Luncheon – 12:30 pm, Room 156
Sunday, December 23 • Prayer breakfast for Homeless persons - 6:30 am, Fifield Hall • Communion Service 8:15 am, Winship Chapel • The Mustard Seed Bookstore 9:00 am - 1:00 pm • Cherub Choir - 9:30 am • Worship Service - 9:00 am, Sanctuary • Sunday School - 10:05 am • Worship Service - 11:15 am, Sanctuary • Fellowship Hour - 12:15 pm Reception Room
Monday, December 24 Christmas Eve Services • Church Family Candlelight Service 4:00 pm, Sanctuary • Communion & Candlelight Service - 5:30 pm, Sanctuary • Candlelight Service of Lessons & Carols - 10:30 pm, Sanctuary
December 16 & 23, 2012 Christ at the Center
T
hose who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength.” This verse from Isaiah 40 and the promise it contains is the basis of our theme Dec. 16 - Craig Goodrich to preach this year: “Christ a t t h e Ce n t e r: Renewing Our Strength.” I think we get the strength part, but what about the “waiting?” Most of us don’t like to wait on anybody or for anything, do we? So what do we do about Advent, this season of expectation and of waiting? Henri Nouwen in his devotion “Waiting for God” has pointed out that in the Gospel of Luke, chapter one, which is our text this Sunday, everybody seems to be waiting, including Mary and her relative Elizabeth, both of whom are pregnant. He goes on to say that there is a waiting that is impatient, passive, anxious and fearful, but there is another waiting that is hopeful, active, patient, openended, trusting that something is growing, a seed has been planted, a promise will be fulfilled. This is a waiting that believes that even though it may seem that uncertainty is ruling the day and our lives, God is at work, that something very good is growing even though we cannot see it now. So, what kind of waiter are you? You know, part of waiting well is to understand that we are not in control. It may require a relinquishment of our plans. It surely requires trust in the One who holds us, this Church and this world in his hands. And so we pray, “God, we want to know what you are doing? We wait on you. Renew our strength. Amen.” I look forward to seeing you this Sunday. Grace and courage, Craig
C
hristmas is a time of giving and receiving, as this quotation below from Dr. Van Dyke so aptly describes. Within our own church program during this Ad v e n t - C h r i s t m a s season, we celebrate Dec. 23 - George Wirth to preach the birth of Jesus Christ as God’s greatest gift to the world. It is a time of joy and anticipation, a time to enjoy the spirit of new life and new beginnings But let us never forget that God’s gift was meant to be unwrapped and shared with the world. Are you ready . . . are you willing to share that gift for a day, for this Advent-Christmas season, and for the coming new year? If so, then you are ready to “keep Christmas” and surely our church family and those whom we reach out and touch will know the deepest meaning of the Christmas spirit. Are you willing . . . to stoop down and consider the needs and desires of little children; to remember the weakness and loneliness of people who are growing old; to stop asking how much your friends love you and to ask yourself whether you love them enough; to bear in mind the things that other people have to bear on their hearts; to trim your lamp so that it will give more light and less smoke and to carry it so that your shadow will fall behind you? “Are you willing to do these things for a day? Then you are ready to keep Christmas!” — Henry Van Dyke Faithfully yours, George B. Wirth