In 1994, the British romantic comedy Four Weddings and a Funeral hit American cinema screens. Starring Andie MacDowell, Hugh Grant and a few other celebs, the movie follows the ups and downs of love and life over a short period of time in which…well…four weddings and a funeral occur.
In 2021, we were not able to gather for holiday traditions at First Baptist Greenville. To the best of our ability, we crammed the elements of multiple Advent/Christmas services all into one luminary drive-through on the church campus. The night was filled with communion, song, kites for kids, a live nativity, and lots of candles. This year we are gathering again—hallelujah—on two nights and a morning…instead of four weddings and a funeral.
On Tuesday evening, December 21, we will gather in Carpenter Chapel at 6:30pm for the Longest Night Service. Led by our pastoral care ministers, we will hold the hardest moments of 2021 in our prayers, songs and meditation. If you’ve experienced grief this year, I encourage you to attend. If you’ve been free of grief this year, come be a healing presence for your friends.
On Friday evening, December 24, at 5:00pm, we will gather in the sanctuary for a Christmas Eve Communion Service. Carols will be sung, communion will be served, prayers will be prayed, the children will gather for a sermon and a special Christmas gift, and—the highlight of the evening—the Christ Candle will be lit. Attendance at this service has grown year by year (except for during Covid-19). Bring your family and invite your friends to this celebration of a most holy night.
Finally, on Sunday morning, December 26, we will gather in the Fellowship Hall for a continental breakfast at 9:30am (no charge) and worship around the piano at 10:30am. We are encouraging worshipers to dress ‘casual’ and—if you wish—bring a gift you received for Christmas. We will be ‘sharing our gifts’ during this service, a Christmastide show-and-tell. I look forward to seeing the gifts our children and adults choose to share!
It feels good to gather again for two nights and a morning!
—Jim