The Gift of Service // M-Note 12.9.23

Last January, a woman that was relatively new to The Gathering caught me on a Sunday morning to tell me how meaningful it was for her to serve at one of our Christmas Eve services. She was hesitant to do so at first. It required some extra time, a bit of extra effort, and the rearranging of a few plans – but she said it ended up being the most powerful part of her Christmas. In particular, she got to serve communion and told me how impactful it was getting the chance to see each person that came forward, some with smiles, some with tears, others with gratitude.
 
Christmas is a time for rest, celebration, and family. But as a friend of mine reminded me this week, we also have to be careful not to “fold in on ourselves.” Christmas is also about opening our eyes to the need around us, and being the light in what can sometimes be a dark and weary world. Serving is a simple way that we can be the light for others this season. And the best part? Serving often can become the most meaningful part of our holiday.
 
This year The Gathering will have 15 Christmas Eve services, including early Christmas Eve services on December 19 & 23, and a new Kid’s Christmas service on December 21. All of the services on Christmas Eve, including the morning services, will be the same - including incredible Christmas music, communion, a meaningful message (which I am working on!), and candlelight Silent Night.
 
This not only offers you a lot of options to attend with your friends and family, but it also means there are a lot of opportunities to serve. We need people in the parking lot, folks making coffee, people serving with kids, and a lot of greeters to welcome new people. I hope you will try serving this year, even if you have never done it before. It may just be the most meaningful part of your holiday. You can see all the openings and sign up here. Someone from our staff will be in touch with details.
 
This weekend I will continue our series Simply Christmas: Finding God in the Small Stuff. The past few weekends have been incredible, and a lot of you have been in worship. Thank you. I hope we continue the momentum, and I can’t wait to see you Sunday.
 
Peace,
Matt
 
P.S. This year, 100% of our Christmas Eve offering will go to fund water in Mozambique. We can give away our biggest offering of the year because of your giving week in and week out to the ministry of The Gathering. I hope you will consider a special gift to support the overall ministries of our church this December. You can give in worship or online in a variety of ways. If you have questions about giving a stock or other no-cash gifts, just contact Dave Dietrich on our staff and he can help you with it.