Rediscovering the Essence of Christmas // M-Note 12.22.23

Christmas Eve is almost here, and I hope you are making plans to join us for worship at The Gathering. Over the course of a year, it is easy to drift from faith. Christmas is a time when God invites us back to what is most important in life. I will be sharing a hopeful message about the ways we can find God in the small things this holiday.

As we get ready, I wanted to give you all the essential information as well as a few pro tips that will help as you plan your Christmas Eve:

1. Going out of town or hosting? We have one more early Christmas Eve Eve service tomorrow night at 5 pm at our McCausland site, as well as several morning services on Christmas Eve, beginning at 9:30 am.

2. Trying to figure out what service is best for you? I will preach live at each service at all of our sites, they will all have amazing music with a string quartet, and each service will end with a candle-lit Silent Night. You’ll find a complete schedule on our website and App.

3. Nervous about bringing along your kids to the Christmas Eve services? Don’t be! We love having kids participate in worship, and we also have kids ministry for ages 0-5 at most of our services. For a full schedule of when and where kids ministry will be available, check out our website.

4. Worshiping online? Our Christmas Eve worship service will be available on demand starting at midnight Christmas Eve morning, so you can watch whenever is convenient for you all day long! The best way to watch the service is on our YouTube Channel or at gatheringnow.org. I also hope you’ll share the service on social media or with people you think will find it meaningful on Christmas Eve or anytime after.

5. Don’t forget about the offering! 100% of the offering at all of our Christmas Eve services will go to fund our wells for clean water in Mozambique. Last year’s offering was over $220,000. We didn’t get there by people throwing in a few dollars. So many of you prayed and prepared to give generously. I hope we will be ready to give generously once again knowing that THIS gift is one that will truly change and save lives.You will be able to give online here or on the App. You can also check out and share videos of our work in Mozambique.

7. Finally, Christmas Eve is better with friends. Invite your friends to join you for worship. It can be the most meaningful gift you give someone and you might be amazed at who is waiting for an invitation. Here are five great ways to invite someone, or just do it the old-fashioned way.

8. Don’t forget to follow us on social media (links to all our channels are below) so you can see and share pictures from whatever worship service you attend! We love seeing all those images of Christmas Eve.

Help us make this holiday a special one at The Gathering. Christmas Eve is my favorite night of the year. I cannot wait to see you in worship and meet your family and friends.

Peace,
Matt

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