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Christmas on Sunday: What's your church doing ?

Acts Enthusiast Posts: 1865 **12/23/16 8:07 am**

It's that time again. Christmas Day falls on a Sunday. Are you doing a "normal" order of service? Abbreviated service ? No service at all ? (Some churches opt to take the day off).

Acts-celerater Posts: 938 **12/23/16 11:52 am**

10:30 am worship only

i am leaving to go out of town after the service so my adult ss teacher is teaching Wednesday night since she wont get to on Sunday

just wondering why anyone would even consider NOT having service??

i get it - family time etc but honestly i've had more people tell me their families are planning to come with them sunday morning - -s o we shall see lol
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[Insert Acts Pun Here] Posts: 12817 **12/23/16 12:12 pm**

In the past, every church I have been a part of has had a simple abbreviated service whenever Christmas fell on a Sunday. This time, since I knew that most of our small congregation was planning on being out of town on Christmas (because they told me), several times over the past month I asked the congregation, from the pulpit, "If we had a Sunday morning service on the 25th, would you attend?" No one responded in the affirmative.

Several times over the past few weeks I also stated from the pulpit that if anyone wanted to have a service on Christmas Day this year, to let me know, privately if they preferred, and I would be happy to have one. Again, no one responded that they would prefer we have a service on Christmas Day. So, unfortunately, in my view, we will not be having a service at the church house on that day. Our church has had several Christmas-themed services and events this month though, so it's not as if we are calling off Christmas as such.

I look at it similarly to how I felt about finally calling off Sunday night service at a former pastorate of mine, after weeks and months of only me and my family showing up, and my stress and sadness about it getting worse and worse at the time. We had good morning worship and Wednesday night attendance, but literally no one but me and my family was interested in Sunday night service any more. The disappointment of a pastor seeing no one show up for a service is worse, in my opinion, than the disappointment of calling off a service no one wants.

Will have 1 somewhat abbreviated service

Acts-celerater Posts: 935 **12/23/16 12:56 pm**

will cut back our 2 hour service to 1.5 and be out by 11:30 unless revival hits. Very Happy

Acts Enthusiast Posts: 1865 **12/23/16 1:08 pm**

I know what you mean QW. My first pastorate was a small church and I faced a similar decision. At our church this year we are doing a combined worship at 10:30 instead of two services @8:45 and 11am. Even with combined worship, I expect our attendance will be down. But that's ok!

01000001 01100011 01110100 01110011 Posts: 24285 **12/23/16 7:42 pm**

The church we plan to attend in Sanford, is having an abbreviated service.
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Acts-celerater Posts: 938 **12/23/16 7:57 pm**

Golf Cart Mafia Capo Famiglia Posts: 4682 **12/23/16 8:39 pm**

We had a great Christmas service about a week ago with our youth doing a series of 7 small set dramas & it was a huge success. We tied it to a bake sale auction afterwards so we could raise funds for the upcoming Winterfest. They raised about $2,000.00 PTL!

But this Sunday morning we are starting at 9:45am with warm croissants & hot coffee, cocoa & cider. At 10:30am we're offering a communion candle light service with Christmas songs. We have a bunch of wrapped gifts & we're giving every child in attendance a nice wrapped present. We have some other great music specials & finally I will have all the volunteer leadership come forward to find their envelope on the tree with a token of appreciation inside.

I'm really looking forward to this celebration.

.
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[Insert Acts Pun Here] Posts: 14803 **12/23/16 9:34 pm**

Acts-celerater Posts: 586 **12/24/16 12:06 am**

We are doing 2 Christmas even services at 4:00 and 6:00. No services on Sunday Morning. We will livestream a prerecorded message on Christmas at our regular service times.

Friendly Face Posts: 434 **12/24/16 10:14 am**

We are doing a one hour Christmas Eve service and our regular 10:30 AM service Christmas day. We are having cookies etc. after the Christmas Eve service. Our Christmas day service will probably be a little shorter than normal depending upon how the Holy Spirit directs us.

We will take time during both services to pray for the many people who are hurting during the Christmas and New Year period. Around the beginning of November we take time during services and at our regular Tuesday night intercessory prayer meeting to pray for those who lost a loved one this year. The first Thanksgiving, Christmas and other holidays with that empty seat where mom, dad, a child, sibling etc. is always a very tough time for family members. Others we pray for are those who are divorced and hurting as he or she goes through that painful time of being separated from children and family traditions. Another group of women who often experience tremendous pain over the holidays are those who had abortions. Christian women understand Christ's blood forgives them but often that cute 3 year-old all dressed up brings back thoughts of what would have been if they didn't do it.
Please don't misinterpret what I am saying because we go out of our way to show God's compassion, love and restoration for these hurting women. Many are disguised as successful professionals who seem to have it all together but behind the façade.....

Hopefully some of these hurting people will be visiting us. I do my best to lead by example and have invited many people I know who fit the above categories. We do our best to combine the natural and spiritual by taking time to pray for these hurting people and then call, visit, send a text if it is a casual acquaintance etc. to invite them to a service, lunch, church Christmas party etc.

I also do altar calls at Christmas, Easter etc. Usually I just share my heart and explain I am giving this invitation because we love and care about people enough to spend time praying for their souls and eternal destination in heaven as we believe heaven and hell are real places. God seems to melt hard hearts when we get real and ask what they would think about a doctor who told them good jokes, prescribed a pain reliever but ignored the unpleasant news of a cancer that is killing them.