Church Calendar | Sermons | Sign-up to Help | Blog | Contact GGOOOODD TTIIDDIINNGGSS December 16, 2020 The Weekly Newsletter for Park Road Baptist Church Last Week's Bulletin Listen to Sermons ​ ​ ​ We have spent the Advent season thinking about peace: “A Season for Peace: Needing Peace… Hearing Peace… Celebrating Peace...” Each year, we dedicate one Sunday during the Advent season for special music. Last year Mark Frye brought to our worship the traditional service of lessons and carols, initially performed at the King’s College, Cambridge, England. This service has become an important tradition for many congregations, and we will enjoy this special worship experience again this coming Sunday. “Lessons and Carols” presents the sweep of the biblical story, from the fall of humanity to the promise of the Messiah and the birth of Jesus. This story is told in nine scripture readings, interspersed with the singing of Christmas carols, hymns, and choir anthems. We hope you will join us on Sunday, either in person or via our livestream as we “Experience Peace” through the beauty music in worship. We are grateful for the professionalism and passion Mark brings to his work as our Director of Music and Organist, and we look forward to this service which will feature several guest musicians. Needing Peace… Hearing Peace… Celebrating Peace... Experiencing Peace… On Thursday night, we will direct the focus of our worship to the birth of Christ, the “Prince of Peace” as an appropriate conclusion to this year's theme. May the Peace of Christ be with you, -Russ Virtual Candlelight and Communion Sharing communion and lighting candles is such an important part of our annual Christmas Eve service. Because COVID restrictions will not allow us to share in these eating/touching ceremonies, we will offer a few moments for communion during our Midweek Meetup on Wednesday, December 23, 6-6:30p. Gather any family who may be in your home, bring a candle(s) to light and the elements of bread/wine which you would like to use, and dim the lights to prepare the room for a more intimate setting. Ritual is an important aspect, not only of religious life, but of life – think of the holidays, the traditions, even the small rituals that are important in our cultural, and individual lives. Though we will not be together to fill our sanctuary with light, we will share in this first act of God’s creative imagination, “Let there be light.” And we will “Taste and see that the Lord is good,” in the simple elements of our communion ceremony. We hope this will be an important part of your celebration in this unique season. Christmas Eve Service The December 24th service has become one of our favorite services of the year with friends and family gathering for a service filled with light and music and the reading of the Christmas story. Your ministerial staff and Deacon volunteers will be present to lead this service, in the sanctuary, beginning at 5p. Our Ministry Council has discussed this service and made the decision to proceed with the cautions that we are offering for all of our in- person (and livestream) worship. IF YOU ARE COMFORTABLE, we invite you to join us in the sanctuary for worship. We are not “encouraging” you to attend. There is NO pressure. The number of people in the sanctuary is not what is important. What is important will be achieved as we “gather” together, in person or by technology, to celebrate the end of our Advent waiting, the coming of Christ among us. This service will include music, prayers, and scripture – and Amy will be back in the pulpit for the first time since her surgery. We DO hope you will join us for this warm and wonderful service, but please do what you feel is appropriate for you. IF you plan to attend in person, please send Becka Eppley an email ([email protected]) indicating how many people will attend from your family. This sign-up is not a required, but it will help us to properly prepare the safety precautions for the service. Advent Season Worship Schedule Experiencing Peace (Service of Lessons and Carols, Mark and soloists) Advent 4: Love, December 20. Luke 1.46-55 And Mary said, ‘My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior… The Prince of Peace Christmas Eve: The Birth of Christ, December 24. Isaiah 9.1-7 For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Jackson and Madison Park Road has been the church home to the Porter Family for 31 years and 20 years for the Deans. Because you have been the Community of Faith that helped us raise our children, we had originally planned to invite the church to the wedding of Madison Porter and Jackson Dean on December 19, 2020. Since COVID-19 changes everything, we have had to make many adjustments including our invitation to you. Because of our concern for everyone’s health and safety, we have chosen to have a more intimate wedding. Therefore, you are all cordially invited to join us virtually through livestream on Facebook (the same place you find our Sunday worship services). Saturday, December 19, 2020 at 5:00p, we hope you will join us online for the wedding ceremony. Preservice music will begin at 4:45p. Jackson and Madison both grew up in this church. You kept them in the nursery, and they attended our Child Development Center. You taught them in Sunday School, and you chaperoned their mission trips with the Youth Group. We are forever grateful for the role that Park Road Baptist Church has played in the lives of our families. It would not be the same if you were not there to witness their vows to one another as they begin their new life in marriage. Gratefully, Frank and Rika Porter Russ and Amy Jacks Dean Comments During Worship Park Road continues to enjoy and learn more about the process of livestreaming our worship services. The pandemic has forced us to reevaluate what Sunday worship looks like. We appreciate the patience and positive responses from our members as we continue to finetune the process of making sure everyone has access to our worship services – whether in-person with our extensive safety protocols or watching online. One of the new features, that comes with broadcasting on Facebook Live, is the ability for each of us to greet one another and comment during worship. The comment section has been a great way for us to connect with greetings and affirmations as we assemble virtually. We love to see these comments! We do ask, however, that when making comments you keep in mind that we are indeed in the midst of a worship service. Worship is an important time for personal reflection, connection, and deeper understanding as we congregate the shared purpose of focusing on and advancing our faith. ​For this reason, please consider whether your online comments might, in any way, distract from the experience for others who are watching along with you. We may not be physically together at all times, but we are still connected by this marvelous technology and hope you will remember to respect everyone's worship experience. We are also working on ways to assist you if you have issues with the sound or video portion of our online services so that you will not need to use the comment section to communicate your concerns. Our new online streaming system has solved many of the problems we all experienced when we were beginning to stream our services using just our smartphones. In almost all cases now, the problems you are experiencing are probably unique to your phone or computer. Internet speed and reception in your home is often a factor. Updating phone software and Facebook can also improve performance. We are glad to work with you to resolve those problems. This year has created a multitude of new challenges for the church. We appreciative your patience and understanding. We continue to learn and grow into this new reality of what it means to be a church. Thank you for your help and understanding and we will see you on Sunday mornings! Missions Updates Snack Packing by Family Groups, December 28 - January 8 For more than 10 years now, Park Road has been providing snack packs every week during the school year for underserved children. Normally, we gather in large groups 2 or 3 times a year in the Community Center and pack hundreds of bags in a couple of hours. However, the pandemic is necessitating a change in logistics. This time, snack packing will be set up in the Youth Building from Monday, December 28 – Friday, January 8. Signup with your family, and you can pack safely at a time that is convenient. The students will be out of school until mid-January. If we pack 800 bags during this time, we’ll be ready for the student’s return! There is a lock box on the Youth Building door. If you don’t know the combination, please contact [email protected] or the church office. Please signup here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0945ACA92DA2FD0-snack1 Alternative Gift Market - Habitat for Humanity For years, Park Road has presented an Alternative Gift Market at Christmas. This year’s suggestion is Habitat for Humanity. Their online market offers a variety of building supplies, as well as financial literacy classes, for Habitat families with purchases, PRBC folks may request a holiday acknowledgment card, as an honorarium, for a friend or family member.