Christmas Eve Candlelight Service, 7 PM

The Candlelight Christmas Eve Service will take place on Monday,  December 24th at 7 PM.  The service of scripture and carols is the perfect way to begin the Christmas holiday.  Be sure to invite your friends and family—this is the perfect time to introduce them to the EBPC family!

 

Christmas Caroling--Thursday, December 20

We will be Christmas caroling on Thursday evening, December 20.  We will be meeting at the church at 5:30 PM and carpooling to visit shut-ins and church members to bring them some Christmas cheer.  This is always a fun evening and we hope that many of our church members and friends will decide to join us.  Following caroling we will be going out for pizza and fellowship.  If you have any questions or know of anyone who we should visit that evening, please contact Mark Barie at 356-0945.

 

Christmas Cantata--Sunday, December 23

 

During the worship service on Sunday, December 23rd the choir will be presenting the Christmas Cantata.  This year’s cantata is titled “Angels of Christmas.”  The choir will be led by Mark Barie and accompanied by Beth Funderburk.  This is a great event to invite your friends and family to attend.  We are blessed to have so much musical talent at EBPC and you definitely won’t want to miss this!

 

Shepherd's Game

This Sunday evening, December 9th, we will be gathering at 5:30 PM at the church to enjoy dinner and the Shepherd's Game.  This will be a fun event for church members of all ages!  For more information contact Mark Barie at 356-0945.

Congregational Meeting--December 9

Following worship this Sunday, December 9th, there will be a brief Congregational Meeting.  The purpose of the meeting is to review the 2013 budget and approve the slate of new officers.  We will also be welcoming new members into our congregation.  There will be another congregational meeting after Easter to review the year-end reports.  This meeting should only take about 15 minutes and we hope you will all plan to attend.  If you have any questions please contact the church office.

Group Prayer Challenge!

At our session retreat last Thursday we had some conversation around prayer and how we might encourage one another to pray for our church, our community, and each other. Yet we are spread out and a very busy people so adding another "event" to come to the church and pray does not seem very practical.  

So what if we were to a set side a time one evening a week, like Thursday after dinner or right before bed, to pray if only for a few minutes, knowing that other people we know are doing the same thing? 

I think that could be pretty powerful. 

Some resources to use: 

  - The Bible, read a psalm (anyone who reads #151 gets a prize)

  - Prayer books

  - Devotionals like the Upper Room (available at church) or These Days (not available at church) 

  - The bulletin usually has a prayer for the week and a list of people related to our community who are in need of prayer. 

If you're in doubt about who or what to pray for here are some ideas.  

  - Turn on the news, open a newspaper, or internet news source...  

  - Pray for our church... (the session, deacons, congregants, people who we don't normally see, and the pastor) 

  - Pray for the lonely... (widows, widowers, those living far from home, the homebound, and those in nursing homes) 

  - Pray for the sick... 

  - Pray for yourself... 

  - List your highs and lows for the day or the week... 

  - Pray for your hopes and goals for the future...

  - Make a list of the things you are thankful about. 

  - Are there things you are worried about? Take it to the Lord in prayer. 

There are tons of things to pray about; close your eyes and think them, picture them, write them down on a sheet of paper, in a journal, or in a notebook. 

Prayer is important to our life together as a community of faith and in our relationship with God, so don't worry if you'll do it wrong; just do it!

Events for this WEEK at EBPC

Thursday: Individual Group Prayer after dinner or before bed. 

               6:30pm Choir Rehearsal 

Sunday: Worship 10:30am (remember to reset your clocks!) 

Hanging of the Greens

The Hanging of the Greens will take place on Sunday, November 25th following the worship service.  There will also be a coffee hour and a time of fellowship.  Please be sure to plan to stay and help out as many hands make light work.  This is a great kick-off to the holiday season and a fun time to spend with your church family decorating our church for the Advent season.