Congratulations to Donnie and Angela Dillon on the birth of their daughter, Jessie Rae Dillon, on Monday, December 13, 2010, at 3:26 PM at Summit Medical Center in Hermitage, Tennessee. Jessie weighed 7 lbs 9 ozs and measured 20 ½ inches in length. She is the sister of Sadie, Lila, Donnie Jr., William, Mary, and Amanda. We bless the Lord who has blessed Donnie and Angela by entrusting this child to their care and nurture.
HCN Middle School Students (LiveWire) presented the Christmas narrative with drama and music on Sunday, December 19, 2010, at 6:00 PM in The Center. Christine Helm wrote and directed the production. Diane Cater, Beth Rouse, and Crew created the set. Brian Biggs, Robert Sullivan, and Caleb Foster operated the sound and lights. Donny Jackson, Paul Bolling, Michael Waller, Dave Flint, Jay Barfield, Nathaniel Jackson, and Jameson Scappaticci formed the band. Cast members included Drew Silvernail, Jonathan Silvernail, Joel Daughtery, Michael Mathias, Jared Mannen, Annie Carter, Madeline Rouse, Isabella Green, Bryson Fox, Morgan Houser, Bethany Ruff, Marileigh Mabry, Olivia Garrett, Kristin Paddon, Jacob Paddon, Izzy Scappaticci, Chandler Scott, Anna Waller, Anthony Mannen, Sara Waller, Abby Elkins, Grant Reigard, Bethany Ruff, Brielle Fox, Lydia Foster, and Shelby Rose. The drama was simple and easy to follow. The music revealed lots of talent. I enjoyed it immensely.
Thanks to the New Life Sunday School Class for providing set-up and clean-up and to Lisa Anderson for generally directing the food service. Thanks to everyone who brought pizza or pasta dishes and desserts and drinks. The food was good and plentiful.
Thanks to a variety of people who stepped forward on Sunday to make the music and drama happen. Thanks to Jamie Slocum who sang with the praise team and provided the special music for the offertory. Thanks to Stephan Scappaticci for the story of the geese and the doubter. Thanks to the band which plays every week and the choir which sings every week and to Tammy Tarter and Donny Jackson who lead congregational singing and choirs. Thanks for your time investment and use of musical gifts.
A Christmas card with this handwritten note was received by the church last week: Dear Friends, we lived in Waterford during the May flood. While this was a difficult time for us, volunteers such as ones from your church made a big difference through their kind acts. It wasn’t just the bottle of water or meal either. It was enlightening to have strangers helping just because they could. So we wanted to thank you for your contributions to our flooded neighborhood. We hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year. Amy and Nathan Qualls
Elsie Patton Elementary School in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, has twenty-six students who are provided take-home backpacks with food for the weekend every Friday of the school year. HCN provides that food through special offerings received in the adult Sunday School classes. Kenzie Eiseman, a Middle School student at HCN, works with the backpack program as a project for the Beta Club at her school. At Thanksgiving, it bothered Kenzie that the students went home for a long weekend with not enough food. She asked the school coordinator if something could be done to provide food for the students over Christmas break. When word was passed around about the project, food for sixteen Christmas boxes was brought to the church. Kenzie and her mom went to Krogers to buy food for the rest of the boxes and before they left the store, the manager had provided a large discount for all of the groceries and some of the employees had paid for the food. Some of us already know the story. Most of us do not. I think it is a great model for what happens when one person, a middle school student, gets proactive about a need and it provides a handle for other people, unlikely people to get involved in serving others. Families were waiting in the rain last Thursday morning at 6:30 AM at the school to receive the groceries.
Christmas is this week. I read somewhere of a woman’s disgust at a nativity scene in a store Christmas window. She huffed, “Can you believe it? They try to drag religion into every thing.” I felt a little snooty. Ignorance can make me arrogant. I also read that American families feel more spiritual about Thanksgiving than about Christmas. They feel thankful to God at Thanksgiving and go on vacations at Christmas. It is our job, yours and mine, to engage our culture and help others to know the reason for the season. How do we shine a light on the Christ child? The Christmas Eve service on December 24, 2010, at 7:00 PM in the Sanctuary is available. There will be carols and communion and candlelight and children. I can guarantee you the spirit will be high. Christmas Day offers an opportunity to teach. This is the day to celebrate the birth of Christ. Will you read the story? Will you pray? There is one service at HCN on Sunday, December 26, 2010. It meets at 10:00 AM in The Center.
You are greatly loved and appreciated. Merry Christmas. Jesus has come to save us from our sins. Go tell it.
In Christ Jesus,
Pastor Howard
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