Dear Church Family,

When the angel told Joseph that Mary was going to conceive a son, not by him mind you, but by the Holy Spirit, then goes on to say; ….you shall call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins – and they shall call Him Emmanuel.” Well, this was simply too good to be true. You see, for the average run-of-the-mill Jew, the idea of God becoming man, which is what the EMMANUEL literally means; God with us, this made no sense. After all, according to their religious traditions, only one man got ushered into the presence of God – the Chief High Priest- in the Holy of Holies. And that was only one day out of the year. And what about all the rituals and sacrifices and rules and regulations. That is how they believed they were saved from their sins.

This AMAZING story of God becoming man, like us, in order to save us from our sins….well this truth was so astonishing, no wonder the people were AMAZED; “And all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them.” (Luke 2:18). Yes, there is much about God becoming man and dying on a cross over 2000 years ago that somehow can save us from our sins, that we can’t begin to understand. But even if we could understand every bit of it, we still would be AMAZED.

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Return of On-Line Services:

This Sunday, December 27th we will temporarily halt our public worship services in the church. In light of the Covid-19 virus surge and after discussion with the staff and medical advice from Jean Satterwhite, who consulted with the county health department, it is prudent that we return to streaming our CWS as an on-line service and discontinue in house worship services. We’ve all been paying attention to the news regarding the virus and know that this spike in the virus has made public meetings even more riskier than they were earlier this year when the Governor mandated closures. And while there is no requirement to cease holding public worship services, the Commonwealth is strongly encouraging that. More to the point, it is incumbent upon me, and all our church leaders, to put the safety and security of our congregation first. This is why we will temporarily halt our public worship services. However, we will continue with the Christmas Eve schedule (see below.) We will continue to monitor the spread and impact of the virus and will consult with proper medical authorities regarding the timing of returning to our public worship services and re-starting other Sunday morning activities.

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  • – Thursday, December 24th: Christmas Eve
    • 5pm – Contemporary Worship Service in the FMC
  • 6:30pm – Traditional Worship Service in the sanctuary
  • Both services will include carols, readings, communion, Christmas message and “Silent Night” candlelighting.
  • – Sunday, December 27
    • 9:30am – Live streaming of CWS (no TWS).

Church Family News

Congratulations – New Baby.

  • Congratulations are in order for Nick and Elizabeth Daniels and the birth of their daughter MADISON who arrived on November 19th.

Offering received: Our offering for December 20, December 24 and December 27 will be published in next week’s FTP.

Remember in prayer:

  1. Jamie Schumann’s mother, Joyce facing surgery on the 18th, and Father also facing surgery on January 13.
  2. Paige Carter diagnosed with Covid-19.
  3. Sherry Brillhart’s daughter, Emily diagnosed with Covid, and husband Billy with cardiac issues, also brother, Paul, in ICU.
  4. Joseph Pack’s parents diagnosed with Covid-19.
  5. All those in our congregation known and unknown who need prayers for a variety of issues.
  6. All our frontline workers, in and out of our church, who work hard each day serving and protecting us during this pandemic.

I love you all,

Pastor Frank