The Chalice

CONNECTION
A publication of First Christian Church of Edmond, OK

Vol. 2 No. 50 December 16, 2010

Find Some Peace

By Rev. Chris Shorow, Senior Minister

Let there I read an obituary of a young
be peace woman who died of cancer a few
on earth years ago. The names of her family
and let it were mentioned, some of her
begin with accomplishments and expressions
me. Wise of sorrow were also outlined, but
words— most intriguing was the ending to the
especially obituary:
at this time “Here are some things we learned
of year. This is a season of peace, but from Sarah.
that peace begins with each of us. Inner Accept life as it happens. It is what
peace. Sometimes inner peace is very it is. Banging one’s head against a wall
difficult to find, but that is the Advent gives you a headache.
gift you have been given—a gift that Chill. Useless energy is best spent
won’t break. petting a dog.
The first thing to strive for in finding Accept yourself as you are. Even
inner peace is to be at peace with bald and yellow.
yourself. Love yourself, see yourself as Laugh out loud whenever possible.
God’s gift to the world. God loves you, Always have a positive outlook.
so you should love you, too. Negative people are energy suckers.
Enjoy life. Dance if you can. At the
very least, move your shoulders.
Have no enemies.
Be good to your friends.
Be patient. It is what it is and it
takes the time that it does. You’ll get
where you’re going anyway.
Trust that most people are acting
with good intentions.
Be calm in a storm. There’s plenty
of time to flip out later.
Inner strength can come in soft
packaging. It is infinitely more durable
than a steely exterior.”
Sometimes it takes someone facing
tragedy to teach us the important things
in life, like finding inner peace. So true.
May the peace of this season be in our
hearts and souls today.

world! With an Alternative Christmas gift, you honor your loved

What Gifts Will You Share ones and make a difference in the lives of people around the

This Christmas?
Offer Peace, Hope, Love and Joy
through Alternative Gift Cards
From toys to clothes, to the latest electronic gadgets; each year
we hope to give the perfect gift to someone we love. Yet these
gifts, as wonderful as they may seem, eventually wear out,
break, or simply become useless and are soon forgotten. This
year we invite you to give “Christmas Gifts That Won’t
Break.”
Our Outreach Ministry is offering an “alternative gift market”
providing you with alternative gifts that truly bring Hope to the
world at the same time. Alternative Christmas Gifts don’t get
returned because the recipient already has one. They’re perfect
for the person who has “everything” and are sure to bring smiles
to the gift recipient and to the faces of those who receive the
benefit of your generosity.
Stop by the gift market table in the rotunda and look through
the gift catalog. Inside you will find hope-giving projects such as
Infant Crisis Services, Refuge Fellowship, and Global Ministries.
When you purchase a gift you will receive a greeting card and
envelope to give to your gift receipients. Inside the card there
will be a message conveying the gift of hope and details of the
goodness you have done in their name. So join us in responding
to the needs of the world, by giving your friends - and those in
need - “Christmas Gifts That Won’t Break!”
As Christians we are called to prepare for the coming of Christ during the season called Advent. It is a time of preparation, and for slowing
down. This Advent we will be focusing our worship on the “Gifts That Won’t Break.”
What are those gifts? They are those gifts that cannot be lost, that never go out of style, and that are independent of the chances and
changes of life. They are the gifts that have been graciously given by God. The gifts we share which bring hope, joy, love and peace to fam-
ily, community, and world. These true gifts of the Advent season - hope, joy, love, and peace- have a permanence that speaks to genera-
tions of children past, present, and future.
We invite you to join us for one or more of the events you’ll find listed here. Bring your family, and friends and come as we bless each
other with reminders of what this Advent season is about—expectation that God is going to be among us to help us in the work of trans-
forming ourselves and our communities with hope, joy, love and peace. Rev. Chris Shorow

Candlelight Service of Remembrance Candlelight Christmas Eve Services

Sunday, December 19 - 6:30pm
For many this is a difficult season of the year, especially if you have
lost a loved one. But there is hope in the midst of darkness. Come,
light a candle of remembrance, and experience God’s love at our
Service of Remembrance. Our healing prayer ministers will be on
hand to fashion a prayer for your needs, and Rev. Chris Shorow
will offer a meditation.
Children’s Christmas Eve Service
Friday, December 24 5:30pm
The Gospel will come alive with the help of our children in a narra-
tive re-telling of the birth of Jesus. This abbreviated, family-oriented
worship service includes familiar Christmas hymns. Children (ages 3
through 2nd grade) may select a costume at 5pm and participate in
the Nativity story!
Friday, December 24 - 7 & 11pm
Join us as we anticipate the day of our Savior’s birth! The
7pm Christmas Eve service will feature beautiful music, scripture
readings, and the lighting of the Christ Candle. The 11pm service
will feature a serene, simplified candlelight service with carols, the
Chancel Choir, and scripture. The service ends in candlelight with
the bells tolling the midnight hour, marking the arrival of Christmas
Day. (No nursery on Christmas Eve)
Sweater Sunday
Sunday, December 26th - ONE WORSHIP SERVICE - 10:30am
Bring your family, friends and out-of-town guests, in your crazy/
ugly/favorite sweater, and join us for one Combined Worship Ser-
vice at 10:30am! Sunday School for all ages at 9:30am.

Celebrating the Promise!

2010 Christmas Offering for the Regional Church
Give a gift on Sunday, December 26 to the 2010 Christmas Offering which supports
regional church ministries. The annual Christmas Offering helps support the development
of faith, the creation of community, and the strengthening of the congregations in
the Oklahoma Region. Our gifts will help churches seeking a new minister as
well as providing camps, retreats, training events, new church planting and
many more ministries in Oklahoma. Please consider a gift to the
Christmas offering this season.
 Prayers of the People Happy Birthday!
12/19 Chris Clark, Shawn Fapp
OUR PRAYERS FOR THOSE IN THE HOSPITAL
12/20 Greg Cunningham, Allison Ernst,
Jeff Stephens, OU Medical Center; Ken Kysar, OU
Medical Center - Edmond Bob Jennings, Jeanne Larimore, Pat
Warner
THOSE IN NEED OF PRAYER Marie Foreman, Kay Burks, Rose Marie McKee, 12/21 Tyler Black, Jennifer Brumback,
Bart Rodr, Eunice Wilson, Eric Koegel, Teddi Long-Owen, Ralph Eastwood (Jackie Emily Luschen, Jane Martin, Wes
Stafford’s dad), Ann Douthitt (Duke Douthitt’s mom), Sharon Luton (Susan Warner
Black’s cousin), Ed Berry, Hank Thomas (Randy Thomas’ brother)
12/22 Earlene Fleshman, J.C. Goza, Cathy
Justice, Bob McKibbin, Joyce
Werhun
Make A Fashion Statement 12/23 Jennifer Cain, Andrea Deal, Cora
By Randle Lee, Worship Committee Moderator
Deal, Debbie Gragg
Ever really wanted to wear THAT sweater to Church….do you have a sweatshirt that you 12/24 Wendy Fine-Thomas, Martha
just know will bring you all types of compliments? Here is your chance! Roach, Dena Stapp
On Sunday, December 26, we would like for everyone to wear their favorite, new, or 12/25 Don Barnes, Andrew Harris
ugly sweater to church for our one combined worship service at 10:30am. There won’t
be any prizes just the knowledge you participated in a large experiment in friendship and 12/26 Shirley Hopper, Diana Lee, Jim
bonding. Ware
Then on January 2, the Worship Committee is suggesting every person wear their
favorite sweatshirt to the service of their choice. Again, no prizes will be given, but really is
that really what you would want to win a prize for doing? So, put on that favorite sweatshirt
and come curl up in the pew with the bible and start the year off right!
Pastor’s Class Parent
Donate your gently used coats and give the gift of warmth! Information Meeting
If you have an extra coat or jacket hanging in your closet, please consider donating it January 30, 2011 - 4:00 p.m.
for Breakfast on Boulevard patrons. We are accepting coats for all ages and all sizes.
Bring them to the main workroom of the church offices, and we will pass them along to Fellowship Hall
someone in need. Thank you for your generosity. Breakfast on Boulevard coordinators
The Pastor’s Class is an annual course
designed to aquaint young people
Did You Order Come Together! with the basic traditions of our church,
the history of our denomination
Butter Braids? College/Young Adult Holiday Gathering and origins of our faith. Through
If you ordered Butter Braids but have Friday, January 7, 2011 @ 6:00 p.m. participation in Pastor’s Class, they will
not picked them up, they are labeled Join us at the home of Greg and Julie prepare for Baptism, while deeping
and stored in the Kids Club freezer in Bunton for dinner and fellowship. Pass the their understanding of God and
the church kitchen. Questions? Contact word and invite your friends! Please RSVP strengthening their relationship with
Robbi Kinnaird at robbi@kinnaird.com to gbunton@fccedmond.org by Monday, Christ.
or 340-2427. January 3.
In our congregation, we offer the the
course to 5th grade students and to
Now Hiring: Nursery Coordinator any 6th grade students who have not
already taken Pastor’s Class.
10 to 12 hours per week
(Primarily Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings.) The deadline for signing up for
We value each child and offer a safe environment where they will experience acceptance Pastor’s Class is January 9th. Please
and God’s love. Caring Nursery workers help make this commitment a reality. The Nursery contact Anna Lisa Stanley to sign
Coordinator, while primarily responsible for arranging Sunday morning nursery care for up for Pastor’s Class or for more
children of infant and toddler ages, ultimately arranges care for children through 5th grade information at astanley@fccedmond.org
during any church functions. For more information visit fccedmond.org/jobs
 Come UNITE with us
beginning Wednesday,
January 12.
Worship REGISTER and VOLUNTEER
now @ fccedmond.org/unite
at First Christian
8:15, 9 & 11am Jesus and the Gospels
4th Sunday of Advent with Rev. Chris Shorow 5:30-6:30
December 19, 2010 We have four different views of the life of Jesus in our Bible, as Mark Your Calendar Now!
Message: Rev. Chris Shorow the New Testament gives us four gospels. Each has a unique
Theme: Peace perspective and offers us insight into the life and ministry of
Scripture: Isaiah 2:2-5 Jesus Christ. We will look in-depth at these witnesses, their dif- January 12, 19, 26
ferences and what it says about our faith and what we believe. February 2, 9, 16, 23
December 26, 2010 No registration required for course, but please register online March 2, 9*, 23, 30
Message: Rev. Chris Shorow for meals to ensure adequate preparations are made. April 6, 13, 27
Theme: Storytime Talking About God and Other Easy Faith Issues
Scripture: Matthew 2:13-23 with Rev. Dr. Jerry Black Prices:
3.50 per meal
6:30 – 7:25 pm, January 12 – April 27, 2011 12.50 family 4+, weekly
Obviously, grasping the magnificence of God is anything 49.00 semester, one person
The Chalice CONNECTION but easy. So, this course is designed to explore such basic 175.00 semester, family of 4+
Shelley Regan, Editor theological precepts as the Bible, God, creation, mankind,
sin, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Trinity, salvation, the Church,
sregan@fccedmond.org and the future. It will feature Biblical information, thought * (DINNER ONLY because of
Read News Online provoking questions, and open discussion designed to help Ash Wednesday service)
@ fccedmond.org/news formulate one’s own theology. For a light hearted, yet thought
** Students will also meet April
Submit Articles to provoking course outline, contact Jerry at 341-3544, or see
Iris Jordan in the Pastors’ Office, or email Jerry at jblack@ 20 and May 4.
news@fccedmond.org
fccedmond.org

Edmond, OK 73083
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