This Week
Saturday
Join the men of Scott UMC this Saturday, Garfield & 29th, at 8:30am, for a men's breakfast. Rev. Eric will be speaking about how to find faith in the commercialization of Christmas. 

Sunday
9am  - Eric's class - Commercials about children and joy/hope at Christmas.
Adult Seminar - Ben Nourse (DU) - The Dalai Lama of Tibet

10:15am - Worship. Children's Pageant highlighting the work of Sunday School classes.
Thanks to Rev. Megan, Larry Brown, Katherine Turpin and all the education teachers who have helped pull the pageant together. 
So many stories to tell....
 
Winter Weather
It is a beautiful snowy landscape and the sight of snow fills us with peace and comfort. But, winter weather also creates some challenges for our church parking lot. First, please always make safe decisions for you and your family. If you wonder if services are cancelled please check your email and the local news station for information. Remember
 the alley- way is a difficult  spot to traverse, melting during the  day and then freezing over again at night. As much as we try, we are limited in what we can do with the infrastructure in place. If you are able to walk across the alley, we ask that you keep the south parking lot open for our parishioners who need a more direct and non-icy crossing. If you have any questions or notice any slick spots please let the office know.
 
Christmas Eve Music Teaser from Larry Brown.
Along with such Christmas Eve "essentials" as family, friends, lights, trees, ornaments, presents, and food, music also takes a prominent and welcome place in our celebrations. Among the musical essentials are:
  • Exciting prelude and postlude from our organist, Jeb Barrett
  • "Silent Night" with candles
  • "Joy to the World" really big and loud
Yes, our two Christmas Eve services (7:00 and 9:00 PM) include everything listed above. However, we have also been rehearsing pieces that hope to complement the essentials:
  • Mary's soul-searching uncertainty captured in Amy Grant's "Breath of Heaven," which contrasts a hauntingly beautiful melody, sung by soloist Julie Major-Frunz and the choir, with the pleading pathos of her warm, rich refrain
  • A seemingly endless set of unanswered rhetorical questions framed by Mary Kay Beall in her anthem, "Who Would Send a Baby?," which ends with all of us knowing the single answer to every question posed
  • Terre Roche's inspired "Star of Wonder" which she graciously offers to all singers: "I consider myself to be the channel through which this little song came into the world. I don't "own" the song. Nobody does. It belongs to all of us!"
  • A "new lullaby" -- those who
     know and enjoy Johannes Brahms' tender "Lullaby" (or cradle song) for piano might also enjoy another of his "lullabies," a theme he uses in a piece of sheer chamber music bliss-his F-minor Piano Quintet (string quartet + piano). The movement selected for Christmas Eve is not a transcription-rather, it is music that Brahms conceived and designed for those five instruments. When you hear it, we hope that something deep inside you moves to affirm the power and presence of both musical craft and genius.
The Chancel Choir will sing additional carols and anthems, so please join us at either of the Christmas Eve services for more surprises. At CCUM we LOVE to sing, and we can't wait to sing with YOU!
Painting and Updating
You will notice in the next week some changes to the building. The yellow hallway leading away from the sanctuary and the Fellowship Hall will be painted in the next week. Additionally, the elevator trim will be painted, the basketball backboard will hopefully be removed, and the front doors will be repaired and painted.  You will notice the bulletin boards being removed, we will replace them in future weeks with a different way to post information. Also, look for a new TV in the Narthex and in the Upper Room. This painting has been a project long in process and desperately needed.
 
The trustees have been working on various projects this fall please take a moment to thank the Trustees Team: Larry Bourgeois, Clare Prickett, Frank Smith, and Sue Fager. Projects included: improved mics for the sanctuary, a new mic system for the fellowship hall, addressing some electrical problems in the building, hiring a new snow removal company, and responding to elevator maintenance issues.
Eric's Epistle: 
I posted this last year. With the children's pageant this Sunday, a service meant to show us the presence of God in the faith of children and in the chaos, a child telling us the story just felt right. May you find God in the chaos, in the mess, in the story. 

Christ Church | 303-322-0784 | ChristChurchColorado.org