Dear BCC Family,

What a great Christmas we just experienced together at BCC!

It was a big weekend with a lot of cool events happening here. 

Living Nativity

This was a great event! It was a wonderful event especially for the children. With the live animals, including Herman the Camel, plus the shepherds, wise men, soldiers on horseback, angels, Joseph, Mary & a real baby for Jesus on Sunday night, it was quite an experience to behold. What a great way to teach the children the reality of the Christmas story! People acted their parts very well with the soldiers gruffly asking people what they were doing in Bethlehem and if they had paid their taxes; or the innkeepers telling you about the young couple they placed in the stables who had just had a baby, or the wise men showing their gifts and explaining what frankincense was.

We had well over a thousand people here on Sunday night, plus those who came on Saturday night. And thanks to the generosity of so many people here at BCC, we were able to welcome all these many community guests into our church building (the 'inn' which was being remodeled), for some hot drinks and cookies and a warm inviting lobby.  What a great way to make our mark in the community and to offer something this Christmas which is focused on the real reason for the season: Jesus!

Many thanks to Pastor Mary and her team of volunteers who helped make this happen.

"Tapestry of Light" Christmas Festival of Music

In addition, we had a very fine and excellent musical celebration on Sunday evening with the Tapestry of Light music festival. It was over an hour of fabulous Christmas music, Scripture readings, bells, choir, and congregational singing to make for a wonderful addition to the Christmas celebrations of the season. The gym was completely packed with standing room only, for the many people there, from both BCC as well as the surrounding communities. For example, Melodie and I welcomed in a wayfaring elderly couple from Clear Lake by the name of Miller, who come to this festival almost every year! ;) We had guests from the community as well as the BCC family here for this fine musical event.

Many thanks to Marsha Kirkpatrick and Karin Wickman and their spouses, and many volunteers for making this happen.

Wonderful Worship Services

Finally, I just have to tell you how grateful I am for the many Christmas carols and songs which we get so sing every Sunday during Advent here at BCC. The church which I came from, like many churches these days, it seems, did not do a lot of Christmas carols during the Advent Season. But in my mind, this is one important part of the Christmas season, the telling of the Christmas story in song so that we can capture all of the wonder and joy of this season. So each Sunday as we sing - I get to sing them three times each Sunday! - and as Max has been teaching the Scripture passages about the Christmas story, we are receiving a wonderful reminder each week about the loving act of our Lord Jesus Christ in coming to share salvation with all of us.

Christmas Love Project

I can't tell you just yet the total numbers for the Christmas Love Project, as some small groups are still competing with one another, but you will be surprised! This weekend at the Christmas Services (Christmas Eve: 3, 4:30, 6pm; Christmas Day: 10am), I will announce the results of the giving towards the chicken farm for the orphanage in Ethiopia. You will be absolutely blown away!

The Christmas Love Project has been our church family's way of saying "Thank You Lord" for the gift of Jesus to us. It is our opportunity during this season, which in America can become so materialistic, to turn our eyes outward to the needs of the world and to share the love of Jesus which He has shared with us. The Elders thought this would be a good focus for us as a church, and the staff agreed, and the church family has gotten behind this idea in a wonderful way. 

Bring your family to worship at one of the four Christmas services provided this weekend for you, so that your family can praise and worship Jesus together at Christmas.

In Christ Jesus,

Pastor Bill