“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…” and the Chapel is in full festive mode! The Chapel is decorated and plans are moving forward to a great celebration of Jesus’ birthday! We enjoyed a great Sectional Christmas Party on December 2 in Port Lavaca, and an energetic Friday Night Youth Christmas Party on December 13. I personally missed the Service Club’s party on December 6 due to our being in New York City visiting Crystal, her husband Jake, and our four precious grandchildren. (You should see the pictures Joane took!) Christmas Caroling on a hay wagon happened on Wednesday, December 18, and many of you welcomed us to your home. Thank you for receiving us so well! But, the Chapel’s annual Christmas Sunday is this coming one – December 22. We will gather at 10:00 a.m. to study the Christmas Story from a different perspective and at 11:00 a.m. to enjoy a time of praise as we thank our Heavenly Father for sending His Only Son, Jesus to earth just for us. Then at 6:00 p.m., we will gather for our All Church Christmas Party, which will feature a “pot luck” meal, lots of games, and our usual “Dirty Santa” game. Bring a covered dish, your “white elephant” gift and join in the fun. It is always an evening to remember!
On Christmas Eve, we will be celebrating a time for families to come and join in Holy Communion together. We will begin at 7:00 p.m. and everyone is welcomed. We practice “open communion” at the Chapel, meaning that everyone who knows Jesus as personal Savior is welcomed to the Lord’s Table for Communion.
Recently, we have enjoyed the ministry of Rev. Jason Delgado and Hermano Jessie Alderete. Joane and I ministered in Wharton, due to the home-going of Pastor Richard Smith. We are assisting them in obtaining a pastor.
As you know, the Chapel is the host church for the Port O’Connor Benevolence Fund and we pass out the Thanksgiving and Christmas baskets. We passed out 33 Thanksgiving baskets to needy area families and another 15 Christmas baskets. Last year, the food for our Thanksgiving baskets totaled just over $2,000.00. With the same grocery list from last year, our food bill was in excess of $3,000.00. I am sure that it is not a surprise to most of us, because we all buy food. But, the extra funds completely depleted our POC Benevolence Fund. There have been some generous individuals who have given, and we could not have accomplished what we have without the giving of our Ladies Service Club. The Boy Scouts collected food and money, which went a long way. The Chamber of Commerce donated canned goods and some funds. POC Hardware store has a food bin all year long and many have put food in it. Had it not been for all the help we have received, we could not have passed out Thanksgiving and Christmas baskets this year – and I believe we have reached more truly needy this year than some other years. If you can help, at any time during the year, the POC Benevolence Fund has an account at our bank, or any funds given to any of our local churches will find its way to help feed needy folks next year.
The Chapel is a congregation that is moving forward. We have been making plans to see our ministries expand as we complete our Retreat Center. The areas in the new center will be multi-purpose and used as Bible Study rooms as well as host groups from outside our community for gatherings of many kinds. We are implementing new ideas that Pastor Joane and I have been learning from Church Life, which will affect every area of the congregation. You are welcomed to become a part of what the Lord is doing at the Chapel as we begin this new direction. Our first service of 2014 will be on Sunday, January 5, at 10:00 a.m., and we invite you to come.
The Chapel is an interdenominational congregation whose mission is to heal the hurts of lost humanity and restore the things the devil has taken from God’s creation. You will always find a warm welcome at the Chapel and are urged to, “Come, grow with us!”
