Christmas is exceptionally different and extremely difficult for most! I love going to the Mall during the rush, but only once and that for only a couple hours. I most often will purchase nothing but some food court items. I will find me a place to sit so I can watch the frazzled as they hurry from store to store looking for that just right item. I wonder what I will do when I get old and mail order has replaced brick and mortar?

Having been confined to my recliner for the past two months due to pneumonia, I better understand the isolation many feel even at this festive time of the year! I have a lot of contacts by phone and many have been adventurous enough to climb these 17 steps to my quarters. But, there are many right here in Port O’Connor who sit alone for days without anyone. Some have family but because of past hurts, relationships have fractured. Some are sick and the fears of the virus keeps them lonely!

I can see that our town is much like Bethlehem! We all here feel the pain of taxes and that was the reason Joseph and Mary traveled there! When the couple arrived, they found a town much like this one on most holiday weekends – without desirable lodging! The guests they had smelled like sheep and we often have the fragrance of “Ode de Fish” splashed on us! And we too have the star, which for me is the hope that our churches shine over our community!

The one thing that grieves me most is that like Bethlehem, POC is not changed much by the coming Christ! We are busy with our lives and some impressive projects, but The Reason of the Season is often not only failed to bring worship but fails to even be noticed!

Why don’t we recreate our activities! Why doesn’t each gathering include the reading of the Christmas story? We all know where to find it recorded in Luke’s Gospel! A fresh hearing of the simplicity of God’s love for us can make an eternal difference!

Merry Christmas!

For me, Christmas is one of the two favorite seasons – the other is Easter! It is a time for trees, lights and ornaments which all remind most of us of days gone by! We think of packages each one representing someone’s expression of love to us.

That is the Christmas story in condensed version! God so loved us individually and personally that He gave His best gift to us. The event did not take place in a kingly setting, but the angelic lights more than made up for the humble stable, a few shepherds, and the poverty of this young couple. This is the Christmas we celebrate at the Chapel!

We began the festivities with Thanksgiving! No one truly finds Christmas without following the pathway that leads us to Thanks! For us, it included sharing with needy families with the provisions of the POC Benevolence Fund. The coming together of the community with monetary donations given through the churches or the bank. Let us not neglect the food collected at POC Elementary and the local food drops. We enjoyed a special time of remembering all our blessings with a Thanksgiving Eve service.

With the first Sunday of December, we hosted songwriter, singer, minister, and long time friend Ric Gorden! Ric had to travel all the way from Guthrie, Oklahoma to be with us. To gain the most of his talents, we had him minister for two hours on Sunday morning and an hour and half in the evening! What a memorable event!

Erny’s sister came from Bartlesville, Oklahoma to help us in Erny’s strengthening process. Not often enough does she come, so I took full advantage of her love and ate all the three daily meals she provided! We continue inviting she and her husband Don to move to POC!

The Chapel ladies sacrificed Black Friday by gathering and decorating the building. They did a beautiful job! We did rope Tom into climbing the ladder to retrieve the stored decorations. Loving the Christmas spirit those ladies poured into every detail!

POC Benevolence Baskets are being readied for the needy of our community. These will be distributed on Tuesday, December 15. Each basket will provide a bounty of needed food to help families through these holidays.

At 6 pm on Sunday, December 20, the Chapel will have our annual Christmas Party. We will enjoy a “pot luck” dinner followed with our traditional “white elephant” gift exchange. This is always a special event for the whole family.

On Wednesday, December 23, at 7 pm, we will have a great time with a hayride. Returning to the Chapel, we will have our fire glowing ready to cook hot dogs and roast marshmallows. Each year we have guests who have never been on an outing like this so everyone is welcome!

Fisherman’s Chapel is an interdenominational congregation which lifts up. “The Reason of The Season!” One will always find a warm welcome, a great time of singing praises, and a timely Word from Holy Scripture. Sunday services begin at 10 am with Bible Study, followed by the Morning Service at 11 and the Evening Service at 6. Wednesday’s we gather at 7 pm for a great time of inspiration. All are welcome and urged to “Come, Grow With Us!”

Celebrating Christmas with a community Christmas tree are Pastor Cody Logan of Seadrift Methodist church with some very happy merry makers, Beverly Klaus and Roberta Bowman! The Seadrift Methodist church hosted the event for the community Wednesday evening, December 9th. Ornaments from members of the Seadrift community were placed on the tree signifying much good will and the peace that only the Savior gives. -Tanya DeForest

December is always such a busy time of year. Lots of events have been canceled or changed because of the virus, but there is still plenty to do if you are looking. Everyone wants to keep things as normal as possible, whatever that means to you! Masks, social distancing, and closed businesses are not normal, but we can still attend church events and Sunday school. God is good and we are so blessed to be living in Port O’Connor.

On Wednesday, December 16, First Baptist Church had another free drive through meal from 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm. This time we served brisket sandwiches, beans, potato salad, slaw and dessert. Yum! Thanksgiving we gave out almost 85 meals in less than an hour!

Mark Sunday, December 20, 2020, on your calendar. Lots of special activities will be held by FBC. After Sunday school and church services, there will be a soup lunch held in our fellowship hall. There will be several kinds of soup, corn muffins and dessert. Everyone is invited.

Our 6:00 pm service will be a candlelight service and will be held at front beach. To worship under the stars, at the beach should be an awesome experience. The weatherman says it should be a beautiful night. Let’s see if he’s right. If not, the service will be held at the church. Afterwards we will be serving hot chocolate and cookies. Lots of food being prepared by FBC this holiday season! Please plan on joining us for this special event and all the others we are planning.

One of the cancellations, because of the virus, is our 2021 Sweetheart Banquet. This was to be our 25th celebration. If circumstances improve and people are venturing out again, we will hold it later in the year. A lot of planning and preparation go into this fun event every year. It’s already time to start working on it for February, believe it or not. That’s why we are announcing the postponement now. Hopefully, we will get to hold it before 2021 is over. If not, in 2022, we will hold our 25th anniversary of the banquet.
Another believe it or not is that we are already starting to collect for next year’s Shoe Box Project. When you are shopping those after Christmas sales, pick up items for the boxes. It was such a success this year because we spread it out over 12 months instead of just 2 or 3. And because the community really got behind the event, not just church members. Thank you, again, to everyone who contributed.

Remember that we are still able to gather together and worship as we please. Our country is going through such turmoil and upheaval that we need to be praying more than ever for so many reasons. Our church is not closed and we are waiting to welcome you to any of our functions. Besides the ones mentioned above, we have our regular Sunday and Wednesday services, Bible Studies, and Youth Activities. Come join us!

Merry Christmas!

Remember The Reason For The Season!