Home for the Holidays - Advent & Christmas 2020 New Providence Presbyterian Church - New Providence Presbyterian ...
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Home for the Holidays Advent & Christmas 2020 New Providence Presbyterian Church
Home for the Holidays
Click here to read about NPPC’s safety protocols for Advent.
November 22
9:00 am Worship Service (Facebook)
Worship Service (Westminster Hall)
11:00 am Advent Festival (Upper Parking Lot)
This is our November brown-bag church picnic, including Advent crafts; all are welcome!
“Advent in a Box” kits will be distributed to all members who request them. Deacons will deliver
if needed. Each box will include supplies for crafts, plus our Heart Work Reverse Advent Calendar
(instead of getting one thing each day, you’re challenged to do one thing each day).
If you would like to receive Advent in a Box, please email rachel@newprovidencepres.org. The
Heart Work Reverse Advent Calendar will also be available on the New Providence website
(www.newprovidencepres.org).
November 29
Advent I Home for the Holidays: Home Alone
9:00 am Worship Service (Facebook)
10:00 am Worship Service (Sanctuary)
3:00 pm Installation Service for the Rev. Rachel Parsons-Wells (Sanctuary & Zoom)
Hanging of the Greens
As the closing of Rachel’s installation service, lights and Chrismons from the Advent festival
will be hung on the magnolia tree outside, and wreaths will be placed on church doors. All are
welcome and invited to participate.
Beginning of Advent E-votions
E-votions continue daily by email through December 24. A limited number of printed copies will
be available for those without internet access, and will be placed outside the upper Westminster
lobby beginning Tuesday, November 24.
Reverse Heart Work Advent Calendar begins!
Christmas Card Exchange
Sign-ups begin (virtual, in person or by phone). This is an easy way to be a Secret Santa. Every-
one who signs up and makes a card for someone else will receive one themselves. No one will
know who their card is going to (or coming from) until it is delivered. Cards (virtual or physical)
are due by December 9. To sign up to participate, click here.
December 6
Advent II Home for the Holidays: Home on the Range
9:00 am Worship Service (Facebook)
10:00 am Worship Service (Sanctuary)
“Herding Sheep” Photo Challenge
Everyone is invited to take a picture of a sheep (from their nativity scene, hidden away
somewhere unexpected.) Post it on social media (Facebook, Twitter or Instagram) with the
hashtags #nppsheep and/or #NewProvPres. Or, email pictures to the church office to be posted
on the NPPC website at mail@newprovidencepres.org.
December 9
Deadline to turn in physical or e-cards for Christmas Card Exchange
December 13
Advent III Home for the Holidays: Homecoming
9:00 am Worship Service (Facebook)
10:00 am Worship Service (Sanctuary)
5:00 pm Youth Progressive Christmas Tailgate (Upper Parking Lot)
Youth and parents, contact Louden Young (louden@newprovidencepres.org) for info.
December 14-18
It’s Homecoming Week!
Who doesn’t love a crazy celebration? Themes will be announced for each day, and you are
invited to send in pictures, or post to social media with the hashtag #NewProvPres.
December 16
ChristmasWishes Gift Distribution
NPPC will provide a Christmas meal in a box as parents drive through to pick up gifts.
December 20
Advent IV Home for the Holidays: A Place to Call Home
9:00 am Worship Service (Facebook)
10:00 am Worship Service (Sanctuary)
5:00 pm Round the Parking Lot Carol Sing (Upper Parking Lot)
Gather in cars with your own family; bring cookies and hot chocolate and sing (safely) the songs
of the season. Rob Britt will lead from the west wall of the Sanctuary.
December 21
6:oo pm Longest Night Service (Sanctuary & Facebook Live)
December 21st is the longest (and therefore darkest) night of the year in our hemisphere.
Gloria Mencer will lead a service of remembrance and prayer, particularly designed for those
who have suffered loss in this year, or for whom the holidays are especially difficult.
December 24
Christmas Eve Home for the Holidays: Welcome Home
3:00 pm Messy Christmas Service (Sanctuary)
Because what has this year been if not messy?
This brief afternoon service will celebrate the birth of Jesus, and include scripture, prayers, and
a short meditation, as well as organ and vocal music.
Following the service, interactive craft stations will be set up in the courtyard to allow some
hands-on activities for those of us who worship best by getting our hands into it.
(Masks required, messiness optional).
5:00 pm Reading of the Christmas Story (Zoom - available afterwards on Facebook)
This interactive service will allow children to take part in reading and acting out the story of
Jesus’ birth. Homemade costumes are encouraged! If your child or grandchild would like to
participate, or read a part of the story, please email rachel@newprovidencepres.org for
information and the Zoom link.
7:00 pm Lessons and Carols (Facebook)
Our traditional Service of Lessons & Carols will be pre-recorded from the NPPC Sanctuary, and
will feature organ and choral ensembles, hearing the ancient prophecies of the Messiah as well
as the Christmas story, and will include a brief sermon.
11:00 pm Acoustic Christmas Service (Sanctuary & Facebook)
Our final Christmas Eve celebration will be held in-person with all appropriate protocols (masks
and physical distancing). The service is quiet and contemplative, with acoustic music, sermon
and scripture, and the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper (served safely). Weather permitting,
worship will conclude outdoors with the singing of “Silent Night” in candlelight.
To register to attend this service, please click here.
Home for the Holidays
Safety Protocols for Advent at NPPC
All in-person events are contingent on Covid-19 infection rates and may be
changed if the need arises. All online events will be on Facebook Live
(https://www.facebook.com/NewProvPres) unless otherwise noted. You do not
need to be a Facebook user to access those events.
In-person activities will follow recommended safety protocols: masks worn at all
times (if you do not have a mask, one will be provided), and physical distancing
from anyone who is not living with you in your home. Registration is strongly
encouraged, using links provided on Facebook, website or e-news, although not
required. If you have not pre-registered, you will need to stop upon arrival to
provide name and contact information.
There will be no congregational singing indoors, although enthusiastic humming
is encouraged. Entrances and exits from worship spaces will be clearly marked.
While certain events or activities may have a different focus than others, all
members and friends of New Providence are welcome at every in-person event.
Thank you for helping us to keep one another safe!You can also read
