Sunday, December 20th: Choir Cantata, “Candles in the Darkness”

Posted on December 19, 2020

Good Afternoon,

Our Church Choir will be sharing their Christmas Cantata for this year, “Candles in the Darkness” with us tomorrow morning. The service will be a little bit different this week, namely, that it will be an all virtual worship.

Gift bags from the Worship Team with items to enhance the service were handed out at the Drive-Thru WNS this last week. The intention behind the Cantata is to view the service from home and participate with the activities in the gift bags. The video will be played in the Sanctuary at 10:50 for anyone that would like to view and participate in-person.

If you will be participating in the Sanctuary tomorrow, we kindly ask that you bring your bag of materials with you. There will be a few bags available for those who have not yet received one. If you do not have a bag, you may reflect in your own way as we move through the service.

At 10: 50 AM, the service will premiere at the following Link.

Comments are enabled on the Church Website, Facebook, and YouTube pages so that we can interact with the Choir Cantata. You do not have to have a Facebook or YouTube account to view the service video. If you do not have a Facebook or YouTube account, you can comment on the Church Website, or you can call or email Kevin with any prayer concerns that are on your heart.

This week, the Saints Under Construction Class will meet in-person in the Conference Room, and the Explorers Class will meet virtually via Zoom.

If you would like to attend Worship and/or Sunday School this week, you will need to register. By registering, you are agreeing to follow the guidelines set forth for a safe return, primarily, wearing a mask at all times while indoors. Those guidelines are available at www.springbranchpres.org/worship-registration.

You can register for Sunday School and the in-person Cantata viewing by using the form at the following link: www.springbranchpres.org/worship-registration. You may also register via email to secretary@springbranchpres.org. Please submit all reservations by 8:00 PM this evening.

Before Leaving Home

Prior to coming to Sunday School or to worship, please ask yourself these questions. If any of your answers to the questions are“yes”, please stay home. You can join Sunday School via Zoom (The Explorers will offer Zoom for their class and Saints Under Construction for those choosing to participate from home); and worship via live stream!

Have you or any person with whom you live, experienced any of the following symptoms of COVID-19 or any of these situations in the preceding 72 hours?
- Fever of 100.4°F or higher, new or worsening cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, new loss of taste or smell, vomiting or diarrhea
- In the last 14 days, have you been in direct contact with someone currently positive for COVID-19?
- Have you, or someone with whom you live recently been tested and received the results? Were any of the results positive?
- Are you, or someone with whom you live with awaiting COVID-19 test results?

Our Time For Young Disciples for tomorrow morning will be a part of the Worship Service. After the service has concluded, the Time For Young Disciples will be available on the Church Facebook and YouTube pages. Ms. Patty looks forward to seeing you!

Announcements & News:

Join us for a fun night of caroling on Monday, December 21st at 6:00pm! We’ll gather in the parking lot to sing some of our Christmas favorites. The Fellowship Committee will be providing hot chocolate. We hope to see you there!
One of our long-time Missions in December is the PCHAS Ornament Tree. During Advent time, we hang ornaments on a Christmas tree. Each of the ornaments has a PCHAS tag attached with a suggested donation amount. You take the ornament home with you and leave the donation in the basket provided. We will donate the entire amount to PCHAS at the end of the month. If you would like to donate money to PCHAS virtually, you can give online at www.springbranchpres.org/give and click on SUPPORT OUR MISSION OF THE MONTH. (If you pay by check, please make checks payable to SBPC and put “PCHAS Ornament Tree” in the meme line.)
The Worship Team needs your help as we plan our Christmas activities. We are putting together a special Christmas message to the congregation that will be shared on Christmas Day. In order to make this project a success, we need members and friends to send a brief video message saying “Merry Christmas” to the SBPC family. We will be accepting messages through Tuesday, December 22, 2020. We ask that the messages be sent to this link: https://www.dropbox.com/request/ZHzb91hCcypx1eyRM3fA.
“Let Us Light Candles: Matthew 25 and the Work of Advent” is an online devotional which includes Christmastide and goes through Epiphany being offered through Presbyterian’s Today. This particular year is stretching and exercising our creativity as we seek to stay connected and continue to reach out to the community at large. Here is the link to access the devotionals: https://www.presbyterianmission.org/ministries/today/advent2020/advent-and-christmas-devotional-2020-week-4/. If you would prefer a printed copy, please contact Spring Branch Presbyterian Church at secretary@springbranchpres.org.
We will have poinsettias for purchase again this year! You can place your order in the Church Office, online at this form (www.springbranchpres.org/poinsettia-order-form/), or by emailing secretary@springbranchpres.org, today through Monday, December 21st! Please remember to indicate who you are honoring, and/or remembering with your payment of $10.00 to SBPC. You can mail your payment to the Church Office or place it in the offering box on Sunday mornings. The names of those being remembered or honored will be shared with the congregation on Christmas Eve.
You are invited to attend Pastor’s Bible Study with Kevin! The group gathers on Tuesday mornings at 11:00 AM. Here is the information to join the study- Meeting ID: 897 7951 2452, and Password: 754888 (Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89779512452?pwd=VU1VZVByeFI1MEwxNmxrR090S0JVQT09 . We hope to see you there!
If you have articles that you would like to submit for the January 2021 Edition of the PresPress, please do so ASAP. Articles can be sent to ethan@springbranchpres.org or secretary@springbranchpres.org.
Through our Presbytery and partners like Houston Responds, we have been identifying ways we can continue to help our neighbors in Louisiana who have been impacted by Hurricanes Laura andDelta. The Mission Team is partnering with Fuller Center for Disaster Recovery to plan a mission trip to go help our neighbors with rebuilding their homes. All skill levels are welcome, and we are hoping to send a team the weekend of January 15th-18th. If you are interested in attending, please let Pastor Kevin or Miguel know. The deadline to sign up is December 17th.