December 5 – 8 was a very busy four days filled with Lewis Center church activities. We had a cookie walk, cantata, and tree lighting. As a pastor, I am used to December being a crazy month with all kinds of things crammed in. But things have generally been quieter for me since I retired. This was my busiest church weekend in the last ten years.
It started with Bible Study on Thursday night. I have been teaching an Advent Study which I have really enjoyed. There are 11 faithful disciples who have been showing up and participating.
Earlier in the week I made four batches of cookies for the cookie walk and delivered these when I went to church for Bible Study. The United Women of Faith (formerly the United Methodist Women) have used a cookie sale every year to raise thousands of dollars for missions. They were a little like cookie nazis. You had to sign up for at least ten dozen, make one of their five recipes, and make them precisely like they specified. Ten dozen cookies isn’t really that many, but it seems like a lot when it is the minimum required. Once the cookies were baked and delivered, the women assembled them on platters.
With fewer members in the UWF, they decided to try something different this year. Instead of selling cookie platters, they decided to try a cookie walk. People signed up to make a double batch of whatever their favorite Christmas cookie is and delivered it to the church on Thursday or Friday. Because they were only asking for a double batch, they had a lot more people sign up. And it was a huge variety. On Saturday they set all the cookies out on platters and people could select what they wanted and pay by the pound.
The Cookie Walk started during cantata practice and I could see families coming in to select their cookies. Most families gave each person in the family a box to select cookies, so each person got to pick out the cookies that they liked. They also separated the cookies with nuts or peanut butter and the gluten free cookies. I couldn’t believe the number of cookies or the variety of what everyone made!
After cantata practice, we had a choir potluck dinner. Then I went over to the Cookie Walk to pick out some cookies for Tom and me. I got a container and selected 1.5 pounds of cookies. Chocolate for Tom and a variety to try for myself. It was lots of fun to select from the huge variety and there were plenty of male and female volunteers helping. I asked Pat, who was in charge, what she thought. She told me that this way of doing it was so much easier and much more fun. She was also very pleased with the money coming in.
On Sunday the leftover cookies were waiting when people arrived at church. They had been packaged into mystery boxes. People could buy two pounds of cookies for $15 but they didn’t know what they got until the packages were opened. The cookies left at the end of the two services were going to the Lewis Center police station and fire department.
Sunday morning was also two performances of the cantata, “This Is Christmas.” We had been practicing since the middle of October and performed very well. It was also the largest choir the Lewis Center United Methodist Church has ever had. We just need a few more men! If you would like to watch the cantata, you can see it here. I love to sing in the cantata. It really gets me ready for Christmas.
Sunday afternoon we returned to Lewis Center for the last event of the busy weekend. The Lewis Center choir was singing at the Evans Farm Christmas Tree Lighting. Evans Farm is a huge multi-use development that is next door to the church. When the development is finished it will have 16,000 residences, in addition to stores, restaurants, work spaces, a recreational complex, and a theatre. The church is being intentional about inviting all these new neighbors to worship and service.
This is the third year for the tree-lighting. The first year it rained like crazy. The second year it was 15 degrees. This year the weather was perfect. Close to 50 degrees and clear skies. So, of course, this was also the year they had put up a tent and had solo stove fireplaces everywhere. The Lewis Center Choir was the first group on the program, so we sang a variety of Christmas carols and songs.
After the choir sang, we had a chance to mingle with folks. There was pulled pork and macaroni and cheese plus a bunch of familiar looking cookies. All of the shops were open so folks could check them out. They had a boat float (a pontoon boat on a trailer) that was circling the community so everyone could enjoy the lights. Santa was set up in front of one of the shops. Tom and I stuck around and talked to people because I still had another part in the program.
One of our church members who lives at Evans Farm had asked me to do a service of remembrance for the people in the Evans Farm community who had died in the last year. My part was supposed to be at 6:30, which was the time set for the tree-lighting. But I got a call at 6, as I was walking around, saying they were moving it up. So they lit the tree, I said my few paragraphs, we read the names, had a prayer and then I was done. My part was very short but several people thanked me for doing it.
And that was the last event in our very busy weekend. It was a blessing and we saw God at work in so many ways. Cookie Walk, cantata, tree lighting. All different ways of serving the God we love.