Celebrating Christmas Eve!

Dear Resurrection Family,

It’s Christmas week! Merry Christmas to each of you! This is our 32nd Candlelight Christmas Eve, and I’m so excited! I’m sending this eNote a day early to give you more detailed information about Christmas Eve. We held our first Christmas candlelight service on Tuesday and it was beautiful!

Help Others Find the Light of Christ

At each of our Kansas City locations we’ll have a searchlight/spotlight shining up into the sky, meant to be a visible invitation for people to come and find the light of Christ. I’d like to encourage you to invite your friends, family and others to join you. This morning, I invited a woman, I know, at the cleaners. I speak to her regularly and wanted to share the joy of Candlelight with her. Last night it was someone else I’d just met. I find many people come if they are only invited.

Philippians 2:15 notes that we’re to be like stars that shine in the sky. I think of the star that led the wise men to Jesus. I think we’re meant to be like that, pointing the way to Christ so that “people living in darkness” might see “a great light.” (Matthew 4:16) You each have a friend, neighbor or family member who needs the light of Christ. Here is the link to download graphics and videos that you can post and share on social media to invite someone, or even better, send them a message or make a phone call right now.

Christmas Eve Details

We’ll have 18 in-person services across the metro area, here are all the worship times and details.

All services will have traditional carols and Christmas music including singing Silent Night as we light our candles. At our various locations we will have a couple of services that are focused on children and families. At our Leawood location we’ll have two modern services, two traditional services with choir and orchestra, and one service with our new Gospel choir. With COVID we have no way of knowing how many will attend this year, but based upon prior years, 3 and 5 pm tend to be the busiest services at all locations.

Candlelight Christmas Eve Offering for Children and Families in Need

Just a reminder that, we will give away our entire Candlelight Christmas Eve offering, with roughly half supporting local missions and half going to international partnerships and projects. I’ll be sharing more in my sermon about a few of the ways we can literally change the world through our generosity.

We will not be passing offering plates during our in-person services to minimize contact, but you can give to the Christmas Eve offering using your smart phone during the offering time. There also are baskets at the exits where you can leave your gifts. If you are not worshipping online or television, or if you prefer, you can donate anytime between now and December 31 by clicking here and selecting “Christmas Eve Offering” for the giving type. You can also mail a check with “Christmas Eve Offering” in the memo to Church of the Resurrection.

Give Now to Christmas Eve Offering →

One Worship Service on December 26: 9 am

After 19 Christmas Eve services, we’re going to let our worship teams, volunteers and staff recuperate a bit by only having one worship service on Sunday, December 26. All five area locations will hold a 9 am worship service only. We will resume our regular worship schedule January 2.

Online this weekend, we’ll share our Candlelight Christmas Eve services on Saturday, December 25, at 5 pm and Sunday, December 26, at 7, 9 and 11 am and 5 pm. Christmas Eve services will also be on television at KMCI at the normal worship times, 8 and 11 am.

Office Hours and Emergency Pager

Don’t forget our office hours will be different during the holiday week – closed on Monday and Tuesday, with limited hours Wednesday – Friday.

If you have an emergency pastoral care need after office hours or over a holiday, please call our pager number at 913-544-0799. The pastor on call will return your call as soon as possible. The pager number is monitored and answered, so please call rather than emailing or messaging if it is an emergency.

My hope and prayers for our Christmas services, and for you personally, comes from Luke 1:78-79, the prayer of Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist. I am praying that,

“Because of our God’s deep compassion,
the dawn from heaven will break upon us,
to give light to those who are sitting in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide us on the path of peace.”

May the light of Christ fill our hearts this Christmas!

Adam