What a Great Place to Begin and Believe!

I confess to being amazed at the numbers of people who kept coming in on Sunday, Dec. 24. Between rain in the morning and the Cowboys in the afternoon, my expectations for attendance were very modest.  Historically, Christmas Eve attendance is a little over double the average Sunday attendance. Our in-house Sunday morning average has been around 310. I estimated we would have somewhere around 700 for Christmas Eve services.

We worshipped with 1,156. That is in addition to the 170 who came for the fourth Sunday of Advent that morning. As Rev. Gayle Landis said, “the ushers really had to ‘ush’ at the 7 p.m. service, there were so few seats left.” And the children filled the front in their manger costumes as the story was told at the 5 p.m. service. It was a glorious Advent and Christmas season for FUMC Plano, and the attendance speaks for the hunger that people have for something more, something profound, something deeply personal, something they can hold onto and believe. As our church sign says, “This is a GREAT place to start your year.”

This Sunday, we begin a new series, “The Apostles’ Creed: What do We REALLY Believe?” An accompanying study guide by Rev. Dr. Gayle Landis is available for small groups’ and individual’s use.  For six weeks leading up to Lent, we will explore the basic tenets of our Christian faith and the answers they provide for our deepest questions. As we begin a new year, I can think of few places to better ground ourselves: the historic faith and this church family. I look forward to seeing you in person and online.

Blessings upon you and the year where God is waiting for you with grace, strength, and peace.