Friendship — This year, local churches are participating in a series of events to focus on the true message of Christmas.
The Friendship Christmas Celebration begins Saturday with a series of activities for individuals and families that will run from Christmas Day until New Year’s Eve.
The schedule includes a large-scale Nativity scene lighting, Christmas carols, a gingerbread house contest, community concerts, and a Christmas Eve service.
The celebration begins Saturday afternoon with the lighting of a large Nativity scene at the Friendship Mission House, formerly St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 30 East Main Street.
It also includes songs and readings of the Christmas story, and participants can leave new or unused Bibles and other Christian literature in the mobile chapel to send to pastors and missionaries in other countries who don’t have immediate access. You can also. such items.
The chapel, which has been located in the forecourt of the Mission House grounds for the past two months, will remain there until the end of the year, allowing items to be dropped off at any time by simply opening the chapel door. , it’s in a small trailer and you put it inside.
Alfred’s Photography for the Soul Ministry has visited various communities in the Southern Tier and Northern Pennsylvania over the past two years and collected approximately 20 tons of materials.
Additional parts of the schedule include:
• On Dec. 10 at 6:30 p.m., the second annual Christmas Caroling event will be held at the First United Methodist Church, 21 W. Main St., followed by cookies and hot chocolate.
• The United Church Gingerbread House Contest will be held on Dec. 16 from 2 to 4 p.m. at Bible Baptist Church, 43 W. Main Street, with five Friendship churches giving away $50 in prizes to top participants. We offer gift certificates.
Participating churches are First United Methodist, Bible Baptist, Way Nile Community Congregation, Church of God in Christ, and Friendship United Church.
Hot chocolate and Christmas cookies will be provided to area residents who come to see the exhibit, and Cornell Cooperative Extension of Alleghany County’s Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) will be offering gingerbread men and ginger decorations for children to decorate. Bread cookie mix is available. In the end, I want to take it home to my family.
Contestants can bring their entries, which fit on the church’s folding table, to Bible Baptist at 1:30 p.m., and results will be judged by community leaders and announced at 4:15 p.m. For more information: friendshipchurch.dcb@gmx.com or (585) 973-7951.
• On Dec. 17 at 3 p.m., Belmont’s Fountain Arts Center Youth Choir will present “Unto Us,” a co-sponsored Christmas concert that shares the meaning of Advent: hope, peace, joy and love. Friendship Church, 31 E. Main St.
The group will sing a blend of Christmas carols under the direction of Amanda Robbins, with several piano solos and duets, brass ensembles, string quartets and flute pieces interspersed throughout the program.
Light refreshments will be provided after the free activities.
• Dec. 24: On Christmas Eve, Way Nile Community Church members will hold a service that includes a candle lighting at the church facility, 4095 Route 275, starting at 6:30 p.m. A similar service will be held at Bible Baptist Church starting at 7 p.m., followed by homemade cookies and other refreshments.
Sunday services are held regularly at other locations.
● A New Year’s Eve family celebration including family fun, movies, food and fellowship will be held at Bible Baptist Church on Dec. 31 at 8:30 p.m.
In addition to these events, the congregations invite the public to participate in two other activities:
• Prayer at Friendship Central School, Dec. 7 at 8:30 a.m.;
Service to Others – Putting others first is the school’s character trait of the month for December, and each month at Friendship Church a positive trait is adopted to model within our students and community . Prayer meetings are held on the sidewalk in front of the school on the first Thursday of each month at 8:30 p.m.
• Emotional support during the holidays: Several Friendship churches are partnering with Alleghany Hope to help the many people suffering during the holidays due to the death of a loved one, separation, or divorce. For more information, contact AlleganyHopeWNY@outlook.com or (585) 664-9989.
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