Well, our Christmas service at church has come and gone. I have to say, it was better than last year. You see, last year we hadn’t moved into our new building, and we were having two services, but for Christmas we wanted to have only one service. So, we decided to hold the service at the middle school, where the church used to meet back in the day. Well, we had to haul all of our gear and sound equipment in, and set up everything, and it just wasn’t the greatest service we’ve ever had. There were a few hiccups here and there, to say the least.
BUT, this year was quite enjoyable. Ironically enough, we ended up having two services, and both were pretty full. I’d say between the two services there were probably about 275-300 people. We had three of the children’s classes each sing a song, which of course is always entertaining. As Ryan put it (the pastor), “It’s fun to watch the kids because you can see bits of their parents in them”. How very true that is!

I ended up borrowing a medley from the Relient K Christmas album, “Let it snow baby, let it Reindeer”. I know what you’re probably thinking, “Aren’t they a punk band?”. To which I would answer, “yes”. However, they are actually quite talented when it comes to switching up styles and going for something more mellow. They have harmonies reminiscent of the Beach Boys, and their musical arrangements always have a flavor of jazz influence in them.

For our set list, we did:

Hosanna (by Paul Baloche)

O Holy Night

Silent Night/Away in a Manger

I Celebrate the Day (great original Relient K christmas song)

then at the end we finished up with:

Come Ye Sinners

Musically, I think the additional band members we added just for this service were a nice touch. It filled things up a little more. My wife and another lady in the church did an amazing job leading “O Holy Night” and “Silent Night”. I hope to do more three part harmonies like that in the future. (I was singing the third part, in case you were wondering)

So I curious, for those of you who drop by on occasion and read my blog, how have your holiday services gone so far? We still have two more services; Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. We’re praying that the Lord would use each service to bless people, but especially to bring Him glory.

Let me know how your holiday services have been going.

-Stewart