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December 5, 2019   •  No. 49
  

“Merry Christmas from the Family” by Robert Earl Keen

Song link: http://bit.ly/2qhjM1f

Luke 2
Years ago, my friend Andy Berry introduced me to Robert Earl Keen’s barroom classic, “Merry Christmas from the Family.” Take a moment to listen to it here. Being a Christmas music snob who was raised with the Nutcracker, Handel’s Messiah, and the grand choral tradition of advent, I was initially repelled by its brash defiance of seasonal norms. But now, with an entire adulthood spent celebrating Our Savior’s birth in Central Texas without snow, roasting chestnuts, wassail, or any of the trappings of the iconic cold-weather holiday, I’ve come to appreciate it more with each passing year.

We know the Luke 2 account so well that we gloss over the fact that it was a far cry from labor and delivery best practices.  A home birth is one thing, but to have a barn birth without a doula or midwife in sight is a shock to our contemporary sensibilities. With dirt-encrusted ranch hands showing up to this makeshift maternity ward after seeing a vision in the fields late at night, a clinical observer would detect a few public health concerns. In short, the first Christmas was, by contemporary standards, a hot mess.
Robert Earl Keen was born and raised in Houston and was an English major while at Texas A&M. He is a legendary Texas singer-songwriter who colorfully captures some of the experience of what it means to live in the Lone Star State. His song, “Merry Christmas from the Family,” is a fan favorite. In an interview, Keen explained the impetus for the song: “I didn't even know what a chestnut looked like until I was 30 years old and saw it in a picture book . . . every Christmas song I had ever heard didn't have a lot to do with growing up in Houston where it was most likely 85 degrees and 95 percent humidity.”

The song describes an unpretentious Texas family Christmas with a parade of eccentric aunts, uncles, cousins and their imperfect guests drinking heavily and making multiple trips to a nearby convenience store for more alcohol, tobacco, junk food, and personal items. Each verse ends with a refrain from a traditional carol – Feliz Navidad, Silent Night, and The First Noel – that serves as an ironic counterpoint to the family’s unkempt festivities. There is nothing about this gathering that remotely conjures the idyllic images from Charles Dickens, Norman Rockwell, or the Hallmark channel. It does, however, remind the listener that, “it takes all kinds to make a world.”

Instead of insisting that our Christmas be picture perfect, we need to embrace the spirit of lovable chaos depicted in the song and focus on making the most out of our time with family and friends by basking in the hope and good cheer of the Incarnation. To worry about how our commemoration of the birth of Christ is conforming to a cultural ideal imported from Western Europe is to miss the point entirely. The angels brought good news of great joy:  the Messiah has come! If we are not willing to live this moment to the fullest in our own place and time and with our own friends and family, then we are doing Christmas wrong. Is that going to look a little dirty and disorderly? You bet. Just like it did in Bethlehem.

Reflection
How much time do we spend during this season attending to appearances instead of being present with our loved ones?
 
Prayer
Almighty God, help us to celebrate your Son’s birth by being present with our friends and family.

 
Up Ahead
12/05
10:00a - Meals on Wheels

12/07
09:00a - Children's Christmas Craft Party

12/08
2nd Sunday of Advent

9:30a - Sunday School
10:45a - Worship
10:45a - Children's Choir
6:00p - Youth Christmas Party

12/09
06:00a - Men's Breakfast at Panera (Baylor)

12/10
10:00a - Meal's on Wheels


Birthdays
12/04 - Jamey Fulton
12/06 - Jennifer Grant
12/07 - Linda Dulin
12/07 - Buddy Ferguson
12/11 - Rachel Stoner


Worship
12/08
Message

Keep Awake

Scripture: 
Psalm 119:145-149, Matthew 24:36, 40-44

Mary Alice Birdwhistell
Year-End Financials
2019 Adopted Ministry Action Budget
$618,216

Received Thru Sunday, December 1st
$548,015

Needed by December 31, 2019 for 100%
$70,201
Men's Breakfast
Join the men for breakfast at Panera (Baylor) this upcoming Monday, November 11th, at 6:45am, for a time of fellowship and study. 

Service of Consolation
Christmas is often characterized as “the most wonderful time of the year,” but for many of us, this time of the year reminds us of loss, grief, and loneliness. Calvary will hold our annual Service of Consolation on Thursday, December 12 at 7:00 PM. If you find yourself feeling weary this Christmas season, know that you're not alone. Join us for this time of quiet reflection, candle lighting, and remembrance. (Childcare will be available during the service).

Christmas Coffeehouse
We hope you’ll join us for Calvary’s Christmas Coffeehouse on Saturday, December 14 at 7:00 PM — an evening featuring the award-winning acapella group, Baylor VirtuOSO, the Methodist Children's Home Choir, EXCELLENT desserts, coffee, fellowship, and raising money for Calvary’s 2020 mission partnerships! You’re also encouraged to participate in our Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest. Suggested donations for entry are $10/person and no more than $25/family.

This event would not be possible without the hard work of Calvary’s mission team! If you’d like to help with Coffeehouse by bringing a dessert for the silent auction, please contact Lanna Palmer at Lanna_Palmer@baylor.edu. If you’d like to serve in other ways with the event (set-up, decorations, hospitality, etc), please contact John Hunt at jhunt@cbcwaco.net.

Church-Wide Christmas Party at Mary Alice’s House
Mary Alice would love to welcome you to her house for a come-and-go Christmas party on Sunday, December 15 from 2:00-5:00 PM. Her address is 10328 Durango Trail, 76712. Come enjoy Christmas treats and time with the Calvary family as we celebrate the season together. All are welcome, including children!

New Members
Jacob Johnson
Bret, Lisa and Stewart Dalton
Love Your Youth: Giving so They May Receive
On Sunday, December 1, our youth ministry will begin the “Love Your Youth” fundraiser to help raise funds for our youth to travel to Greensboro, North Carolina for Passport Camp next summer. All money donated will go towards travel costs, funding chaperones, subsidizing the cost of the trip (so it is more affordable for ALL students and their families). The Love Your Youth booth will be up in the welcome center December 1st, 8th, and 15th.. Our youth team, students, and families are all grateful for the many ways that you support our students’ faith formation!
Coffee Team
Now that we have a wonderful new coffee bar area in the Welcome Center, we are looking for a team of volunteers who will help oversee this area to ensure that it is a space of hospitality and welcome at Calvary! If you’d like to be part of a monthly rotation to help maintain our coffee bar, please contact John Hunt at jhunt@cbcwaco.net.
Purchase a Poinsettia
Each year, we decorate the sanctuary with poinsettias  during the season of Advent and Christmas, and the Calvary family is invited to purchase poinsettias in honor or memory of someone significant in your life.  The cost is $10 per poinsettia.  If you would like to contribute a poinsettia, please email TaNicia at cbcinfo@cbcwaco.net and let her know the names of those you would like to recognize. You can give through an offering envelope in worship or through online giving (give toward the general fund at http://www.cbcwaco.net/give-to-calvary). Thank you for your meaningful  contributions as we prepare for Advent.

 
The poinsettias in the sanctuary have been given in honor/memory of:

Dewitt Glascock, Max Holleyman by Eric and Clara Holleyman

Intergenerational Sunday School Class by Clayton Crenshaw

 AJ and Bernice Ucci, Robert and Phyllis Swanton by John and Debbie Ucci

Merle Herridge, HL and Chlo Hall by Mallory and Blake Herridge

Pat Melton, Barbara Wallace by Billie Canterbury

James and Elsie Mae Weaver, Norman and Glennice Carney, Camden, Oliver, Maci, Miriam, Hannah by Doug and Pat Weaver 

Emily Joy Turner, Lee Joe, Tripp, Taylor, Halee by Carol and Ricks Edmondson

Jan and Tom Purdy by Lindsey, Parker, Jill and Todd 
Sheila Graham Smith Book Signing
Join local author and Calvary member, Sheila Graham Smith, at Barnes and Noble on Waco Drive on Saturday, December 7th from 3 to 5 pm for a book signing. Sheila will be selling and signing copies of her recently released book, Tell the Truth about Adultery: A Story of Love, Betrayal, and Hope. This event is free to the public, and attendees will have the opportunity to talk with Sheila about her book and what inspired her to write it. 

Children’s Christmas Craft Party
On Saturday, December 7th from 9am-12pm, we will be having a Christmas Craft party for kids grades K-6th, and there will also be childcare and Christmas fun for children ages 6 months old through preschool. We will have a fun morning of crafting, hearing the Christmas story, listening to Christmas music, etc. Parents, feel free to take advantage of this opportunity to go do some kid-free Christmas shopping, or just take a morning off and rest! The cost of attendance is $5 per child. Please RSVP to Jenni at jchilton@cbcwaco.net so we can have enough supplies for everyone!

Getting Through The Holiday Season - Grief Workshop
Looking Ahead This Year…
December 7: Children’s Christmas Craft Party (9 AM - Noon)

December 8: Second Sunday of Advent
                       Children’s Choirs Present in Worship
                       Youth Christmas Party (6 PM)

December 12: Service of Consolation (7 PM)

December 13: Intergenerational Choir Christmas Party 
                         Youth Christmas Movie Night (7 PM)

December 14: Christmas Coffeehouse (7 PM)

December 15: Third Sunday of Advent
                         Intergenerational Choir-Led Service
                         Church-Wide Christmas Open House at Mary Alice’s (2:00-5:00 PM)


December 22: Fourth Sunday of Advent  

December 24: Christmas Eve Service (6 PM)

There will be no Sunday School Dec. 22 or 29. We hope all of our SS teachers and volunteers enjoy a break and that all of us can enjoy slower Sunday mornings over the holiday weekends.
 
Contributing Financially to Calvary
Each week, we present our offerings as an act of worship. However, many of us pay for the majority of our expenses online or through an automatic-withdraw from our bank accounts, and each month when we pay our expenses, we can present an offering to God in these ways too. You can give to Calvary online at http://cbcwaco.net/give-to-calvary, but please note that 1-2% of your gift will go toward transaction fees. If you would like to set up an automatic withdrawal from your bank account, which has no transaction fees, please contact Phil Sitton at psitton@cbcwaco.net
Let's be in prayer for one another. Click HERE for the prayer list. 
Ministerial Staff
Mary Alice Birdwhistell - Senior Pastor
mab@cbcwaco.net

John Hunt - Associate Pastor
jhunt@cbcwaco.net

Randall Bradley - Minister of Worship & Music
randall_bradley@baylor.edu

Ali Chappell DeHay - Minister to Youth
acdehay@cbcwaco.net

Jenni Chilton - Minister to Children
jchilton@cbcwaco.net
 
Administrative Staff
Phillip Sitton - Stewardship Administrator
psitton@cbcwaco.net

Gabby Warnick - Preschool Coordinator
gwarnick@cbcwaco.net

TaNicia Wydermyre - Office Manager
cbcinfo@cbcwaco.net

Glen Guthrie - Building and Grounds Manager
gguthrie@cbcwaco.net 

Austin Harris - Music and Worship Associate
Austin-sinclair_Har1@baylor.edu
 
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