December 7, 2022
E-Messenger

We are working on moving to livestreaming our worship services on our YouTube channel, which means we will no longer be using Zoom.  (Also, if you have a smart TV or a ROKU or Firestick, this will allow you to watch worship on your TV instead of on your computer!)  We KNOW this will take some trial and error on all our parts, so please be patient as we make this transition and as you learn another "new beginning!"  If you have not subscribed to the McGregor Presbyterian YouTube channel, you might want to do that.  Go to YouTube.com, search McGregor Presbyterian and then click subscribe.  If you need assistance with this, please contact Jason Adams, Bill Ackerman, or Pastor Robyn and we will be glad to help!  In the meantime, we will continue sending out links for worship that will take you to the YouTube channel as needed.  The link to this week's worship is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iV97Hzqq7A.  Please provide feedback as we make this change, so we can continue to make improvements to your online worship experience!
 
  If you have not yet pledged for 2022, please do so immediately!  It is as simple as emailing Carolyn Holland at csholl01@gmail.com.  Thank you so much for your faithful and generous financial support for McGregor Presbyterian Church ministry and mission!

  Everyone is invited to help decorate the Jesse Tree in the church library!  What is a Jesse Tree?  A Jesse Tree is a way to prepare for Advent by journeying through the stories on Jesus’ family tree.  Each day of Advent, read a Bible story about someone on Jesus’ family tree and hang an ornament symbolizing that story on your Jesse Tree.   The Jesse ornaments are a visual reminder of our own family history as God’s children.  As you decorate the Jesse Tree, you’ll see how God prepared for Jesus’ birth through many generations.  Jesus’ genealogy can be found in Matthew 1:1-17.
Choose a couple of ornaments from the purple bowl on the book case under the library bulletin board, decorate them, and then hang them on the tree.  There are scripture readings for each ornament.  Directions are by the purple bowl. 
 
  Take a little time each week to stop in Classroom B (across from the nursery in Glenn Hall) to enjoy the Advent Prayer Stations.  A new station is added each week through the four Sundays of Advent.  Instructions and guidance are provided for each station.  This is your invitation to take some time this season to be still and reflect in different ways on how Advent is speaking to you as we explore the gifts of Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love.  We do ask that you enter the room quietly, so as not to disturb others who may already be in there.  If you aren't able to stop in on a Sunday, the prayer stations are available throughout the week.     
 
  McGregor Church is hosting the Sandlapper Singers in the first of their two Christmas concerts entitled Arise, Shine!  One of many fine choirs in the Columbia area, this non-profit group is an auditioned chamber choir dedicated to celebrating American choral music and advancing the art of ensemble singing.   We hope you’ll help us welcome them and their audience, as well as enjoy some of the beautiful sounds of the season.  The concert will be repeated at 4:00 PM on Sunday, December 11 at Ebenezer Lutheran Church.  For both events, admission is $15, and free for children 12 and under who are accompanied by an adult. 
 
  Bring your family and invite your friends and neighbors to join us on the labyrinth on Sunday, December 18 at 4:00 PM for a Christmas Carol Sing.  We will sing some of our favorite Christmas Carols and then enjoy some light refreshments and fellowship.  If the weather is rainy or too cold, we’ll meet inside.
 
  Our McGregor Holiday Mailbox is in the narthex so you may send Christmas cards to your McGregor family and friends (without paying any postage!).  Simply place your addressed cards in the alphabetized file folders in the box.  Then check to see if there are any cards for you.  The Holiday Mailbox will be available for use through Sunday, January 8.

As we move into a New Year with continued "New Beginnings," please note that we will be making some changes to the E-Messenger distribution.  The first and third weeks of each month will be fuller newsletters with articles, upcoming events, "need-to-knows," etc., and the second and fourth (and fifth when that occurs) of each month will include just basic information for that week (worship links, any events for that week, etc.).  Please keep this in mind as you plan articles or other information you'd like to share with the congregation!  Thanks for your understanding and help with this!
 
  The resource for December is the movie, Till. This is a biographical film about Mamie Till Mobley, the mother of Emmett Till.  When Emmett Till was only 14, he was lynched in 1955 in Mississippi by a mob of white men; his murderers were quickly acquitted of the crime by an all-white jury.  In many ways, Till’s murder catapulted the brutality of the Jim Crow-era South into the public spotlight.  Mamie Till Mobley became an activist after her son’s death.  The movie follows her experience after her son’s death from a grieving mother into a civil rights warrior.  In March 2022, the Emmett Till Antilynching Act finally became federal law, aimed at designating lynching as a hate crime.  Efforts to pass a federal antilynching law started in 1900.  The movie is playing in local theaters, and it will be available for purchase or rent on several streaming platforms soon.
 
EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY:  The Lexington County Museum will host their Christmas Open House on Sunday, December 11, 1-4 PM. This is a free event for the community.  For more information, visit: https://www.lakemurraycountry.com/event/lexington-county-museum-christmas-open-house/
 
  During the month of December, we are collecting cans of chicken noodle soup, microwave pasta bowls, and small individual boxes of breakfast cereal.  Please drop off your donations in the church lobby.

Sunday, December 11 – The Third Sunday of Advent
               9:30 AM               Sunday School, Combined Adult Advent Study
               11:00 AM             Sunday Worship Service
Tuesday, December 13
               6:30 PM               Mission Study Team
Wednesday, December 14
               10:00 AM            Wednesday Morning Bible Study – online
               12:00 noon         McGregor Book Club Luncheon
               7:30 PM              Adult Choir Rehearsal
Thursday, December 15
               6:00 PM               Session Social at British Bulldog
Friday, December 16
               11:00 AM McGregor Preschool Christmas Program
 
Sunday, December 18 – The Fourth Sunday of Advent
               9:30 AM Sunday School, Combined Adult Advent Study
               11:00 AM Worship Service – Adult Choir Lessons and Carols
               4:00 PM – Community Christmas Carol Sing on the Labyrinth, followed by light refreshments.
 
Saturday, December 24 – Christmas Eve
               6:00 PM Christmas Eve Candlelight Communion Worship Service
(Contact Jane Tyer at 803/261-6351 or jrtyer@sc.rr.com to make nursery reservations for Christmas Eve.  The reservation deadline is Sunday, December 18.) 
 
Sunday, December 25 – Christmas Day
               No Sunday School or Nursery
               11:00 AM Christmas Day Worship Service (casual)
Monday-Friday, December 26-30
               Church office will be closed.
 
Sunday, January 1 – New Year’s Day
               No Sunday School or Nursery
               11:00 AM Worship Service
 
  All 2022 contributions to McGregor Presbyterian Church must be received or postmarked by December 31, 2022.  [Don’t forget you can also donate online through our website, www.mcgpres.org or through your bank/credit union with bill pay.]  All contributions received or postmarked on or after January 1, 2023 will be credited to 2023. The church office will be closed Monday-Friday, December 26-30.  Happy Holidays!