The Sunday after Christmas, children are invited to bring a small toy they received for Christmas for a special blessing

St. Andrew United Methodist Church in Plano, located at 5801 Plano Parkway, will hold a variety of services during the Christmas season including its popular travelers’ service on Saturday, December 20, at 5:30 p.m. 

“We have found the travelers’ service to be a nice addition to our worship services for anyone that will be out of town for the holidays,” added Senior Pastor Robert Hasley.  “The Saturday evening service features traditional Christ-centered, biblically-based sermons, along with a relaxed atmosphere and casual dress. You will experience a variety of worship music from various ensembles, soloists, and instrumentalists. Saturday night is truly alive at St. Andrew.”

The advent sermon series “Not a Silent Night” will continue through Christmas Eve. On Christmas Eve, Wednesday, December 24, there will be a children-focused service at 4 p.m. in the sanctuary.  Child care is offered at that time for children 2 and under. The contemporary worship at The Well in the Smith Worship Center will have two services: at 5 and 7 p.m.  There will be three traditional worship opportunities at 6, 8, and 11 p.m. in the sanctuary. For those attending 5 and 6 p.m. services, childcare is offered for children 5 and under.

“When we think about Christmas, and particularly the nativity scene, we have an over-idealized image of what it looks like,” added Hasley.  “We think everything was quiet and calm with kings waiting with gifts and shepherds kneeling with care. We don't often think about Jesus crying as he was born, and the birth, not home among friends, but in a strange land where there was no more room in the inn. That first Christmas had joy, yes, but it was mixed with pain, sorrow, and uncertainty. God didn't promise Mary an easy life — she had to one day watch her son die, and hope as she hears the stories of his resurrection. All of the future was bound up in that Christmas through the eyes of this mother. It is time we see Jesus through her eyes, too.  Please come join us as we wrap us this advent series.”

For the weekend after Christmas, there will be a Saturday Night Alive Worship Service on Saturday, December 27 at 5:30 p.m.  On Sunday, December 28, Sunday School will not be held, but the nursery will be available for children 2 and under.  Two worship services are scheduled: The Well Contemporary Worship at 10:30 a.m., in Smith Worship Center and the Traditional Sanctuary Worship at 10:30 a.m. Children are invited to bring a small (quiet) toy for a blessing of the toys at this service. 

Visit standrewumc.org for more information.