On Sunday, December 1 – the first Sunday in Advent – we celebrated our annual “Blessing of the Greens.” It’s a fun, family-oriented service during which we learn about how the decorations we use, both inside and out, came to represent our faith. (Yes, even a Christmas Tree, with its Pagan roots.) We lit the first candle on our Advent Wreath, sang a lot of carols, and offered our blessing over it all. (You can watch a recording of the service here, or read the history of our decorations here.)
This Advent season, we will offer a special blessing on a different figure from our home nativity sets. Everyone is encouraged to bring figures from their home to be blessed each week. Sign up for our weekly newsletter, the Messenger, at https://crawfordmethodist.org/subscribe/ to find out which figures will be blessed next! (Spoiler: We’ll bless the baby Jesus on Christmas Eve.)