If you're having trouble viewing this email, you may see it online.

Beloved's Major Tom Friend sent this holiday photo from Iraq with these words: "Christmas is fast approaching. Christmas Day marks the half-way point for our deployment. Our decorations are up and stockings are hung. May God's blessing be upon you..." Send Tom Christmas greetings from your computer via Iridium satellite and he will receive it in Iraq via his chest pager within 30 seconds! Log on to www.iridium.com (pager # 881676372655; note that military messages are limited to 120 characters, not 160).

December 20, 2005

Christmas Traditions (part 2)

Many of you know that when Derek and I married, we decided to celebrate Christmas over its entire Twelve Days. Made famous by the carol, “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” this Feast of Jesus’ Birth runs from December 25-January 5 each year, ending with the celebration of Epiphany (the visit of the Wise Men) on January 6. The season of Advent is a time of preparation that our family takes slowly and seriously, spreading out the obligations of Christmas, especially the decorating, over the month-long period. As the sun sets on Christmas Eve, we light our Christmas tree, place the figure of Jesus in our nativity scenes, read The Night before Christmas as we hang our stockings, and then celebrate with our Christian sisters and brothers at Christmas Eve worship. When Christmas morning arrives, we spend the day peacefully, watching as each person, one by one, looks through the stocking stuffers brought by Santa, phoning good wishes for the season to friends and relatives, and playing with the “’big’ gift from Mama and Papa” under the tree. This year we will have an early brunch before driving Fr. Ben to the Charlotte-Douglas airport for his flight to Nigeria via Frankfurt, Germany. Then for the next eleven days, we’ll enjoy church services and family devotions for each remembered saint, fancy meals, visiting relatives (who are able to see their present unwrapped and enjoyed), singing carols, baking special goodies for the parish-wide Open House, ice skating uptown, enjoying the seasonal opportunities to keep the season festive. And no, our children do not receive twelve presents! Our family, after sixteen years of this process, indicates on the tag which day the present is to be opened…any other present that arrives in our home (unless it’s perishable) is allotted a number 2-12 and that’s the day it’s opened. Believe me, after twelve days of unwrapping, treasuring the gift and writing thank you notes, you never hear in our house, “Is that all there is?” especially when our children are still opening presents and celebrating after school has resumed.

Even after just four years of life, Church of the Beloved has developed traditions! Sometimes these traditions have to be a bit flexible to meet the requirements of worshipping in a middle school. The traditional Sunday “Hanging of the Greens and Chili Potluck Supper” was shifted to Wednesday, December 21^stthis year, since school remained in session through today before dismissing students for the winter holiday. Angel Army team members and others who are able will gather tomorrow between 5 and 6pm to set up the worship space. At 6pm, we’ll begin decorating with greenery and poinsettias before sharing a potluck meal. The decorating also includes assembling candle luminaries that are distributed around our campus on Christmas Eve. On that night a crew of volunteers, often those with no children, enjoy one another’s company as they visit while the candles are lighted.

The December 24^th Christmas Eve Christ mass Celebration begins with pre-service music at 7:40pm, continues with the first Eucharist of the Nativity at 8pm and always includes an opportunity to give your most generous Christmas present to Jesus through Giving to Christ at Christmas. We conclude Communion in candlelight as we sing “Silent Night/O Holy Night” and end our evening with a joyous hospitality time, serving hot cider and cookies, with the desire to warmly embrace those who are coming or returning to church for the first time and those who are alone or are grieving during this holiday season.

A new event for this year will be held at 2pm on the fourth day of Christmas, December 28^th. Join with other Beloved Ones to go Christmas Caroling and perform instrumental music for the residents of the local retirement community in our neighborhood!

On New Year’s Day, the eighth day of Christmas, we will bless planners, calendars or PDAs in a beautiful and simple 9:30am worship celebration as we dedicate our upcoming year to the honor and glory of Jesus.

The Fifth Annual Harbin Family Open House will fall on Epiphany weekend this year. You (and your children) are cordially invited to drop in on Saturday, January 7, 2006 from 5-8pm to enjoy some treats, reflect on the wonder of Jesus birth and touch real stones from the shepherds’ fields as you view the Bethlehem nativity putz (scene), visit with Bishop Gloster and his wife, Judy, and enjoy the fellowship of other Beloved ones. Children are always welcome and in fact, I’m told that playing in our playroom is one of the highlights of their holiday season! For directions, please contact us.

The Epiphany Pageant (with Bishop Gloster as a Wise Man this year) will be held at 9:30am on Sunday, January 8^th and is the much-anticipated finale of my seasonal celebration. Anyone who has ever dreamed of participating in a Nativity Pageant is welcome from the youngest sheep accompanied by their parent (or even grand or godparent) shepherd to the grandly costumed Wise Person. Affectionately called “organized chaos,” it is a much-anticipated annual event! The big question is, “will we have a Beloved baby early enough to be the infant Jesus or will we be recruiting a newborn and parents from the neighborhood to be the Holy Family?” Everyone agrees that the year we had to make do with a baby doll was not our best moment!! A rehearsal for speakers will be Thursday, December 29 (at 6pm at the Garden) with pizza and, for the first time this year, a gift exchange.

Throughout this holy season, may all our celebrations honor the Savior who was humbly born that we might be lifted up to God’s glory. A blessed Christmas to each of you!

Clifford King Harbin, pastor

Around Beloved…Don’t miss Wednesday’s Greening of the Church and Potluck Chili Supper that will take place on December 21. Beloved will supply paper products, ice and drinks; bring chili (in a crock pot), crackers/salad or a dessert to share with others. Worship Set up begins at 5pm and decorating begins at 6pm. We will eat after the decorating is finished so the more hands to help, the quicker we will eat!…Calling all adults and children for Beloved’s Christmas Caroling / Music Concert for Oakdale Heights residents on Wednesday, December 28 (the 4^th Day of Christmas) at 2pm. Kids and adults are welcome to bring their instruments to perform in addition to the group caroling. Contact Catherine Atwood here to let her know that you will be part of the group and she will supply you with more details…Job posting: Needed sheep, angels, or shepherds to participate in Beloved’s 5^th Annual Pageant to be held during 9:30am worship on Sunday, January 8, 2006. Respond to the Development Office or sign up in the Hospitality Area after worship.

Serving at God’s Altar on Christmas Eve at Beloved…Acolytes: Ryan Moore, Miles Harbin, Mitchell Harbin, Clare Harbin; Presenters: Frank Reid, Mary Reid, Nykeria Thomas; Eucharistic Ministers: Al Krantz, Dick Reif; Reader: Al Krantz; Offertory Basket Passers: Cecelia Atwood, Jack Sanniota, Katie Sanniota, Emily Scheppegrell; PowerPoint: Dylan Lang. If you are unable to serve, please contact your ministry team leader.

Ministry Opportunities at Beloved over the Christmas holiday…For those with the: gift of Helps or Serving with ability to prime, sand and paint the audio/video cabinet at Beloved Garden. This could be a wonderful project post-Christmas Day. Gift of Organization or Administration: Assist with the coordination of borrowed Epiphany Pageant costumes. Picking up costumes, spreading out on chairs for the cast on Saturday, and collecting costumes after the pageant on Sunday, January 8. Gift of Helps for those with no young children: placing and lighting the luminaries on Christmas Eve at 7:00pm. Gift of Hospitality: Baking and contributing homemade treats for the Hospitality Time after the Epiphany Pageant (when Bishop Gloster is at Beloved for a visit)…Gift of Serving: Being the second adult Beekeeper present in the 6-9 year old Beehive. No teaching necessary; being a helpful hand with a craft upon occasion and assisting the teaching leader is all this entails. To assist with any of the above ministry opportunities or if you have any questions about the duties, please contact Clifford at the Development Office.

Giving to Christ at Christmas… is an annual holiday tradition at Beloved based on a simple idea. It’s our Savior’s birthday. That’s why we give gifts to each other. So let’s begin our gift giving with a gift to Jesus. Through Giving to Christ at Christmas, we are able to touch in a unique way the twin heartbeats of Jesus: the Church, through which Christ seeks to draw all people to himself, as well as those in physical need. Each year since Beloved’s Christmas 2001 birth, followers of Jesus at Church of the Beloved have been asked to give the most generous, one-time cash gift we can—above and beyond our normal giving as we would with any gift—to fund these twin heartbeats of our Lord.

In just four celebrations of our Savior’s birth, we have collectively given $26,236 to Jesus that assisted the children of Bethlehem during the height of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict; provided food, clothing and utility payments during a brutal Charlotte winter; cared for AIDS children in Africa and assisted ministries that continue working to eradicate the spread of this disease; partnered in the launch of Samaritan House, a ministry which provides basic recuperative care for the homeless of Charlotte after a hospital discharge; up fitted and furnished Beloved Garden as a spiritual enrichment center for adults and children; and funded the continuing Direct Mail Campaigns that are reaching more and more people in Charlotte’s South Perimeter.

This year’s annual gift to Christ at Christmas has a more personal Beloved connection. Many of you may know that our assisting priest, Fr. Benjamin Udochukwu Nnaji, will be leaving the United States on Christmas afternoon to complete his education in Switzerland. Fr. Ben loves Jesus and has a passion for children and for spreading God’s Kingdom. Half of Jesus’ Christmas gift this year will assist the secondary school, where Fr. Ben once served as chaplain and teacher, in its life-changing ministry among the children of Okigwe, Nigeria as well as provide funds towards Fr. Ben’s future as he completes his education and prepares to use the technology skills he has learned and intends to use in sharing the Gospel. The remaining half of Jesus’ Christmas gift this year will launch a Beloved Garden Scholarship Fund for children whose hearts are open to learn more about Jesus the Good Shepherd but whose family finances would otherwise prevent them from considering enrollment in FaithQuest.

How do you get involved? Bring your gift, marked Giving to Christ at Christmas, to Christmas Eve worship. If you can’t be present on that night, mail it to the Development Office before the end of the year. Through these investments, countless lives will be transformed for Christ both now and in years to come. Our prayer is that this gift will truly honor the One whose birthday we shall soon celebrate.

Let’s Go High Definition…Beloved is raffling a 42” plasma HDTV to be given away before Super Bowl Sunday or when all 1000 tickets are sold. Because the donor is a national vendor, we are able to sell a raffle ticket to anyone residing in the continental United States. We are grateful to Fred Mellon who secured this generous donation and who is coordinating this effort on behalf of the funding team. We need folks to assist in the selling of these $20 tickets, either now or after the holidays. Let’s make someone’s Super Bowl Sunday a spectacular one and further the mission of Beloved at the same time! For tickets, please see Fred at worship on Sundays or contact him.

In our Prayers…we pray for peace during this time of Advent preparation and for the conflicted regions of the world…for those serving in Iraq, especially Tom Friend and Scott, Dan Hood's brother…for Nancy and Tony Hodgson's granddaughter, Emily, whose health is rapidly deteriorating…for Marilyn Doyon, Laurel Durham, Marie Duty, and Julie Haarstick who are expecting babies this upcoming year…for Herbert, Deb Seidel’s grandfather…for Jessie, Julie Sanniota’s mother as she recuperates …for Dorothy, Mary Reid's sister who is finishing chemotherapy for lung cancer….for Ed and Jean, Dick Reif’s parents who are in declining health in Oklahoma….for Bill, Lee Frickhoeffer’s uncle who has terminal cancer….for our missionary, Heidi Smith’s mother who recently had a heart attack…for Lauren Skrobot as she undergoes medical testing….for William, Heather and Jackson Philip’s grand/great-grandfather who died on Saturday in Ohio.

Upcoming Calendar through Christmas...click here