As I mentioned in a recent Children’s Moment, I tend to get an early start on the Christmas

season—sometimes as early as the first of November. I just love listening to Christmas music

and love seeing all the decorations up for as long as possible.

But that doesn’t mean I don’t still make room for the Advent season. In fact, it is my favorite

part of the church calendar. Advent marks the beginning of the Christian year, braiding

together the expectation of our spiritual ancestors, longing for a Deliverer called Messiah, with

our desire to welcome Christ into our world in new ways. Advent is an invitation to “prepare

the way,” through intentional prayer, retelling ancient stories, and gathering with other

Christians to mark this sacred time. Advent provides Christian households the occasion to

remember what matters—Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love—and to find ways to cultivate those

virtues through the rhythms of our lives.

This Sunday, we kick off both the month of December and the season of Advent with a special

First Families Luncheon—we will have a potluck meal and then the kids will get the chance to

rehearse an Advent song with Lawrence, our Director of Music, that they will then offer in our

10:30 worship service on December 22 nd .

On Christmas Eve, while the adults enjoy the Jazz Carol Prelude, our littles will get the chance to

go on a Pilgrimage Pageant, where they will encounter different characters from the Christmas

story at different Worship-and-Wonder-inspired stations, and get a special take-home gift to

remember this Advent season before rejoining their families for the rest of the Christmas Eve

service.

In the Hope of Advent, I pray your family encounters the coming of Christ in a new way, at

home and in Community.

—Rev. Stephen

December 1: Advent I

First Sunday Family Potluck Luncheon (11:45 am) w/ kids’ choir

December 8: Advent II

Regional Youth Christmas Party— 4:30 pm @ Community, 8-12th grade

December 15: Advent III

December 22: Advent IV (kids sing in service)

Worship and Wonder during the 10:30 service.

December 24: Christmas Eve Service: Jazz Carol Prelude and Kids’ Pilgrimage Pageant

Note: dates for 2025 Summer Camps at Tall Oaks are available now. Visit

https://www.talloaks.org/doc-camps for more info.

at this month’s First Sunday Family Luncheon, our littles will be working with

Lawrence to learn a Christmas song that they will perform during 10:30 worship on December

22 nd!

This month’s practice is an adaptation of a tradition that most of us already participate in:

decorating the Christmas tree. But in addition to brilliant baubles and tinsel, one tradition that

many Christians share in this season is the making and hanging of Chrismons. Chrismons (from

“Christ” and “monogram”) are simple symbols of the life, person, and saving work of Jesus,

traditionally gold and white, the liturgical colors of Christmas.

These ornaments help to tell the story of Jesus, to remember that Christmas was only the

beginning of who Christ was and is to us.

The process is simple! You can use cardstock, poster board, cardboard, foam, and even wood (if

you have the tools to cut it!). Then the shapes can be painted white and decorated with gold:

paint, glitter, metallic markers, or whatever you and your family want to make the Chrismons

your own. There is a whole host of shapes to use, but if you want to stick to the basics, here are

some you can use:

Cross:

There are many different kinds of crosses (Greek, Celtic, Coptic, Tau, St. Andrew’s, just to name

a few) but whichever one you choose has the same basic reminder. That Jesus, fragile human

baby, would grow up to suffer and die at the hands of an occupying empire. This can, of course,

be a challenging thing to talk about with younger kids. When you hang this Chrismon, you can

say something like: “We see crosses everywhere, don’t we? A long time ago, a cross was a scary

thing to see. It was used to hurt people. Jesus loves everyone and doesn’t want people to hurt

each other, and that made people want to hurt him, too. But that didn’t stop him from

speaking the truth about God’s Love, and now it is a happy symbol, not a scary one.”

Alpha (A) and Omega (Ω):

These Greek letters have been used by Christians since the first century to signify that God is

the beginning and the end, eternal. You can cut them out separately or overlapping with one

another as a single shape. As you hang it, say something like: “These are letters, like what the

first Christians used when they wrote down the stories about Jesus. This one [Alpha] looks like

an A and is called Alpha, and it is the first letter in the Greek alphabet. This one [Omega] looks a

little like an O and is the last letter of the alphabet. These letters remind us that God has been

with us from the beginning and will be with us to the end.”

Fish (Ichthys):

The Ichthys, or “Jesus Fish,” is an ancient Christian symbol used by Christians who had to meet

in secret. The word for fish in Greek is an acronym of the phrase “Jesus Christ, Son of God,

Savior.” As you hang this one, you can say: “You may have seen this fish on shirts or car

bumpers. It is kind of a secret code that Christian long ago used to talk to each other, because

they were spreading Jesus’ message of love, and that can sometimes be dangerous. Maybe it

can remind us to be brave in sharing God’s love!”

Shepherd’s Crook:

The shepherd’s crook has been used as a symbol of Jesus “the Good Shepherd” for centuries,

and is also a reminder of the first witnesses of the birth of Jesus. When you hang this one, say:

“This is a shepherd’s crook. Doesn’t it look like those candy canes? At Christmas, we remember

that it was shepherds, not fancy rich people, who got to see baby Jesus first, and we remember

that Jesus called himself a shepherd because of how much he cared for his people.”

Heart:

This one is obvious. A symbol of God’s love for us, and a reminder that your family belongs to a

Community that holds you in love and care.

Feel free to include other symbols of faith that mean something to you and your family, or look

online for other ideas—there are many to choose from.

I pray that Advent and Christmas this year remind your family of the enduring truths of faith in

this time.