Saint Nicholas Breakfast
Please join us before worship at 10:00 am on Sunday, December 10 to celebrate a Saint Nicholas Breakfast. Children will meet Saint Nicholas during worship and be able to visit with him during the breakfast. We will enjoy scrambled eggs, pig-in-a-blankets, and oranges. Please have children bring an extra shoe to leave for Saint Nicholas to fill with a treat. Call the office to sign up!
Gift of Hope Sale
This program of the Haiti Foundation Against Poverty trains women in sewing, jewelry making and crocheting. Products from these women will be available for purchase throughout the morning on December 3. Your purchase of these items provides much-needed income to these women which allows them to provide food and shelter to themselves and their children and is often the difference between the mothers being able to keep their children or giving them to an orphanage. Sample products can be seen at giftofhopehaiti.org.
Advent Organ Recital
This Advent, Rhonda’s annual Advent recital will take place on Sunday, Dec. 10 at 4pm. Childcare will be available, the concert will last about an hour, and be free of charge, so invite your friends. As in previous years, there will be a combination of solo organ music, congregational hymns for the season, and chamber music.
The piece Rhonda is most excited about this year is by Frank Martin (1890-1974), a Swiss composer who spent most of his life in the Netherlands. His musical style is influenced by the times in which he lived – sometimes dissonant and often quite intense, having survived both World Wars, but is also full of lyricism and beauty. With Julie Sooy, prof of flute at Hope College, and local soprano Anna Cornier, we will be performing Martin’s Chants de Noel – three movements based on Christmas texts.
Julie and Rhonda will also play arrangements of other Advent and Christmas hymns, and Rhonda will play Advent and Christmas-based organ works from Bach to modern living composers – Rachel Laurin from Canada, and Bert Matter from the Netherlands.
Please note: On Dec. 10, there will be a second bus pick up at 3:35 pm at Freedom Village, and 3:40 pm at Warm Friend.
Young Adult Open House
If you are post high school to age 30, in Holland for Christmas, please come to a special Christmas Eve Reception on Sunday, Dec. 24. It will be in the Hope Church Gathering Area from 10:00 – 11:00 p.m. before the Candlelight Service in the sanctuary. There will be cookies, cider and hot chocolate! Reconnect with past members of Fish Club and High Hopes!