Celebrating Advent!

Pastor's Update

Hi Parkway!

I've seen the lights starting to go up and all the neighborhood signs decked in garlands. It might seem too soon, but we are right on the edge of the most wonderful (and busiest) time of the year.

Your staff and leadership have been planning out details and preparing to celebrate this special and exciting season over the last several months.

We have had two goals:

- To build meaningful ways of celebrating Advent -- the season where the Church waits to celebrate the birth of Christ -- as well as the joy of Christmas finally arriving.

-To not overfill the calendar, overbook ourselves, nor give into the temptation to be busy for busy's sake in an already over-busy season.

This is one of those truths that's easy to agree with but is always easier said than done. But with Thanksgiving next week and Advent kicking off in December, I hope you'll make a plan to find meaningful ways to celebrate these seasons of joy, thankfulness, family, and the work of God in our lives. I hope you'll also not lose the season in the busyness that always ramps up this time of year.

Below is a glance at what your staff has built for the upcoming season at Parkway. We are so excited to celebrate with you.

Office Closed - Week of Thanksgiving

The Parkway office will be closed on Wednesday, November 22^nd and Thursday, November 23rd.

MidWeek Ministries will NOT meet on Wednesday, November 22nd.

Sunday, November 26th

Worship at 9am and 10.30am

Decorating the Worship Center for Advent and Christmas will begin after the 10.30am service. If you're available, plan to stick around to help us prepare for the season!

Wednesday, November 29th, 6pm - This is the final MidWeek meeting of the year!

Instead of regular classes and groups for children, students, and adults, MidWeek will be an end of the year Potluck!

Parkway will provide BBQ -- everyone attending, please bring a side or a dessert to share.

Sunday Morning Worship in December

For every Sunday in December (except Christmas Eve, December 24th) Parkway will have only one service at 10.30am.

12/3: Worship at 10.30am. Special Music by the Parkway Children's Day School Choir.

12/10: Worship at 10.30am. Special Music by the new Parkway Advent Choir.

12/17: Worship at 10.30am. Children's Ministry Christmas party during Sunday School.

12/24 (Christmas Eve): Parkway will have no morning Worship.

Parkway will host three Christmas Eve Services

5pm and 7pm: A Traditional Parkway Christmas Eve service with carols and Communion, held in the Worship Center

11pm: A Christmas Vigil, a contemplative service with Communion, held in the Chapel on the first floor of the Ministry Center.

Advent Missions and Service

Second Mile Toy Drive:

Parkway is continuing its tradition of collecting toys to be donated to Second Mile, one of our year-round partners in serving the community. Toys can be left in the donation boxes in either the Worship Center or Ministry Center.

Toys will be collected by Second Mile on Monday, December 11th.

2024 Advent Mission: Lunches of Love:

Lunches of Love is a nonprofit in Rosenberg that focuses on feeding children who depend on free and reduced school lunches on weekends and extended holidays. Lunches of Love began years ago as a small ministry at Rosenberg Methodist Church and has since grown to be its own multi-site non-profit that feeds thousands of children and students in need in different parts of Fort Bend County.

Our Advent Mission work to support Lunches of Love in their work will have 3 parts:

Bag Decorating -- Each meal given to a child comes in a bag decorated by a community partner. It's a small and fun way to show the children and students who depend on Lunches of Love that this work really is done in love. This will be a great way that people of all ages can be a part of this year's Advent Mission

Food Drive -- Each year, Lunches of Love invites its partners to a reverse Advent calendar -- where each day lists one of the biggest food needs to be collected and donated to address increased demand during the Christmas holidays. Parkway will collect food donations throughout Advent to help provide for this need. Stay tuned for an official list!

In-Person Work Day -- We are currently working out the details of bringing a Parkway crew to Lunches of Love to help in their day-to-day work during the Advent Season. As of now, we have reserved some shifts on Wednesday, December 20th.

If you're interested in the jobs we'll do or working one of the shifts, use this link to learn more and sign up...

https://www.fellowshiponegiving.com/App/Form/24b30472-7264-4153-abbb-dffb71cb13cb.

Children and Student Ministries

Student Ministry Christmas Party will be held on Wednesday, December 6^th at the home of Kat and Andrew Britton from 6.30 - 8pm. If you have any questions, please reach out to Pastor Kat at kbritton@parkwayumc.org.

As listed above, Children’s Ministries will have a Christmas party during Sunday School on Sunday, December 17th.

Women's Ministry

Parkway Women's Ministry will host a Christmas Bunco Party on Tuesday, December 12^th at 6.30 in the Student Worship Center, located on the second floor of the Ministry Center. If you're interested in more information or to register, please use this link...

https://www.fellowshiponegiving.com/App/Form/a4aca544-796a-497d-8338-e60c46f4c242.

Office Closed -- Week after Christmas

The Parkway Offices will be closed from Monday, December 25^th through Monday, January 1^st.

This is Parkway's Advent at a glance. I, Parkway staff, and leadership look forward to celebrating this special season with you and your family!

Pastor Justin

Parkway United Methodist Church | parkwayumc.org