CALENDAR The Chrismon Tree: A Symbol of Christ - Clover Sites

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CALENDAR

Sunday, December 4th

8:30 AM

Traditional Worship

9:45 AM

A&O Sunday

Adult Sunday School

Early Childhood Sunday School

Elementary Sunday School

11:00 AM

Critter Land

Big City

Worship

Monday, December 5th

7:00 AM

Men's Prayer Breakfast

8:15 AM

Women's Bible Study Butterfield

8:30 AM

Affinity Group - Exercise

12:00 PM

Student Ministry Team

5:00 PM

Properties Team

5:30 PM

Women's Bible Study - Sicola

6:00 PM

Children and their Families

Ministry Team

Music Ministry Team

Tuesday, December 6th

8:30 AM

Affinity Group - Exercise

Prayer Group A

9:00 AM

Women's Bible Study McElreath

10:30 AM

Child Care Staff

3:00 PM

Affinity Group - Needlework

6:00 PM

Dave Ramsey Class

Wednesday, December 7th

8:30 AM

Affinity Group - Exercise

8:45 AM

Prayer Group B

9:30 AM

Community Bible Study

10:00 AM

Women's Bible Study Harrison

The Chrismon Tree:

A Symbol of Christ

The beautiful Chrismon Tree is now on display in the Sanctuary.

However, did you know that the Chrismon Tree isn't just a plain

ol' Christmas tree? It's full of rich history and tradition,

proclaiming Christ.

"Chrismon" is a combination of two words: Christ and monogram.

A Chrismon is the symbol for Christ. The Chrismon Tree

originated in 1957 in the Lutheran Church of the Ascencion,

Danville, Virginia.

Some Chrismons are symbols of Christianity from its earliest

days; others are new explanations of God's never-changing

presence in our ever-changing world; some are combinations of

the old and the new. All Chrismons are made in combinations of

white and gold - white, the liturgical color for Christmas, refers

to our Lord's purity and perfection; gold, to the glory of God and

Christian might. The evergreen tree symbolizes the eternal life

which our Savior has won for us; tiny white lights speak of Him

who is the Light of the world. The Chrismons proclaim the Name,

the Life, the saving Acts of Jesus the Christ.

In the fall of 1972, Mildred Carroll told of a beautiful Chrismon

Tree she had seen and expressed the idea of how nice it would

be if First Pres had such a tree. With permission from the

Lutheran Church of Ascension in Danville, patterns and directions

for making Chrismons were ordered.

For the ornaments to be of lasting quality, it was decided that

all decorations used should be of unbreakable and nontarnishable material and all styrofoam used as bases was to be

covered in white velevet. Many church members, both men and

women, spent countless hours making the smaller ornaments.

Much of this was done by working together in workshops; the

larger Chrismons were made by individuals.

Live trees were used the first few years; then it became

practical to use an artificial tree.

Here are some of the shapes and their meanings.

The Cross and Rose: The pointed ends remind us of the

points of the nails, the thorns and the spear used in the

Crucifixion. The rose symbolizes the Messiah, ¡°The desert

shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose,¡± (Isaiah 35:1).

Cruciform Nimbus: The sign of the cross in a circle

denotes the crucified cross.

The Fish (IXOYC): The ancient symbol of Christ was the

secret Christian sign during persecution. The letters in the

name are the first letters of Greek words meaning: Jesus

1:00 PM

Affinity Group - Bridge

6:00 PM

Mexican Christmas Dinner

7:00 PM

12 Steps with Jesus

Thursday, December 8th

8:30 AM

Affinity Group - Exercise

10:00 AM

NUFFs Program

10:30 AM

Women's Bible Study - Wells

11:00 AM

Women's Bible Study - Brooks

6:30 PM

Sanctuary Choir Rehearsal

Friday, December 9th

8:30 AM

Affinity Group - Exercise

Saturday, December 10th

9:00 AM

Me Day for Missions

9:30 AM

Women's Bible Study - Neely

Christ, God¡¯s Son, Savior (John 20:31).

Greek Cross Crowned with Nika: Nika, the Greek word for

conquer, becomes the ray of a rising sun behind this cross

crowned. This design represents the Lord¡¯s victory over

sin and death.

The Crown: Symbol of the kingship of our Lord, the King

of Kings and Lord of Lords. This design may also evoke

thoughts of his victory over sin and death.

Anchor Cross: The Anchor Cross is the symbol of hope.

The crescent is the symbol of Mary, the Lord¡¯s mother.

This child, from Mary, is the Hope of the World.

Butterfly and Cross: The Latin cross is the cross of

suffering and death. The butterfly is the symbol of the

Lord¡¯s Resurrection from the death that the Latin cross

brought (I Corinthians 15:20-23).

Cross with Orb: Artists often show Christ holding a crosstopped orb: The Earth and heavens in the Lord¡¯s hands;

the world united for Christ.

Five-Point Star: The Epiphany Star. The Savior:

Manifestation of the Son (Matthew 2:1-11).

Eye of God: The eye connotes loving care and watchful

judgment.

Crown of Thorns: Represents the Savior¡¯s crown of

suffering.

Descending Dove: The Holy Spirit at the Lord¡¯s baptism

(Mark 1:10).

MEMORIALS

November 28, 2011

Margaret Skinner

Given by: Gay and Jerry

Shelby

Trefoil: Symbol of the Trinity.

The Cross Potent: A shape that looks something like a

square divided with a vertical and a horizontal line and

with the corners missing. The cross potent represents the

Savior¡¯s spiritual and physical healing powers.

Eight-Point Star: This ancient symbol was used by

Christians as another concealed symbol of Christ during

persecutions. The eight points refer also to regeneration

through baptism, or heaven.

Apostles Build 2011

Submitted by Dick Doyle

On Saturday, November 5th, members of First Pres joined forces

with Amarillo Habitat for Humanity for the Apostles Build. Thank

you to everyone who gave up their Saturday to help build a

house. Special thank yous are given to John and Merlene Board

for providing a great lunch for all of the workers and to Tobe

Howard for bringing his spray rig to stain all of the cabinets they turned out beautifully! First Pres workers painted, stained

and hung doors in the house.

Pictured (l-r): George Cason, Phyllis Fields, Harry Fields

New homeowner, BJ Arcazar. Hopefully, she will be moving in

shortly after the first of the year. She was very appreciative of

our help.

Financial Update

Please remember we need your pledge to continue kingdom

work; pledged offerings are below budget!

Thank you for your continued generosity! If you have any

questions, please contact a member of your Finance Committee,

an Elder, or the Business Office (373-4242); or

noland@.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

WORSHIP

CELEBRATE!

A big thank you to everyone who made a pledge on Commitment

Sunday. Partnering with you is what makes ministry happen at

First Pres. If you were unable to participate by making a pledge,

it's not too late! Pledge cards will be available in your Sunday

bulletin or by contacting the business office (373-4242). Your

generosity has been overwhelming. Thank you for giving!

POINSETTIAS TO DONATE

Christmas will be here soon! If you would like to donate one or

more in memory or honor of a loved one, please contact Jean

Edwards (350-5207). The suggested donation for each poinsettia

is $9.85. The last date to order poinsettias will be Monday,

December 12th.

CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICES

4:00, 8:00 and 11:00 p.m.

Worship our Savior on Christmas Eve with First Pres! Our 4

o'clock service will be "family friendly" with cookies served

afterward in the Great Hall. For the 8:00 and 11:00 p.m.

services, there will be carols, candlelight and communion. Invite

family and friends, and come early to find your seat! Nursery will

only be provided for the 4:00 and 8:00 p.m. services.

YEAR-END GIVING REMINDER

Important reminder! The Christmas service Sunday, December

25, 2011 will be the last service for offerings to be considered as

2011 offerings. All offerings received during the service

Sunday, January 1, 2012 will be posted as 2012 offerings. The

church offices will be open until 5:00 p.m. on Friday, December

30, 2011 to accept your 2011 giving. Gifts received by mail must

be postmarked by December 31, 2011 in order to be included

with your 2011 gifts. Please contact the Business Office (3734242 or noland@) if you have any questions.

UPCOMING PREACHING SCHEDULE

December 4th

Second Sunday of Advent

Matthew 1:1-6

Rev. Howard Griffin

December 11th

Third Sunday of Advent

Matthew 1:7-17

Rev. Howard Griffin

December 18th

Fourth Sunday of Advent

Matthew 1:18-25

Rev. Howard Griffin

GROW

NUFFS DECEMBER PROGRAM

Join NUFFs on December 8th for a visit to Christmas Past,

fellowship and a wonderful meal. Special guest is Glori Roller,

the ¡°Little Match Girl.¡± Coffee and fellowship begins at 10:00

a.m., followed by a business meeting at 10:30, and the program

begins at 11:00. For lunch reservations, call the reservation line

(373-4288) or Jean Edwards (350-5207).

ATTENTION, WEDNESDAY NIGHT TEACHERS!

The Spring semester of Wednesday Night is right around the

corner. In order to promote spring classes, we need your

information! If you would like your class to be included in the

Wednesday night brochure, please send the class name, topic

and a two to three sentence description of what the class will

cover for the semester to Charlotte Kinch

(charlottek@) by Friday, December 16th.

CONNECT

A&O MEXICAN CHRISTMAS DINNER

This is the last weekend to purchase tickets for A&O's annual

Mexican Dinner on Wednesday, December 7th, from 6:00

p.m.until 8:00 p.m.! Purchase tickets from any A&O student or

at the fundraiser table in the Great Hall. Tickets are $10.00 for

adults, $5.00 for kids and 2 years and under are free. The

dinner will be in the Parlor and Great Hall. Proceeds from the

dinner will fund scholarship money for the A&O ski and mission

trips. For more information, contact Alana Mitchell

(alanam@ or 350-5209).

DESSERTS NEEDED!

A&O is asking the congregation to whip out their mixers and

bake up some treats (or pick up something from the grocery

store) for the annual Mexican Christmas Dinner to be held on

December 7th at 6:00 p.m. You may bring your desserts to the

Student Ministry office anytime between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00

p.m. on Monday, December 5th or Tuesday, December 6th. If

you would like, you may drop them off the day of the dinner in

the Parlor kitchen before 6:00 p.m. A&O appreciates your hard

work and dedication to our students! Questions? Please contact

Alana (350-5209 or alanam@)

SALT SINGLES MINISTRY PRESENTS:

SINGLES SECOND SUNDAYS!

First Pres Single Adults will meet for a BYO (Buy Your Own)

lunch!

Where: Acapulco Mexican Restaurant (727 S. Polk Street)

When: December 11th (Every second Sunday of the month)

Time: 12:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Who: Single adults (35+)

A&O SKI TRIP SIGN-UP

Sign-up for the A&O Ski Trips has begun and is available online

at . A $100 deposit is due with your signup. You can also find information on each trip and register

online for the Middle School trip or the High School trip by

clicking the link below.

Middle school trip: December 27th-30th, 2011 ¨C Winter Park, CO

High school trip: December 30th, 2011-January 3rd, 2012 ¨C

Jackson Hole, WY

SERVE

ME DAY FOR MISSIONS -- PARENTS DAY OUT

Parents, A&O is having a "Me Day for Missions" Parents Day Out

on December 10th! You may finish your Christmas shopping or

just have the day to yourself. Bring your children to the CE

Building from 9:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. Cost for the day is $30

for one child, $50 for two children and $60 for three or more

children. Send a lunch with your children and snacks will be

provided. Please make your reservation by Wednesday, December

7th with Alana Mitchell (350-5209 or alanam@).

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