Christmas Eve Invitation

“THE CHRISTMAS INVITATION”

 
You are invited to the reason for the season. You are invited to the hope, peace, joy, and love of Christ. You are invited because God does the inviting. Everyone. The shepherds, the innkeeper, the wise men, those lowly and those who think themselves highly. That’s right, even me, even you, and even all of them (whoever ‘all of them’ means to you).
 
The real scandal of Christmas is that we’re all invited.
 
Just like the very first Christmas, God is still inviting everyone. Rich and poor alike; the hopeful and the hopeless, the joyful and the joyless. God is the host of this celebration; we just get to be part of it. And as part of this divine celebration, we get to respond by offering invitations as well.
 

You are invited to God’s Christmas Invitation
We hope you will join us for Candlelight Service on Christmas Eve
at either 6:00 or 8:00 p.m. at Cokes Chapel.
6:00 p.m. service will be a little more modern in the Worship Center with hot chocolate around the tables.
8:00 p.m. service will be a little more traditional in the Chapel.
Both will be about God’s radical and gracious invitation of Christmas.

 
I hope you have a very merry Christmas, and that you invite someone to be part of it with you.
 
In faith, hope, and love,
Rev. Carson Thaxton
Cokes Chapel UMC



Hello from Pastor Carson

I’d love for you to see what I have been able to see.

I just recently arrived in the community as the pastor of Cokes Chapel.

Cokes Chapel United Methodist Church is nicknamed “the little white chapel on the hill”. Well, I went into this ‘little chapel’, and it was much bigger, wider, and more far-reaching than I ever realized.

The genuine hospitality and love from this congregation are big and only grow larger with time and relationship building. Cokes Chapel is bigger than I thought. Their graciousness and open hearts to welcome and receive both family and strangers alike are modeled after the love and grace of Christ.

What I thought was only a chapel is really a whole campus of buildings, activities, and community engagement in countless ways. Cokes Chapel is wider than I thought. Cokes Chapel Childcare Center operates a dynamic, safe, and nurturing experience for children and their families; Scouting is alive and active with Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, and Girl Scouts meeting, learning and serving in various projects on both the grounds of Cokes Chapel as well as the community; the Worship Center hosts worship events, community events, service projects, children and youth events, meals, and countless other ways of connecting neighbor to neighbor and connecting people to God. And this is with nothing said about the BBQ and the outdoor pavilion and the sports field!

Cokes Chapel is more far-reaching in ministry and outreach than I thought. Three missionary families that are all connected through the life and lives of those at Cokes Chapel are supported, prayed for, and offered financial giving through events like the recent silent auction dinner. There was an incredible live band made up of some people in the church whose tip jar was just another excuse to raise money for missionaries. And this was just one event. The congregation partners with Wellroot, One-Roof, United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), and many other ministries that serve people locally and globally.

Yes, I’d love for you to be able to see what I have seen.

I would love to personally invite you to an incredibly inviting congregation.

I would love to meet you. I would love for you to meet me, my wife, and three children.

I would love for you to experience the love, grace, and power of Christ Jesus in and through the life of this church as I have.

 

You are always welcome at Cokes Chapel, your little white chapel on the hill.

 

In faith, hope, and love,

Rev. Carson Thaxton

Cokes Chapel UMC

 

Worship Service is 10:00 a.m. Sunday mornings. We would love to worship with you.