Lake Palestine U.M.C.
Barbara Cade

Well, it seems like most folks in the church have had a very busy Thanksgiving. The highlight of the weekend at church was the performance by Vibre, a quartet of handbell ringers from Pollard United Methodist Church. They played at both the 9:30 a.m. service and the 11:00 a.m. service.

The Worship Committee also got together on Sunday evening to plan out the times for all the upcoming Christmas events. The first item on the agenda will be the Hanging of the Greens, which will be on Saturday, December 1st at 6:30 p.m. Those who want to come and help get ready for this should be at the church on the same morning at 9:00 a.m. to put up the tree, etc. We should be done by noon if all goes well.

The Traditions Christmas dinner will be on December 12th at 6:30, so put that on your calendar also. It is for everyone in the church. Bring friends if you want. We will be sure to have games and other entertainment there that night.

On December 15th, a Saturday, our church choir will be performing at Noonday United Methodist Church with their choir. The time for that is still to be determined although it will be in the evening. Then, the next night, on Sunday, the same group will be performing Christmas music at the Lake Palestine UMC. Refreshments will be served afterward.

This year, Christmas Eve will be on a Monday night. There will be two services. One will be at 4:00 p.m. and the other will begin at 7:00 p.m.

There has been some talk of a Watch Night service on New Year's Eve, but that is still being discussed. If anyone has any input on that, just let Rev. Prather know.

We hear that Charles Johnson is gradually improving at the hospital in Dallas. Sue now has a laptop computer with her so she can keep in touch with us a little better. Last week, Bob and Carla Fisher drove to Dallas to see them.

Bennie Brown has gone to Chicago for a few months. We were saddened by the recent loss of her sister and know that she is needed up there with her family right now.

Dorothy Botts is home from the hospital and doing really well. Gail and Roland Massey brought her and Herbert their Thanksgiving dinner last week. Also, Juanita and Charles Price sent them a little food also, so they should be pretty well set.

At the same time, we heard that Roland got sick during the holidays. We hope he is doinig better now.

We were very sorry to hear that Everett Kuykendall has had a stroke and is back in the hospital again. We will all be praying for him.

Also, on her way back to East Texas Baptist University in Marshall this past Sunday, Brittany Newsom was in a car accident. She is fine with just a few bumps. We know God was looking out for her.

Oh, by the way, it was reported last week that Linda and Bernard Massey were going to stay home for the holiday. It didn't actually work out that way. They decided to go to South Carolina anyway, to be with their son.

This coming Sunday will be a very important day for the church. Rev. Mike Cline will be here at 5:00 p.m. to lead the Charge Conference. But, before that, at 4:00 p.m., there will be an official dedication of the new amphitheater. The District Superintendent will be here for that. This amphitheater will be available for use by the community, but it can also be used by the church for many things such as gospel concerts, weddings, plays, special speakers, etc. We will write more about this later as it progresses.