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December 10, 2025

 This week's release at a glance:

• Pastor’s Message
• Christmas Eve Services
• Come Christmas Caroling
• Blue Christmas Service
• Winter Daydreams Piano Concert
• Browse Our Advent Brochure
• Poinsettia Orders
• Browse Our Alternative Gift Guide
• Woods Church Crosses are Available
• Medical Professional Volunteers Needed
• Save the Date for WoodsWork 2026
• Urgent Food Drive for SPAN
• Mission Trip to Guatemala
  

Pastor's Message

As we continue to dream in this Christmas season, we recognize the importance of being aware of reality. One cannot live into dreams without be grounded in the real world. The very purpose of a dream is to provide a guiding vision to strive for which refines and makes the world a better place when the dream is put into action.



Jesus’ birth was a dream of peace, hope, love and joy made real in the flesh. It is our responsibility to make the meaning of his birth a real center of who we are and not just a dream of what we might be. Perhaps that is actually the message of Christmas: too align what is true about ourselves and our lives with what is real in our world. In other words, the authenticity of who we are should be reflected in the lives we live. As Christians, that should be visible to everyone…like the star that shone over Bethlehem.

Recently a repairman was a my house to perform a service. As often happens when anyone comes to the house of a minister I suppose, the subject of “church” came up. He informed me that he had left two churches in the last couple of years because each of them had emphasized appearance (how one dressed and looked) and finance (how much money one had) over Christian service to others. Their vision had been aligned with a prosperity gospel dreaming. His belief, he told me, was that dreams were matters of the heart first and foremost and may only then be implemented into tangible outcomes. The heart gives energy and form to reality.

The heart of the Christmas Season is Jesus Christ who is the “dream come true”. Christ is God’s dream: the Word becoming flesh and dwelling among us.

—Pastor Nancy

Church News

Winter Daydreams Piano Concert

On Saturday, December 13, 2PM, in the Woods Sanctuary, join Woods pianist/organist Jung-hoon Park for his concert, Winter Daydreams: From Bach’s Solitude to Tchaikovsky’s Snow Silhouette. This concert is free and no registration is required. A love offering will be collected to support the Woods Music Ministry.

For questions, please email David Merrill dmerrill!@woodschurch.org.

Remember a Loved One with a Poinsettia this Holiday Season

Each Christmas, Woods’ Sanctuary is beautifully decorated with poinsettias donated by members and friends in honor or memory of loved ones. If you would like to contribute, the suggested donation is $30 per plant. Donations can be made at woodschurch.org or in person in Fellowship Hall on December 14. Poinsettias will be available to take home on Sunday, December 28. Help share the beauty and joy of the season through this meaningful tradition.

Come Christmas Caroling

Get into the holiday spirit by joining the Deacons on Sunday, December 14, 2PM, for Christmas Caroling. We will visit our homebound friends and bring some Christmas cheer through music. Meet on the church steps and we will organize into groups. Carolers will enjoy cookies and cocoa in Fellowship Hall following caroling. For more information, please contact Kathy Lohff at kathylohff@msn.com.

Blue Christmas Service: A Time of Comfort and Hope

The holiday season can be difficult for those who are grieving, hurting, or feeling especially lonely. If this is you, or someone you know or love, we invite you to our Blue Christmas Service on Tuesday, December 16, 7PM, in the Sanctuary.

Our Blue Christmas service is a gentle, reflective time of worship created to offer comfort, healing, and hope. Through prayer, togetherness, music, and scripture, we honor the struggles many carry during this season, while reminding one another that God’s light shines even in our darkest moments. All are welcome to come, rest, and receive the peace Christ offers.

Browse Our Advent Brochure

Woods Church is pleased to present this year’s Advent Brochure, highlighting all the special events and opportunities to celebrate the season together. We invite you to explore, participate, and experience the joy and hope of Advent at Woods. Click here to download a copy. Enjoy!

Browse Our Alternative Gift Guide

Make a gift donation to a Woods’ partner organization. Receive a Christmas card to give as a gift to a friend or loved one and change a life. Alternative Gift Catalogs are available in Fellowship Hall or at woodschurch.org.

For those making online donations, your gift cards can be picked up on Sundays or in the church office. Gift donations will be taken until December 21.

Consider purchasing a product from one of our many mission Partners!

• Cuba Partnership – December 14 and 21
• Hon’s Honey – December 21
  

Woods Church Crosses are Available

Both small and large, gold and silver crosses will be sold in the Fellowship Hall between services (10:30–11AM) on November 30 and December 14, or you can come to the church office Monday–Friday 9AM–4PM. These crosses are replicas of the forged iron cross hanging in our Sanctuary. Any questions, contact Liz Pringle at 410.647.8914.

Winter Relief

Winter Relief is coming January 19–26. Sign-ups start on Sunday, December 14, 9AM. You will be able to sign up to help after each service in Fellowship Hall or online in Sign-Up-Genius on the Church website. Sign-ups will continue live until we start. There are opportunities for meal prep, brown bag lunch prep, evening and overnight chaperones, drivers, shower escorts, Stephens Ministers, laundry support, youth volunteers, and snack donations. Please help us help the homeless!

If you want more information about Winter Relief and how you can help, please contact Scott Wiley at 410.353.1491 or email wilecoy2us@gmail.com.

Thank you for helping with this important Mission.

Medical Professional Volunteers Needed

Woods is looking for members who are either physicians, physician's assistants, nurses, nurse practitioners, anyone in the medical field, who would be willing to note their presence in a particular worship service or church event (musical production, etc.)—in the event there is a medical emergency—and would be able to help assist until the EMTs arrive.

A notebook and sign will be placed in the Narthex just outside the Sanctuary (to be monitored by the head usher) for the above person(s) to note their name, cell phone number, and presence in the service or particular event being held in the Sanctuary.

Email Jason Jackson at jjackson@woodschurch.org for more information.

Youth News

Save the Date for WoodsWork 2026

WoodsWork 2026 will be held June 22–30. We are still finalizing our location, but we are hoping to open registration by the end of the year! Download the flyer for more details.

Children's News

Everyone is Welcome in Worship at Woods

Sometimes little ears are sensory sensitive. Therefore, the Children’s Ministry has noise dampening headphones available on Sunday mornings. See Kat or Lindsey to sign out a set of headphones. Return them after the service. The headphones are cleaned after each use and ear guards will be changed.

This is one way that Woods Church works to be inclusive of all from the tall to the small!

Education & Small Groups

An Update On Our Bound for Bethlehem Class

The Bound for Bethlehem and Kids’ Christmas Club will not be held on Sundays, December 14 & 21. Many thanks to those who attended and shared meals together, to Ms. Kat and Ms. Lindsay who brought fun activities for the kiddos, and to Kathy Lohff whose leadership offered new perspectives on how our own spiritual journeys align with those of Mary and Joseph on their pilgrimage to Bethlehem.

Pastors’ Bible Study Resumes Next Wednesday

Please note, there will be no Pastors’ Bible Study this Wednesday, November 26. Our regular schedule will resume on December 3.

Lead Pastor JC Austin and Associate Pastor Nancy Lincoln Reynolds offer a weekly Bible Study on Wednesdays, 11AM, to examine the upcoming Sunday’s scripture readings before they are presented in worship.

Join us on Zoom and gain a new understanding of scripture and enhance your worship experience.

Music News

Open Dance Classes

In order to bring our community together in a fun and movement-based way, join our Worship Ministry for a series of dance classes this fall! Professional teachers are set to offer a variety of dance styles including jazz, musical theater, contemporary, tap, yoga, and more!

Open to anyone ages 12 and over in and outside the Woods community. All experience levels are welcome, though classes will be taught at an intermediate level with options for beginners and advanced students.

We meet on Sundays, 2–3:15PM, in Fellowship Hall. For more information email Alyssa Barlis at alyssabarlis@gmail.com.

Mission News

Urgent November Food Drive for SPAN

Did you know 1 in 9 Marylanders may no longer receive SNAP benefits due to impending stoppage of federal food aid? This will have an immediate effect on food requests above and beyond our typical needs.

Please donate canned vegetables, canned meats and fish, beans, pasta, rice, instant potatoes, broth, bouillon, canned fruit, laundry detergent, dish soap, deodorant, and toothpaste. Place donations in SPAN bins behind the Welcome Desk in the Church lobby.

Mission Trip to Guatemala

The Baltimore Presbytery Guatemala Partnership Spring Mission Trip—in collaboration with the Protestant Center for Pastoral Studies in Central America (CEDEPA)—will take place March 14–20, 2026.

The cost is approximately $2,200. Adult and youth scholarships are available. The deadline to sign up is December 31, 2025.

The CEDEPA is an ecumenical educational organization headquartered in Guatemala that works to transform lives in Central America. They have four areas of focus: Biblical and Theological Training, Women’s Ministry, Disaster Ministry, and Intercultural Encounter.

For more information, contact Michelle Wallen at mwallen@baltimorepresbytery.org or visit BaltimorePresbytery.org.

Church Family News

Watch for Email Scammers

Alert! Emails from scammers have been circulating through church member emails, as well as Woods staff. Most times, these emails look very legitimate.

Woods will never email you asking for gift cards, Amazon orders, or money. All emails from Woods Church end in “.org” (not “.com”).



Please use caution and always call the church for verification at 410.647.2550.