Messenger is here!

December 17, 2025

 This week's release at a glance:

• Pastor’s Message
• Christmas Eve Services
• A Christmas Eve Kindness Call
• Browse Our Advent Brochure
• Alternative Gift Guide
• Revisit Our Holiday Concerts
• Holiday Bazaar Thank You
• Medical Professional Volunteers Needed
• Sunday Fellowship Help Wanted
• Middle School Tubing Trip
• High School Ski Trip
• Save the Date for WoodsWork 2026
• Weekly Bible Study During the Holidays
• Urgent Food Drive for SPAN
• Mission Trip to Guatemala
  

Pastor's Message

Friends, it has been a powerful and meaningful Advent season so far! As we have explored our Advent theme, “Like Those Who Dream,” we have seen how God uses our dreams to inspire us to real-world action in building up God’s kingdom as we await the coming of Christ once more. We will conclude our Advent observances this coming Sunday, December 21, with the Fourth Sunday of Advent, and our main Scripture reading will be the dream that Joseph receives about Mary’s miraculous pregnancy. Joseph is often overlooked, but he plays a crucial role in the Christmas story, and we will explore that in this week’s sermon, “Like Something Out of a Dream.”

On Wednesday, December 24, of course, we will have extensive opportunities to celebrate Christ’s birth on Christmas Eve. The Family Christmas Pageant will once again be offered at both 3PM & 4PM, followed by three worship services. Each of the worship services will include the Christmas stories from Scripture along with wonderful music, the same short homily, and candlelighting. There are also some differences for you to choose from. At 6PM, we will hold the Contemporary Christmas Eve service, which will include contemporary Christmas music and a more informal ambience, as you might expect. At 8PM, we will have a Traditional Christmas Eve service, with special traditional music. And at 10PM, we will have another Traditional Christmas Eve service, but this one will include the Sacrament of Communion. So, you can choose which option(s) suit you best, but also know there is a wonderful common thread of Word and Christmas music running throughout all our worship opportunities.

I’m very much looking forward to celebrating Christ’s birth with you in all of these opportunities, whether in person or online!

Peace and blessings,

—Pastor JC

Church News

A Christmas Eve Kindness Call, an Opportunity to Serve!

On Christmas Eve, as bells ring clear,

Our church will welcome far and near

The pastors and staff will serve all day,

in worship, prayer, and joyful display

With faithful hearts and hours long,

they’ll work and serve from dusk till dawn

No time to leave for lunch or cheer,

so meals can be a challenge here

In years gone by, with love so true,

our church family came right through

Home-cooked dishes, shared with care,

a gift of kindness beyond compare

This Christmas season, bright and dear,

we hope you’ll help again this year

A meal prepared, a dish to share,

a simple way to show you care

If you are able to help, we’d love for you to sign,

use the link below as it helps us align

In the comments, please share what you’ll bring,

so others can plan with this thoughtful thing

Thank you for blessing, for helping, for cheer—

And Merry Christmas from Woods to all this year!

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 (use the upcoming events Alternative Gift Icon link.)

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!

Revisit Our Holiday Concerts

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

Our weekly Bible study will continue during the holidays! Sarah Wilson will lead us on Wednesdays, December 24 & 31, 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.

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.