The Christmas decorations are up. The parties are planned. Many of the presents have been purchased. But are you truly ready to welcome the Christ-child?

During this season of preparation, take a look around you and ask yourself, “how can I honor the birth of our Savior?” Find a way to be a blessing to someone else. There’s no shortage of ways to show love and support for our IPC family and neighbors. On the cover of this Window, there are 25 suggestions to get you started this Advent. Many of them don’t cost anything or require a large time commitment, like volunteering for Holiday House. Others are incredibly fun and simply involve showing up to the 5th Grade Christmas Pageant or the Christmas Concert. There are even more opportunities to show our IPC family members that you care by joining a Shepherd Ministry Team to help uplift them during challenging times in their lives.

Now is also the time to start thinking about the summer. It may seem far away. But it will be here before we know it. We’re planning our mission trips, and we need everyone interested in going to Mexico or Zambia to sign up by January 5.

Most importantly, I encourage everyone to make a commitment to attend worship on every Sunday in Advent. It’s one of the best ways to prepare your heart for Christ’s birth. Let’s fill the pews as we await his arrival together! Oh and remember our tradition of wearing purple during Advent!! The clergy will have on their purple stoles and I’ll be wearing my purple robe. Join us with purple dresses, scarves and ties.

All the Best,
Bill