Wondering About Christmas

Here is a listing of services in the North Texas Area.

Collin County

Lucas

December 2
Good Shepherd United Methodist Church, 750 W. Lucas Rd.
Blue Christmas Service
7:00 p.m.
(website)

McKinney

December 20
First United Methodist Church, McKinney, 315 N Church St.
Blue Christmas Worship Service (Service of Hope & Remembrance)
4:00 p.m.
(website)

December 10
Stonebridge United Methodist Church, 1800 S. Stonebridge Dr
Prayer & Healing Service
7:30 p.m.
(website)

Princeton

December 20
First United Methodist Church, Princeton, 416 N. Fourth
Blue Christmas Worship Service (Service of Hope & Remembrance)
7:00 p.m.
(website)

Wylie

December 24
Wylie United Methodist Church, 1401 FM 1378 (Country Club Road)
Blue Christmas Service
3:00 p.m.
(website)

Dallas County

Carrollton

December 20
Aldersgate United Methodist Church, 3926 Old Denton Rd.
Blue Christmas Worship Service
7:00 p.m.
(website)

Coppell

December 24
First United Methodist Church
Holiday Healing Service
6:30 p.m.
(website)

Dallas

December 20
Kessler Park United Methodist Church, 1215 Turner Ave.
Blue Christmas Service (Service of Healing & Remembrance)
5:00 p.m.
(website)

Farmers Branch

December 20
Chapel Hill United Methodist Church, 12411 Templeton Trail
Blue Christmas Service ( A service of remembrance & healing)
6:00 p.m.
(website)

Irving

December 24
Plymouth Park United Methodist Church, 1615 W. Airport Frwy.
Service of Hope & Rememberance
2:30 p.m.
(website)

Richardson

December 13
First United Methodist Church, Richardson, 503 N. Central Expwy.
Service of Hope in the Chapel
7:00 p.m.
(website)

Denton County

Carrollton

December 20
Aldersgate United Methodist Church, 3926 Old Denton Rd.
Blue Christmas Service
7:00 p.m.
(website)

December 20
First United Methodist Church, Carrollton, 2201 E. Hebron Pkwy.
Blue Christmas Service
6:00 p.m.
(website)

Frisco

December 20
Grace Avenue United Methodist Church, 3521 Main St.
Service of Remembrance
6:00 p.m.
(website)

December 13
Holy Covenant United Methodist Church, 1901 E. Peters Colony
Service of Healing & Hope
7:00 p.m.
(website)

Lewisville

Dec. 21
Vista Ridge United Methodist Church, 2901 Denton Tap Rd.
Service of Healing & Worship
7:00 p.m.
(website)

Hunt County

Greenville

December 21
Westview United Methodist Church, 6407 Greenville
The Longest Night (Blue Christmas) Service
6:30 p.m.
(map)

Lamar County

Paris

December 24
First United Methodist Church, Paris, 322 N. Lamar
Candlelight Remembrance Service
5:30 p.m.
(map)

Is there a murder every minute? I cannot take much more of this. The high rate of violence makes me not want to ever leave the house. I worry a lot too. The violence in our society is so constant and so common that it makes me numb. Actually, I am desensitized to it all.  That’s not really a good thing, but it is where I am right now. It is not positive to lack sensitivity for my fellow humans. I am not proud of this. It feels like I have built a wall around my heart. It is locked in.

What other way is there to cope with it all?  We really are not safe anywhere. The soldiers at Fort Hood, the police outside Seattle – are examples of violence in our world.

What I would love is the antidote to violence. Is someone, anyone able to help me handle all of this? No. I am not looking to Washington to solve this problem. No, the star athletes cannot change anything.  And the television talk show hosts can talk about it, but nothing else. I am looking for a person of peace, who I can trust.

Peace can unlock the fence around my heart. And give me access to my feelings. There is somebody called the Price of Peace. Jesus is his name. He was given the title when he walked into a violent society just like ours. Yes they were killing and murdering 2000 years ago, just like we are today in 2009. That’s a shame. Isn’t it? Society back then was so chaotic that somebody had to do something. So God introduced the violence antidote- Jesus Christ. God flipped the script on humanity. Instead of sending an adult, God sent a newborn baby.

This signaled a fresh start. New possibilities. Openness for everyone. Babies draw interesting reactions from us, don’t they? They make us go “oooooo” and “awww” because they are so sweet. They give us a brief exposure to what real peace is. That must have been God’s plan. God sent him. Our job is to accept him, follow him and love him. Jesus is our only way to handle the violence in our world. He is our peace. If we keep our minds on him, he will give us perfect peace.

–Sheron Patterson

www.drsheron.com

“My husband was found guilty of embezzling money from his company.  He went to prison last week and I don’t know what my kids and I are going to do for the holidays.”

These were only a few of the painful words Fran shared with me in our initial counseling session.  Fran was depressed, scared, and deeply in debt.  “We need help,” she sobbed.

Over the next several weeks Fran poured out her pain.  She was struggling to take care of her children, working at a low-paying job, and dealing with the shame she and her children felt about the behavior, crime and punishment of her husband.  His embezzled money had not helped support his family.  Instead, he had spent the money on strippers at an area strip club.

Fran said her first priority was to help her children cope with their situation and to stay on a good track.  So, we had several family sessions along with her individual sessions.  Lori, the sixteen-year-old high school sophomore, was totally repulsed by her father’s behavior.  Anger and humiliation were frequent feelings she expressed.  John was fourteen-years-old.  He had been close to his dad and did not want to believe that his dad could be guilty of such “dreadful” things.  Amy was a sweet eleven-year-old who was closely attached to her mother.

I invited Fran to attend a support group for people who were having difficulties during the holiday season.  The group members shared their stories with each other and discussed ways that could effectively cope with their holidays.

Two of the group members and Fran decided to take their children to serve Thanksgiving meals to the homeless at a downtown homeless shelter.  They declared, “Maybe it will help us and our children if we help people who do not even have a home.”  While this was certainly a different way to spend Thanksgiving, each person reported they had been blessed by serving people even less fortunate than they were.  In fact, this proved to be a turning point for Fran and her children.

Fran began to develop an amazingly strong determination to do everything she could to be a good role model for her children. She started going with her children to a neighborhood church to “get all the help God can give.”

Each of the children began to deal with their emotional pain regarding their father.  Eventually they set goals for themselves about how they would contribute to the benefit of the family.  Lori began to take more responsibility for preparing dinner and transporting her younger siblings.  John volunteered to be in charge of the trash, to care for their two dogs and help his younger sister with her homework.  Amy did quite a bit of the house-cleaning. And each of them committed to dedicated study and good grades. They, too, were determined not to be destroyed by their dad’s bad decisions, but to make good decisions about their daily lives.

While this family was making progress, their continuing emotional pain and on-going struggles were compounded by the approach of Christmas.  Amy spoke for the family when she said, “Christmas is the time when families are to celebrate together the joys of the special season and to give and get gifts.  We are doing better, but we don’t have any joy.  Dad ruined Christmas for us!”

The church Fran and her children were attending and the support group really came through with help.  Members of the care group from the church brought them a Christmas tree and gifts. The church also invited them to a Christmas Eve dinner before the Christmas Eve service.

Two members of the support group and their children and Fran and her children volunteered once again…this time to serve meals to the homeless on Christmas Day.

In fact, this has become a family tradition for Fran and her children.

This story really happened a few years ago.  After Fran’s two older children went away to college in the northeast, they called Fran to tell her they would not be home for Thanksgiving.  They would be serving food at a homeless shelter in their college town.  Then they told their mom when they were home for Christmas, they would like to go to church on Christmas Eve and to serve food at the homeless shelter on Christmas Day.

When you wonder what you will do this Christmas, I hope a caring church and the opportunity to help someone else will be on your list of things to do.

Dr. Terry Parsons is a psychotherapist in Dallas and a United Methodist minister.