Annual Reflection

The Christmas season of 2025 at McCordsville United Methodist Church unfolded gently and intentionally, inviting us not just to celebrate Christmas, but to live it. Across worship, outreach, and community life, the season reminded us that Christ comes quietly—into music, into service, into ordinary days made holy.

A Season Shaped by Worship

Music and scripture anchored our celebration. The Christmas Cantata invited the congregation to hear the familiar story anew, allowing melody and word to open hearts to wonder. On Christmas Eve, candlelight filled the sanctuary as we gathered to mark the birth of Christ—an evening set apart by stillness, reverence, and shared hope.

Rather than ending with Christmas Day, the season carried forward into Epiphany, reminding us that Christ is revealed not only in the manger, but in the world beyond it. Epiphany called us to keep watching for light, to keep following, and to recognize that the story of Christmas continues.

Living the Message Through Service

Advent at MUMC was also marked by action. Reverse Advent shifted our focus outward, inviting individuals and families to prepare their hearts for Christmas by meeting the needs of others. Day by day, donations grew into tangible support for our food pantry, turning anticipation into generosity.

The 12 Gifts of Christmas reinforced this same calling—offering practical, meaningful ways to give throughout the season. Together, these efforts reflected a shared understanding that worship and service belong together.

Community in New and Familiar Spaces

Not all reflection happened inside the sanctuary. Through the Advent Photo Challenge on Facebook, members and friends of the church were invited to pause, notice, and share how they were finding Christ in their daily lives. Photos and reflections became small testimonies—quiet reminders that faith is lived out at home, at work, and in the ordinary rhythms of the season.

A Story Still Being Written

What stood out most about Christmas 2025 was not any single program, but how the season worked as a whole. Worship led to service. Service deepened community. Community strengthened faith. Together, these moments formed a season rooted not in busyness, but in purpose.

As we look ahead to Christmas 2026, we do so with gratitude for what has been planted and anticipation for what is still to come. The story of Christmas at McCordsville UMC continues—shaped by participation, guided by faith, and grounded in the promise that the light of Christ still shines.