• Home
  • Therapist
  • Counseling
  • Services
  • Approach
  • Rates
  • Questions
  • Resources
  • Contact
  • Blog

Living The Hope

partridge in a prayer tree

12/5/2022

1 Comment

 
Picture
We did something new at my church for Advent this year.  For years we have sponsored an Angel Tree which provides our members with an opportunity to purchase gifts for children who desperately need to know they are not forgotten at Christmas time.  We continue in this tradition, but this year we also wanted to provide a way for our members to pray for one another as we journey together towards Christmas Day.  So, on Thanksgiving Sunday (one week before the 1st Sunday of Advent) we provided decorations upon which our congregation could write out a "seasonal prayer request."  At our Hanging of the Greens party these requests were hung upon a Christmas Tree and on the first Sunday of Advent members were encouraged to take a prayer request and make this request a part of their daily prayer time as we continued through the Advent season.  In the midst of these decorations someone placed a "partridge," on the tree so we began to refer to this Advent experience as our Partridge In A Prayer Tree, prayer opportunity.  So far, the entire experience has been extremely well received...
There are many things we do to make Christmas time meaningful for our congregation and community friends. A special offering is taken to support various mission projects. Our children's department sponsors a "coat drive" to make sure every child in our community has a proper coat for the upcoming winter.  Our Angel Tree continues to be a popular way to make Christmas special for some children with "special circumstances and needs."  Of course Christmas cards bring encouragement and cheer for many.  But assuring people that their struggles, heart-aches, griefs, afflictions, and anxieties (all of which can be a very real part of the Christmas season) are being prayed for, in an intentional way, adds another layer to the "blanket of love" we try to spread during the Advent season.

I honestly don't know if our Partridge in a Prayer Tree idea will live on for another Advent season.  But I do know that there are many who desperately need all of the prayers and petitions that we can offer for them during this wonderful Christmas time.
Picture
1 Comment
Nancy Henry
12/26/2022 01:50:20 pm

This is a great idea that you came up with, Allen. Is it okay for me to send this link to some others for next year? Good to read your update. Nancy (and Bill)

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Dr. Allen Schneider is a United Methodist pastor and a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist presently serving the Sapulpa and greater Tulsa communities.

    Archives

    October 2021
    August 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    June 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    July 2017
    March 2017
    September 2016
    April 2016
    May 2015

    Category

    All
    Christian Living
    Christmas
    Easter
    Family
    Grief
    Inspiration
    Marriage
    Mental Health
    Patriotism
    SFBT
    Solution Focused
    Stress
    Suicide
    Wise Living

    RSS Feed

Come:
​1401 E. Taft, Sapulpa, Ok.
Call:
918-914-HOPE (4673)
Contact:
Link to Contact Page
Connect:
Sign Up For Newsletter
Photos used under Creative Commons from Base Camp Baker, amateur photography by michel
  • Home
  • Therapist
  • Counseling
  • Services
  • Approach
  • Rates
  • Questions
  • Resources
  • Contact
  • Blog