Dec
3
Written by:
host
12/3/2008 7:00 AM
I’m sure that plans are in place for your church’s Advent and Christmas ministries. How are your plans for New Year’s Eve coming along?
Here are two ideas for New Year’s Eve that need not take extensive planning (I am familiar with the exhaustion that can set in after Christmas Eve that makes it tempting to take a vacation until Ash Wednesday.) yet can offer opportunities to celebrate our connection with God and with one another.
1) Hold a Watch Night service on December 31. Watch Night began with the Moravians in the early 1700’s and was adopted by John Wesley, the founder of Methodism as a time of renewing one’s covenant with God. More information on the history of Watch Night and resources for Watch Night services are available online.
2) Host a Game Night on New Year’s Eve – an event that does not need to involve a lot of planning. Invite people of all ages to bring their favorite games to play and a snack to share. I have seen individuals who live alone (or with someone who doesn’t share their game-playing enthusiasm) welcome an opportunity to spend an evening playing Scrabble. I have seen parents of young children be extremely grateful to have someone else take a turn playing Candy Land.
3) Yes, I know I said there would be two ideas, but you might also consider a combination of the two. Host a game night and end with a Watch Night Service!
If you’re not a night person and, like me, struggle to stay awake until midnight even on New Year’s Eve, remember that every hour it is midnight somewhere in the world. If you live in California, you can still celebrate New Year’s as it arrives in Nova Scotia!
~Sally Hoelscher