Tonight from 6:00–10:00, Hanover families gathered in the fellowship hall with left-over Christmas treats and board games to play!  We had a fun night of fellowship together.

After this morning’s service we had a unique fellowship dinner. Tim French, our resident gourmet chef, planned the menu and many of our terrific cooks prepared the dishes. Practically everything on the groaning board was new to us and very delicious!

Here are some photos of this delicious dinner

Click one of the small pictures to get a blow-up, then use your arrow keys to step through the larger pictures. Just click on the large picture to see the thumbnails again.

This year children from Hanover Baptist church were involved in a ministry to reach the shut-ins at our church.  They went home to home, sharing the true story about Jesus’ birth, bringing hope and Christmas joy to the lives of those who are unable to come to church at a regular basis. Each person was presented a homemade nativity as a reminder of the message they were given in the hopes that it would resonate with them every time they look at it.  This was a wonderful opportunity for families to give just a little bit of themselves to share the message of One who gave all of Himself for us.

This morning the children shared their message with the members of the church.

Here are a couple photos of the in-church presentation

Click one of the small pictures to get a blow-up, then use your arrow keys to step through the larger pictures. Just click on the large picture to see the thumbnails again.

You can even download a short MP4 video of the presentation. (30 MB)

We started our progressive dinner this evening with appetizers and fellowship at the beautifully-decorated home of the Carters.

Once the appetizer supply was sufficiently diminished and we were fully in the Chrismas spirit, we caravanned a few miles to the Burrell’s warm and cozy home for the main course. We enjoyed a delicious meal including some wonderful new dishes as we clustered into several groups to reveal our plans for Christmas, share stories of recent blessings, and discuss the state of our country.

An hour or so later, we departed for dessert at the ever-hospitable Vardsveen’s home. You wouldn’t think we would have room for more food, but through careful portion planning, we saved just enough room for the sweets and coffee.

As we finished dessert, time came for the annual Christmas White Elephant Gift Exchange. A variety of gifts—some nice, some more accurately called junk—were gaily wrapped and placed beneath the tree. We took turns choosing a gift and shared the surprise or delight at what was in each package.

Be sure you’re there next Christmas!

Tonight Hanover youth gathered for some serious fun and good eats! We had soda, juice, various bags of chips and, of course, Pizza! We brought our (mother’s) favorite cookie cutters and made/decorated dozens of cookies.