As the pandemic forced many changes surrounding events in 2020, the staff and volunteers of Greenwood Community Church got creative with their Christmas plans. In August of 2020 when the church staff and volunteers began brainstorming and planning for the 2020 Christmas season, they were unsure what restrictions or opportunities December 2020 would hold. Says the church’s associate pastor, Adam Long, “An outdoor celebration combined with opportunities for people to connect seemed like something we could plan on in otherwise very uncertain times.” Pastor Doug Brown added, “We wanted to create an opportunity for people to connect,” something he says “our community greatly needed.”
The church staff and volunteers decided to do whatever they could to celebrate Christmas and developed a light show synchronized to music. In addition, they added a couple of evenings of outdoor fun where they served hot chocolate and cookies to anyone who wanted to gather in the parking lot to watch and listen to the show. They also provided an outdoor Christmas Eve service last year in addition to two socially-distanced indoor services.
The church’s joy in celebrating Christmas returns this year for what they’re calling “Light Show 2.0.” They’ve added more elements, updated the play list, and will be running the light show every night beginning at 5:00 p.m. and running through December 31. As the people of Greenwood Community Church value community connection, they’re also again offering free hot chocolate, cookies, and more on December 17 and 18 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. in conjunction with the light display. You can find out more details about this and other events, including their two indoor Christmas Eve services on the church’s event page: GreenwoodCC.com/Events1.