{"id":20226,"date":"2018-12-11T15:17:00","date_gmt":"2018-12-11T19:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?p=20226"},"modified":"2019-01-14T11:14:18","modified_gmt":"2019-01-14T15:14:18","slug":"our-fathers-house-sings-the-meaning-of-christmas-12-6-18","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?p=20226","title":{"rendered":"Our Father&#8217;s House Sings the Meaning of Christmas! (12\/6\/18)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Each year, our Preschoool (called Our Father&#8217;s House) presents a Christmas Pageant giving us the True Story of Christmas.\u00a0 This year&#8217;s Pageant was held on Thursday Dec. 4.\u00a0 The music and costumes trace the biblical story from busy Bethlehem (<span style=\"color: #008000;\">knock, knock on the inkeeper&#8217;s door&#8230; no room<\/span>), to the shepherds and angels, to the stable and animals, and to the star and wise men.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">The program doesn&#8217;t change much from year to year, and we&#8217;re all very familiar with the Christmas Story.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">But there&#8217;s an underlying story that we are celebrating.\u00a0 These are special moments in a young family&#8217;s life; memories are being created that will be celebrated in the years to come.\u00a0 It&#8217;s a celebration of the love and dedication of the teachers and staff of Our Father&#8217;s House.\u00a0 There&#8217;s a deep love and selflessness that permeates all that they do.\u00a0 And finally, it&#8217;s a story of our Children.\u00a0 A recognition of the innocence, excitement, and fresh viewpoint that they provide.\u00a0 Christmas isn&#8217;t just a well-worn story; it&#8217;s a fresh jolt of love and hope.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">The Story of Family&#8230;<\/span><\/h4>\n<p>Those days of 2, 3, and 4 year olds are precious.\u00a0 Our babies grow up.\u00a0 We want to capture and savor these special times as much as we can.\u00a0 So, parents and family change their busy schedules so they can attend this mid-morning event.\u00a0 They bring their cameras.\u00a0 Cell Phones are pointed towards their one special &#8220;actor\/actress&#8221; who&#8217;s on the stage.\u00a0 With each click, a fresh moment of love is being treasured&#8230;.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 50%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-20226 gallery-columns-2 gallery-size-medium'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/OFHXmas18-_IMG_1549-300x225.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/OFHXmas18-_IMG_1549-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/OFHXmas18-_IMG_1549.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/OFHXmas18-_IMG_1569-300x225.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/OFHXmas18-_IMG_1569-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/OFHXmas18-_IMG_1569.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/OFHXmas18-_IMG_1547-300x225.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/OFHXmas18-_IMG_1547-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/OFHXmas18-_IMG_1547.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/OFHXmas18-_IMG_1571-300x225.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/OFHXmas18-_IMG_1571-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/OFHXmas18-_IMG_1571.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">The Story of Community&#8230;<\/span><\/h4>\n<p>Throughout the school year, you drop your child off at the church for a few hours and try to work in some errands. \u00a0 Even as you appreciate these moments of &#8220;freedom,&#8221; you drive away with a need to deeply trust the teachers and aides who are stepping in to nurture your child for those few hours.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Part of the pageant&#8217;s story of Christmas is the story of the love and dedication of these teachers.\u00a0 From the gentle touches ushering children into their positions (marked by tape on the floor), to the exaggerated facial expressions urging the child to smile, to knowing that this same attention is lovingly given to your child every day, you&#8217;re assured that your trust is well-founded.\u00a0 The Pageant shows the story of Christmas by demonstrating how God has created a caring community of love to nurture all of us.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 50%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-2' class='gallery galleryid-20226 gallery-columns-2 gallery-size-medium'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/OFHXmas18-_IIMG_1539-300x225.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/OFHXmas18-_IIMG_1539-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/OFHXmas18-_IIMG_1539.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/OFHXmas18-_IIMG_1577-300x225.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/OFHXmas18-_IIMG_1577-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/OFHXmas18-_IIMG_1577.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/OFHXmas18-_IIMG_1609-300x225.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/OFHXmas18-_IIMG_1609-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/OFHXmas18-_IIMG_1609.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/OFHXmas18-_IMG_1544-300x225.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/OFHXmas18-_IMG_1544-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/OFHXmas18-_IMG_1544.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">The Story of Innocence&#8230;<\/span><\/h4>\n<p>But the most important part of the Story of Christmas is the simple faith of that continually shines out of the children.\u00a0 It&#8217;s an innocent faith that trusts, that has no inhibitions, that bubbles over with joy.\u00a0 It&#8217;s a faith that doesn&#8217;t worry.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>And, it&#8217;s a faith that adults should have.\u00a0 After all, the story of Christmas is centered on a Baby.\u00a0 The children remind the grownups that we have a loving Father who we can approach.\u00a0 Our Abba Father is Someone who we can trust.\u00a0 Like the tape on the floor, or the gentle nudges of teachers, or the loving glow in the faces of parents, the assurance of our Good Shepherd gives us the freedom to be children and to crawl into His loving arms&#8230;.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<div class='et-image-slider et_sliderfx_slide et_sliderauto_true et_sliderauto_speed_4050 et_slidertype_images'>\n\t\t\t<div class='et-image-slides'>\n\t\t\t\t<div class='et-tabs-content-wrapper'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class='et_slidecontent et-image-slide'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/OFHXmas18-_IMG_1551.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" \/><span class='et-image-overlay'> <\/span><\/div> \n\t\t<div class='et_slidecontent et-image-slide'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/OFHXmas18-_IMG_1557.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" \/><span class='et-image-overlay'> <\/span><\/div> \n\t\t<div class='et_slidecontent et-image-slide'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/OFHXmas18-_IMG_1559.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" \/><span class='et-image-overlay'> <\/span><\/div> \n\t\t<div class='et_slidecontent et-image-slide'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/OFHXmas18-_IMG_1561.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" \/><span class='et-image-overlay'> <\/span><\/div> \n\t\t<div class='et_slidecontent et-image-slide'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/OFHXmas18-_IMG_1562.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" \/><span class='et-image-overlay'> <\/span><\/div> \n\t\t<div class='et_slidecontent et-image-slide'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/OFHXmas18-_IMG_1567.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" \/><span class='et-image-overlay'> <\/span><\/div> \n\t\t<div class='et_slidecontent et-image-slide'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/OFHXmas18-_IMG_1568.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" \/><span class='et-image-overlay'> <\/span><\/div> \n\t\t<div class='et_slidecontent et-image-slide'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/OFHXmas18-_IMG_1587.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" \/><span class='et-image-overlay'> <\/span><\/div> \n\t\t<div class='et_slidecontent et-image-slide'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/OFHXmas18-_IMG_1601.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" \/><span class='et-image-overlay'> <\/span><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div> <!-- .et-image-slider -->\n\t\t\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #008000;\">Go Tell it On the Mountain<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The True Story of Christmas gives us awesome news of joy and peace: God loves us, forgives us, and offers us eternal life!<\/p>\n<p>This\u00a0 story can&#8217;t end with a pageant or with Megabytes of photos on our phones.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The story of Christmas must continue- with all of us.\u00a0 And so the kids reminded us that we have to freedom to shout the news throughout the year&#8230;.<\/p>\n<div class='et-box et-shadow'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class='et-box-content'><p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"&quot;Go Tell it On the Mountain&quot; - Our Father&#039;s House, 12\/6\/18\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/fD3pAUaNHo0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 18pt; color: #008000;\">+\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Click this button to read more about Our Father&#8217;s House:\u00a0\u00a0 <a href='https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?page_id=117' class='small-button smallgreen'><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Our Father&#8217;s House<\/span><\/a> \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Our Preschool (Our Father&#8217;s House) presented their annual Christmas Pageant on 12\/6\/18.  It was a story of innkeepers, shepherds, angels, stars and wise men, but it&#8217;s also a story for the here and now that goes deeper than the familiar narrative&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":20239,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,23,55,25,14],"tags":[123,72],"class_list":["post-20226","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-evrpt","category-kids","category-mission-aroundtowns","category-ofh","category-worship","tag-christmas","tag-family"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20226","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20226"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20226\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20256,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20226\/revisions\/20256"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20226"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20226"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20226"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}