Advent and Christmas

Christmas Eve is Tuesday, December 24. We have three worship services available. All of our services include lighting the Advent wreath, singing of traditional Christmas carols, and closing with candlelight singing of Silent Night.

5:00 pm

Join us at 5 pm in our Great Hall for a family-friendly service that includes a special Trinity tradition: a Living Christmas Story. All children from age 3 – fifth grade are invited to play the parts of either angels, shepherds, sheep, wise men, or stars. There is no advance preparation necessary in order to participate, just plan to arrive to the Welcome Desk by 4:45 pm. Costumes are provided. There will also be childcare for infants (aged six weeks) through preschool. The Living Christmas Story takes place only at the 5 pm service.

This service is held in the Great Hall, a beautiful and accessible worship space with acoustic design features and rocking chairs for parents with infants.

7:00 pm

The 7 pm service includes a traditional service of Lessons and Carols, and closes with candlelight singing. There will be childcare for infants (aged six weeks) through preschool. This service is held in the Great Hall.

11:00 pm

At this intimate candlelight Lessons and Carols service held in our beautiful McCoy Chapel, we celebrate the Lord’s Supper. Childcare is not provided for the 11 pm service. This service is held in our beautiful McCoy Chapel.

At Trinity, we strive to offer radical hospitality throughout the year. If you are new to joining us in worship, we want to provide information on the accommodations we are offering at this time:

• There are three wheelchair accessible entry points. If you are attending our 5 pm or 7 pm service in the Great Hall, please enter through the south or west entrances. If you are attending the 11 pm worship service in McCoy Chapel, you can find a wheelchair entrance on the northeast side of our building;
• Accessible bathrooms can be found in our main hallway;
• In the Great Hall, there are rocking chairs for use by new parents;
• Written sermons and large-print bulletins can be found outside the Great Hall and McCoy Chapel;
• Fidget toys are welcome in service and are available to borrow at our Welcome Desk;
• There are two gender neutral bathrooms that can be found at the northeast and southeast entrances;
• The majority of the chairs in our worship spaces do not have armrests, however, we do offer chairs with armrests for those who need them. If you need a specific type of chair, please ask an usher who will be happy to assist you.

If you have any questions or if we can offer further accommodations to you or your family, please email contact@tpcmckinney.org.

Heifer International is one of our missions for December.

For more than 70 years, Heifer International has provided livestock and environmentally sound agricultural training to improve the lives of those who struggle daily for reliable sources of food and income.

There are three ways to give:

You can donate by writing a check to Trinity with “Heifer” in the memo line, or via Realm by selecting “Giving” and then “Mission of the Month”. You can also donate by clicking “DONATE” below.

All gifts will be matched dollar for dollar by an anonymous donor. Checks or gifts made on Realm must be received by December 26 to be included in the match.

Trinity’s annual Christmas Giving Tree begins November 5 and ends December 5.

The Giving Tree is an opportunity to partner with families to provide toys, clothes, and essentials. Trinity will be supporting families from Scott Johnson Middle School.

On Christmas Eve it is our tradition to participate in our denomination’s special offering, which addresses the support needed by some of our leaders, including leadership development for communities of color, and providing assistance for Presbyterian church workers in their time of need.

Advent, which means “coming” or “arrival,” is the season where we prepare for the miracle of the birth of Jesus, the Son of God, as a human infant 2000 years ago. Advent also reminds us that we still wait with expectant hope for Jesus to come again, ushering in God’s reign of justice and peace. Beginning Sunday, December 1, we will spend 4 weeks preparing our hearts and minds for Christmas.

Each week in worship we will light candles on a traditional Advent wreath. These candles represent our Advent themes: hope, peace, joy, and love. The candles on the wreath represent the light of Jesus coming into the world. Each week will become progressively brighter until the central candle, the Christ candle, is lit on Christmas Eve.

Hanging of the Greens: November 24

Join us for worship at 8:30 am in McCoy Chapel or 11 am in the Great Hall. Between services, we will cover Trinity and our worship spaces with greenery as we prepare for the Advent season. Watch for various historic and adopted Christian symbols—the evergreens that promise life even in the coldest darkest times of winter, the wreath whose circle is never-ending, candles and other lights reminding us that Christ is the light of the world, and the white and gold Chrismon tree covered with crosses, crowns, doves, fish, stars and other Christian symbols.

Advent Week One – Voices of Christmas: Involved (Mary)
December 1

Join us for worship at 8:30 am in McCoy Chapel or 11 am in the Great Hall.

Advent Week Two – Voices of Christmas: Included (Joseph)
December 8

Join us for worship at 8:30 am in McCoy Chapel or 11 am in the Great Hall. Trinity’s PraiseKids will help lead us in worship this Sunday.

Advent Week Three – Voices of Christmas – Cantata and Breakfast with Mrs. Claus
December 15

Join us in the Great Hall at 8:30 am or 11 am for Voices of Christmas, our 2024 Christmas Cantata. Directed by Jennifer Jones, Trinity’s Director of Music Ministry, this beautiful cantata will feature the Trinity Choir, Children’s Choir, Orchestra, Narrators, and Soloists. For more information, click here.

After the 11 am service, our vibrant youth group will host Breakfast with Mrs. Clause. This annual fundraiser for World Vision’s 30-Hour Famine features pancakes, coffee, and special guests from the North Pole. All are invited!

Advent Week Four – Voices of Christmas – Invited (Shepherds)
December 22

Join us for worship at 8:30 am in McCoy Chapel or 11 am in the Great Hall.

No. Trinity welcomes all, wherever you are on your spiritual journey. From longtime Presbyterians to people uncertain about God, our halls are filled with people from all backgrounds and perspectives.

Being a PC(USA) church means honoring God’s stated desire to work through and in all people (Joel 2:28).  We are intentionally inclusive and we believe that God uses the leadership and teaching gifts of all genders, ethnicities, and backgrounds.

We invite you to join us just as you are!