Advent and Christmas

Christmas Eve is Saturday, 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 beautifully-designed 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. There will be childcare for infants (aged six weeks) through preschool. This service is held in the Great Hall.

11:00 pm

Our late service includes Communion as well as the singing of traditional Christmas carols and closing by candlelight. Childcare is not provided for the 11 pm service. This service is held in our beautiful McCoy Chapel.

11:00 am

Christmas Day is Sunday, December 25. Join us at 11 am in McCoy Chapel for a unique service celebrating the birth of Jesus. Childcare is available.

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.

Our quarterly mission for November and December is Heifer International.

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 13 and ends December 13.

The Giving Tree is an opportunity to partner with families to provide toys, clothes, and essentials. Trinity will be supporting families from the Community Lifeline Center, Scott Johnson Middle School, and Presbyterian Children’s Home and Services. Angels can be adopted online via Signup Genius. Sign up to adopt, and volunteer for the drive-through reception.

We have 150 angels this year that need adopting.

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 in power as the King of both heaven and earth. Beginning Sunday, November 27, 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.

This year we will introduce a new tradition for the children—a Jesse tree. The name of the Jesse tree comes from Isaiah 11:1: “A shoot shall come out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.” Jesse was the father of King David who was one of Jesus’ famous ancestors. Each Sunday the children will place ornaments on the tree representing the people, prophesies, and events leading up to the birth of Jesus. This connects Jesus’ birth with the faithfulness of God across four thousand years of history.

First Week and Hanging of the Greens: November 27

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.

Second Week: December 4

Join us for worship at 8:30 am in McCoy Chapel or 11 am in the Great Hall. John Mark Solomon will be our special guest musician this Sunday.

Third Week and Cantata Sunday: December 11

Join us in the Great Hall at 8:30 am or 11 am for A Weary World Rejoices, our 2022 Christmas Cantata. Written by Joseph Martin and directed by Trinity’s Director of Music Ministry, Jennifer Jones, this beautiful cantata will feature the Trinity Choir, Children’s Choir, Orchestra, Narrators, and Soloists. For more information, click here.

Fourth Week: December 18

Join us for worship at 8:30 am in McCoy Chapel or 11 am in the Great Hall. The Uke Troupe and BHLU, our Youth Praise Band, will be performing in service this Sunday.

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!