2009 Christmas Parade, Burgaw, NC

One of the most enjoyable times of the year is Christmas! It is the time where we celebrate the birth of our Lord an Savior, Jesus Christ, who came to this world so that we might have an opportunity for eternal life. The wonderful story of our savior's birth is recorded in Matthew Chapters 1 & 2 (Matthew 1), and Luke Chapter 1 & 2 ( Luke 1 ). THe Word of God tells us in John 3:16-17 that "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." I don't know about you, but it's certainly humbling to me to know that God loves us that much!

One opportunity to "let our light shine" is participation the the Burgaw Christmas Parade. We spend a few days building a float with a message. This year, the float theme was "Jesus - the Real Reason" referring to the real meaning of Christmas.

The float was set up with a beautiful decorated Christmas Tree with a Cross embedded in it. It was surrounded on both sides with hay bails for our church to sit on during the parade! Donna Gurganious, Heather Clayton,Jacqui Simmermon, and many other ladies of the church helped decorate the tree and make "home-made" garland. Many of the guys helped with building the "props" and framing as well as painting. It was TRULY wonderful. We enjoyed a bonfire, cocoa, cookies and great fellowship as we worked on the float.

We also used this opportunity to evangelize by making 1500 candy cane treats with cards on them that shared the meaning of Christmas and invited people out to the church. Thanks so much to Tracy Fanning and Vicky Casteen for their help.

The day finally came and on Saturday, December 12, we participated in the parade with about 40 people present from New Beginnings!

Thanks Alan for letting us use your truck!