Alhambra Community Thanksgiving Celebration
Wednesday, 11/21/07 @ 7:30pm
Sage Granada Park United Methodist Church
Senior Pastor Phyllis Tyler
626/284-3229
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Uniting to love Jesus, to give Him thanks and rejoicing in God’s Presence in Alhambra! Together we celebrate the diversity of God’s Kingdom. We all come in unique shapes and sizes, colors and textures, and together we represent the King of Kings, Jesus. We are many people but ONE Church and together we give thanks and glory to Jesus our Lord.
On Wednesday, November 21st, 2007 (Thanksgiving Eve) over 250 people gathered at Sage Granada Park United Methodist Church to celebrate Thanksgiving by giving thanks to God. Over ten churches participated in this annual joint Alhambra church worship service.
Theme Verse: Nehemiah 12:43 And on that day they offered great sacrifices, rejoicing because God had given them great joy…The sound of rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard far away.
The focus of Nehemiah 11-12 is the completion of the building of the wall in the Jerusalem. Since the walls and gates of Jerusalem were now restored, it was important that the builders inhabit their capital city and make the population grow
. Here the community comes together and dedicates themselves – all that they are to the Lord – giving Him thanks for His faithfulness. God is building in Alhambra and we need to continually give Him thanks for what He is doing and for who He is. We celebrated at this service with song, reflections, dance, bell choir and more. We much to be thankful to God for in Alhambra!Participating Churches:
Alhambra First Christian Church
Alhambra True Light Presbyterian Church
All Souls Catholic Church
Bethany Church of Alhambra
Calvary Chapel Alhambra
Chinese Bibile Missions Church
Chinese Life Lutheran Church
First United Methodist Church of Alhambra
Holy Trinity/St. Benedict's Episcopal Church
Sage Granada Park United Methodist Church
St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church (Whittier)
The Grace Place (Alhambra 7th Day Adventist Church)
Alhambra
Community Thanksgiving 2006 Celebration Service
Location: First United Methodist Church of Alhambra
Date: November 22, 2006
Participating Churches: Alhambra First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Alhambra True Light Presbyterian Church, All Souls Catholic Church, Bethany Church of Alhambra, Chinese Bible Missions Church, First United Methodist Church of Alhambra
Praise God for the Alhambra Community Thanksgiving Service on 11/22. Over 400 people representing almost ten Alhambra Churches (Protestant and Catholic) came together to worship and give thanks to our God. Multiple ethnicities, cultures, traditions and languages were woven into the service..JPG)
The Church of Alhambra
Pastors reflected from the book of Ephesians, a book that Paul wrote to the people of Ephesus to encourage them to see their city and world through Kingdom lenses, to see that the Kingdom of God is bigger than they think it is and that they are a part of it. The Church is bigger than we think it is and is not bound by our buildings and walls.
Rather than each church taking a segment of the service to work on, we combined the elements of the service so that the people in all the churches worked together.
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The Multi-Church Orchestra "All Hail the Name"
During the service, people were already talking about ways we can come together and be a light for Jesus to our city. One pastor's words especially linger. He challenged us to see that the greatest way to impact our city and world is through our collective worship of the one true God. When we worship Jesus, our Beloved, that is what expands the Kingdom of God in our city because our eyes are on Jesus and that points others to Him and what He is doing in our world. Rather than our differences keeping us apart, we are brought together by what unites us; Jesus! And when the Church comes together in Jesus, the world sees the love of God for the world.
May we be the Church of Alhambra that God calls us to be: people of compassion, love, hope, unity and Jesus. As we, the Church are made ONE in Jesus, so the Kingdom of God is realized more fully here in Alhambra as it is in Heaven.
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Sharing with each other what we are thankful to God for
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The Benediction
Community Thanksgiving 2005 Celebration Service
Location: Chinese Bible Missions Church
Date: November 23, 2005
Participating Churches: Alhambra True Light Presbyterian Church, All Souls Catholic Church, Bethany Church, Chinese Bible Missions Church, First United Methodist Church of Alhambra
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