Advent Begins With Hanging of The Greens
Advent Begins With Hanging of The Greens
On Saturday, December 7, Wesley hosted our annual Hanging of the Greens with the theme, “Joy for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow!” We had over 200 attendees this year, which was our biggest turnout yet! This year we were delighted to have the CYS hula dancers perform for us, and loved having the girls and their families join us for the festivities! The evening included delicious food and festive music played by the talented Wesley Ukulele Band. Ornaments were made by children and adults alike, including glittered gingerbread cookie Christmas tree ornaments. Thank you to Kathy Iyama who baked all the gingerbread cookies! There were marbled acrylic ball ornaments, a cute gingerbread house frame showcasing the bright faces of the children and youth, and a pipe cleaner snowflake made with beads and straw pieces. Jingle bell wristlets were used to accompany the sing-along later in the evening. The children even made lovely holiday cards to send to seniors as part of the Umbrella Ministry.
The event came to a musical close with a sing-along in the sanctuary led by the ukulele band, and a visit by Santa ringing his bell with a gold sack full of candy canes for one and all! By the end of the evening, the bare 12-foot Christmas tree in the sanctuary was aglow, fully decorated with colorful, sparkling ornaments. What a festive way to welcome the Advent season!
Special thanks to Mika Visitacion and Mari Fujii for helping to plan and organize the event, to the talented Wesley Ukulele Band, and to Mark Teagle for emceeing the evening among other important, jolly tasks! Many thanks to Eric Fujii who put up the Christmas tree in the sanctuary with the help of Connor and Byron Longmire. Thanks to the many folks, including the Ng family, who helped set-up early Saturday morning, Shelley Nakashima who ordered and picked up additional food in anticipation of the large turnout, CAF/MYF youth, parent volunteers, and God’s Garden staff who helped with the ornament making stations, the potluck, in the kitchen and with clean up! A huge thanks to the Scouts for setting up all the tables and chairs the evening prior!
And of course, thank you to all who attended the event, for bringing your delicious dishes to share, and for making MERRY memories together!
~With gratitude, Kiyomi Yanai
The event came to a musical close with a sing-along in the sanctuary led by the ukulele band, and a visit by Santa ringing his bell with a gold sack full of candy canes for one and all! By the end of the evening, the bare 12-foot Christmas tree in the sanctuary was aglow, fully decorated with colorful, sparkling ornaments. What a festive way to welcome the Advent season!
Special thanks to Mika Visitacion and Mari Fujii for helping to plan and organize the event, to the talented Wesley Ukulele Band, and to Mark Teagle for emceeing the evening among other important, jolly tasks! Many thanks to Eric Fujii who put up the Christmas tree in the sanctuary with the help of Connor and Byron Longmire. Thanks to the many folks, including the Ng family, who helped set-up early Saturday morning, Shelley Nakashima who ordered and picked up additional food in anticipation of the large turnout, CAF/MYF youth, parent volunteers, and God’s Garden staff who helped with the ornament making stations, the potluck, in the kitchen and with clean up! A huge thanks to the Scouts for setting up all the tables and chairs the evening prior!
And of course, thank you to all who attended the event, for bringing your delicious dishes to share, and for making MERRY memories together!
~With gratitude, Kiyomi Yanai
Shelley Nakashima shows off her fruit Christmas platter.
A yummy pot luck prior to the reason for the event was held.
CYS (Community Youth Services) performed Hula, shown above. The Wesley Ukulele Band also performed.
The Wesley Ukulele band entertaned the crafters, young and old, and the hula dancers drew the crowds' attention with their graceful movements.
Children made ornaments for the church Christmas tree, and is the reason for this Advent event. In Advent we prepare for baby Jesus arrival, and begin with dressing the tree in our Sanctuary.
This youngster is showing off his Christmas tree ornament.
Cute Christmas trees
And bracelet bells.
Two Wesley Keiki, students in the Ukulele class perform “Jingle Bells” are assisted by one of the teachers, Mark Teagle.
The kids photos, ornament balls, and ginger bread Christmas trees adorn our tree.
High ladder by Eric Fujii, work gets the ornaments to the top
“That’s my photo,” this youngster stated happily.
Wow! Amazing and beautifully dressed tree, and so admired by the children. There were over 80 children, parents and grandparents, enjoying this evening of fun, but more then that, it was a shared time with church and CYS families, filled with warm memories and signified such an important time in our church as we prepare for the coming of Jesus.
The adults enjoyed making ornaments as much as the kids. Bev Acuna shows her pretty orb for the tree.
The Ukulele band and the children and adults provided a massive amount of energy and good cheer in the sing-a-long after the tree was dressed.
The kids, however, waited for the arrival of who? Yes, Santa, who made a grand entrance and greeted all the children with a “Ho! Ho! Ho! and a sack full of candy canes.
Santa heard their wishes and gave each a candy canes.
Yes, Santa was the evenings’ highlight.
Yes, Santa was the evenings’ highlight.
Posted in Newsletter 2024-12-19