Despite the recent controversy over churches not holding services on Christmas Day (Sunday) this year, most Christian churches in the Fayette, Coweta and South Fulton areas will have Christmas services on Sunday morning, though some have scheduled only one service and have cancelled Sunday school classes and other normal Sunday activities.

Many also are having services on Saturday evening, Christmas Eve, and one has planned a Watch Night service on New Year’s Eve.

The following churches have announced services scheduled around the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.

• The Body of Christ Church International, U.S.A., will have a Christmas Day service at 9:30 a.m. Sunday morning.

A Watch Night service is planned for Saturday, Dec. 31, at 10 p.m. and a New Year’s Day service at 10 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 1.

Sunday evening, Jan. 1, Minister Alvin Slaughter of Alvin Slaughter Ministries in New York will appear in concert 7 p.m.

Childcare will be provided for all services. The church is at 3650 Flat Shoals Rd., College Park. For information, call 770-472-4800 or visit www.boccciusa.org.

• Bethany United Methodist Church will have a Christmas Eve Candlelight Communion service Saturday evening at 5 p.m.

Worship on Christmas Day will be at 10 a.m. Sunday school classes will not be held on Christmas Day.

Bethany is at 607 Rivers Rd. (corner of Rivers/Milam and Lee’s Lake roads) in north Fayette County. For information or directions, call the church office, 770-964-6999 or 770-964-6992.

• Carriage Lane Presbyterian Church will have a Christmas Eve Candlelight service Saturday, Dec. 24, at 6 p.m.

On Christmas Day, one service only is scheduled at 11 a.m. Carriage Lane Presbyterian is in Peachtree City on the corner of Ga. Highway 54 and Carriage Lane. For directions or more information, call the church office, 770-631-4618.

• The Catholic Church of St. Gabriel will celebrate Mass on Christmas Eve at 5, 8, and 11 p.m. Christmas morning Mass will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m.

The congregation may participate in 30 minutes of caroling prior to each Mass.

The 5 p.m. Saturday Mass will be a family Mass with the children’s choir, St. Gabriel’s Angels, leading the congregation.

Music at the 8 p.m. Saturday Mass will be provided by the Life Teen band, Gabriel’s Voice.

The 11 p.m. Mass will feature the St. Gabriel Singers adult choir, who also will sing at the 10:30 a.m. Sunday morning Mass.

Because of new construction, those attending are encouraged to carpool or to use the shuttle service which will be provided for the 5 and 8 p.m. Masses. Rides will be provided to the front of the church before and after the early services.

St. Gabriel’s is just south of the intersection of Ga. Hwy. 92 and Antioch Road. For information, call the parish office, 770-461-0492.

• Christ Our Hope Lutheran Church in Fayetteville will have Christmas Eve services Saturday, Dec. 24 at 7 p.m. (Service of Rejoicing) and 11 p.m. (Candlelight Communion).

There will be one service on Sunday, Christmas Day, at 9:30 a.m. No Sunday school classes will be held Christmas Day.

The church is at 2165 Ga. Hwy. 138 SW, Riverdale (near the Fayette County line). For additional information, call the church office, 770-997-7117.

• Christ’s Church at Whitewater will have candlelight Christmas Eve services Saturday, Dec. 24, at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. The services will feature Christmas carols, special music, communion, and a Christmas sermon. Both services are family-friendly. Childcare is provided for pre-school age children.

A reception welcoming the church’s new senior minister, Stephen Carpenter, and his family will be hosted in the church’s fellowship hall between the services, from 5-5:50 p.m. The community is invited to meet and welcome the Carpenter family.

Christ’s Church will have one worship service on Christmas Day, Sunday, at 11 a.m.

The church is on Ga. Highway 85 South in Fayetteville across from Whitewater Middle School. For more information, contact the church office, 770-461-1487.

• Christ the King Charismatic Episcopal Church will have two Christmas Eve services Saturday, one at 6 p.m. and another at 9 p.m. Both services will feature Christmas carols, the reading of the Christmas story, a message by Father David Epps, and Holy Communion.

On Sunday, Christmas Day, there will be only one service at 11 a.m., as opposed to the usual two services.

Also, only one service is scheduled for 11 a.m. the following Sunday, Jan. 1, New Year’s Day.

Christ the King is on Ga. Highway 34 between Peachtree City and Newnan.

• Covenant Presbyterian Church will have a Christmas Candlelight and Communion service Saturday, Dec. 24, at 5 p.m. Childcare will be available for children age 3 and under.

The church is at 819 Ga. Highway 314 in Fayetteville.

• Crosspoint Community Church in Peachtree City will have a Christmas Eve Candlelight and Communion service Saturday at 5 p.m. A Christmas Day service with communion will be held Sunday morning at 11 a.m. Crosspoint is at 300 Tivoli Garden, Suite 408, Peachtree City. For more information, call 770-631-0996 or log on to www.crosspointcommunitychurch.net.

• Faith Lutheran Church in Coweta County will hold a candlelight Christmas Eve service on Saturday, Dec. 24 at 7 p.m. The service will feature special selections by the adult choir and the children’s choir.

Faith is at 575 Fisher Rd. in Sharpsburg. Call 770-253-4007 for more information.

• Fayetteville Christian Church will have a Christmas Eve Candlelight Communion service Saturday evening at 6 p.m.

There will be only one service on Christmas Day, at 10:30 a.m. No Bible fellowships will be held Sunday.

The church is at 114 Hickory Rd., Fayetteville. For information or directions, call the church office, 770-461-8763.

• Fayetteville First United Methodist Church will have Christmas Eve Communion services Saturday, Dec. 24, at 4 p.m., 6 p.m. and 11 p.m.

On Christmas Day, there will be only one service at 11 a.m. in the sanctuary. No Sunday school classes or Sunday evening activities will be held.

Regular service times (8:30, 9:45, and 11 a.m.) will resume on New Year’s Day, Sunday, Jan. 1.

The church is on Lanier Avenue (Hwy. 54), across the street from the old Fayette County Courthouse. For information, call 770-461-4313.

• First Presbyterian Church of Peachtree City will have two Christmas Eve Candlelight services Saturday, Dec. 24: a contemporary service at 6 p.m. and a traditional service at 8 p.m. Childcare will be provided.

On Christmas Day there will be one worship service at 10:30 a.m. No Sunday School will be held but a nursery will be provided.

On New Year’s Day (Sunday, Jan. 1), one service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Communion will be served. No Sunday school classes will meet. Nursery will be provided. The church is at 206 Willowbend Rd., Peachtree City. For information, call 770-487-7757.

• Flat Creek Baptist Church will have a Christmas Eve service Saturday, Dec. 24, at 5 p.m., offering worship and the Lord’s Supper.

A worship service is planned for Sunday morning at 11 a.m. There will be no evening service Christmas Day.

Flat Creek Baptist is on Flat Creek Trail between Hwy. 54 and Tyrone Road, about halfway between Fayetteville and Peachtree City. For more information, call the church office, 770-487-4890.

• Grace Community Church, a relatively new church just west of Peachtree City, will have its first Candlelight Communion service Saturday, Dec. 24, at 5:30 p.m., which also will feature Christmas music and light refreshments. Pastor Tony Mirabella will present a special Christmas message entitled “The Light of Christmas For Your Dark Days.”

The church meets in the auditorium of Immanuel Bible College on the corner of Hwy. 34 and Fischer Rd. Call 770-366-2514 for more information.

• Harp’s Crossing Baptist Church will have a Christmas Eve Candlelight service Saturday at 7 p.m. in the sanctuary. Morning worship on Christmas Day will be at 11 a.m.

The church office will be closed Monday, Dec. 26.

Harp’s Crossing is at 1183 Hwy. 92 South, Fayetteville. For information, call the church office, 770-461-5318.

• Mt. Olive Baptist Church in Fayetteville will have a celebration with the theme of “Happy Birthday, Jesus,” Saturday, Dec. 24 at 7:30 p.m.

Mt. Olive is at 192 Graves Rd., Fayetteville. For more information, call 770-461-6526.

• National Heights Baptist Church will have Christmas Eve Communion and Candlelight service Saturday at 7 p.m. and will celebrate the lighting of the Christ candle. The service on Christmas Day will be at 10:55 a.m.

National Heights is at 103 Old Norton Rd. (corner of Hwy. 54 and Norton Road), just west of Fayetteville. For information, call 770-461-1704 or 770-461-3899.

• Peachtree Christian Fellowship will conduct a candlelight service at 6 p.m. Dec. 24, to which the community is invited. The church, at 640 Ebenezer Church Rd., is just east of the Peachtree City limits. The church has designated Sunday, Dec. 25, a day for families and will not hold services on Christmas Day.

• Prince of Peace Lutheran Church will have four Christmas Eve Candlelight Communion services at 4, 7, 9 and 11 p.m.

The 4 p.m. service includes a “Living Nativity” in the Life Center and is especially designed for families with smaller children. Traditional services at 7, 9, and 11 p.m. are in the sanctuary and will include the pipe organ, special music, and Christmas carols. Child care will be provided at the 4 and 7 p.m. services.

Pastor Justin Kollmeyer will share the Christmas message in all services. He invites anyone without a home church or whose church is not having services to join the congregation of Prince of Peace on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at 11 a.m. for one “Christmas Message and Carol Service.”

For more information, log on to www.popdove.com or call the church office, 770-461-3403.

• Providence United Methodist Church will have Christmas Eve services at 5, 7 and 11 p.m.
The family service at 5 p.m. will include a “spontaneous” Christmas Pageant during which the children will be able to participate in the manger scene as sheep, donkeys, cows, wise men, angels or shepherds. Children should come to the service dressed in attire they have at home such as robes, T-shirts, hats, scarves and socks decorated with felt, garland, and yarn. This is a child-friendly service featuring familiar Christmas carols.

The 7 and 11 p.m. traditional services will include carols, communion and candlelight. Each service will include traditional Christmas hymns and music by choir soloists, and will end with communion and the lighting of candles by all present. The 11 p.m. service will conclude with the ringing of the bells at midnight to welcome the Christ Child.

On Christmas Day, one casual service will be held at 10:30 a.m.

A nursery will be provided for all services.

Providence is at 592 Bernhard Rd., south of Fayetteville, between Hwy. 85 and Redwine Road.

For information, call the church office, 770-719-8800.

• Redemption Fellowship Church will have a Christmas Eve Candlelight service at 6 p.m.

Sunday’s Christmas Day service will be at 11 a.m.

Redemption Fellowship is at 418 Ga. Highway 279 in Fayetteville. For information, call 770-460-1220.

• St. Christopher Hellenic Orthodox Church services for the Feast of the Nativity will be celebrated Friday, Dec. 23 at 9 a.m. with Service of the Great Hours.

On Saturday, Dec. 24, at 9 a.m., Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom will be celebrated and at 10 p.m., Orthros of the Holy Nativity. At 11 p.m. the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil for the Holy Nativity will be held, followed by coffee fellowship.

A special family gathering to celebrate New Year’s is also planned for Dec. 31.

The congregation meets at 313 Dividend Drive, Peachtree City. Contact Tammy Soulakos, 770-487-1004, for further details.

• St. Mary Magdalene Catholic Church in Sharpsburg will have two Masses on Christmas Eve, one at 4 p.m. and a children’s Mass at 6 p.m., featuring the children’s choir.

Sunday morning (Christmas Day) Mass will be at 10 a.m.

On Sunday, Jan. 1, Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m.

All Masses will be held at East Coweta High School on McCollum-Sharpsburg Road (Ga. Highway 154).

• St. Matthew Catholic Church’s Christmas and New Year’s Mass schedule includes caroling beginning at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 24, followed by the Vigil of Christmas Children’s Mass at 5 p.m. Caroling begins again at 11:30 p.m. with Midnight Mass to follow.

On Sunday, Christmas Day, caroling begins at 9 a.m. The Nativity of the Lord: Christmas will begin at 10 a.m.

On Saturday, Dec. 31, Vigil: Mary the Mother of God, will be held at 5 p.m.

On Sunday, Jan. 1, Mary the Mother of God/Feast of the Holy Family will be celebrated at 10 a.m.
St. Matthew Catholic Church is at 215 Kirkley Rd., just north of Tyrone. For more information call 770-964-5804.

• Whitewater Baptist Church will have a worship service on Christmas Day at 10:30 a.m. The church is at 632 Hwy. 85 Connector in Brooks. For more information, call Pastor Jim Wright, 770-227-4200.

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