Hanging of the Greens Service and Meal 2025

Ms. Shirley Ensley and Juanita Arrington Admiring the Tree

Saturday, November 29, 2025 Bethany held its annual "Hanging of the Greens." This service is a combination worship service, meal of soup and sandwiches, and decorating marathon. The last four or five years it has been held the Saturday morning before the first Sunday in Advent. Work begins well before this day and is carried out by a Hanging of the Greens committee. Terry McCotter was this year's head of the Hanging of the Greens Committee. She was chosen by the board chair, and it was her job to organize the decorating of the church for the advent and Christmas season. Terry and the committee met to collect all the decorations from storage and begin "fluffing the greenery,' so the committee could have it available for people to decorate Saturday morning. Eric Morris and Doug Cahoon picked up and delivered the fabulous live tree and made the needed pruning before placing the tree in the narthex where it was adorned with lights and Chrismons in preparation for the season.

The worship service was held in the sanctuary after most of the decorating was complete. Rev. Moore's debut Hanging of the Greens sermon was very nice and featured the choir performing a beautiful song, "The Colors of Winter" arranged by Joseph M. Martin.

Also busily at work was our CWF service committee, headed by Christine Beeman, who organized all of the food for the meal after the worship service. We had a selection of scrumptious soups to warm us including Tomato, Chicken and Rice, Bean, and Taco, plus a bonus pot of chili! Emily Harper cooked the grilled cheese sandwiches. We had 25-30 people present. This was a wonderful way to begin Advent.

The Worship Service

The Meal