Our church's Christmas tree is gaining attention from passers-by as well as neighbors. The tree was decorated with 12 hundred thousand LED's, neon lights and light bulbs.
Just before Friday all-night service at 9:50 PM, on December 11th, the 2009 Christmas Lighting Ceremony was held in front of the main sanctuary with thousands of members in attendance. As Senior Pastor Dr. Jaerock Lee pressed the button, all the light bulbs were lit up. Every corner of the church looked beautiful and awesome. Members were excitedly taking pictures with their cell phones and digital cameras. Before the Friday all-night service began, members gathered together and spent happy times taking pictures in front of the Christmas tree. We have interviewed those who prepared for this year's ceremony.



In early November, the people from the Planning Team of Administration Office, Design Mission, Sharon Mission, Facilities Management Office, and volunteers gathered in one place for discussion in which they shared their ideas and opinions on how to decorate the church for Christmas. As a result, under the theme 'Joy of Christmas' the walls and pillars inside the church were decorated with the painting of Jesus' birth, and big chandeliers and decorations made of flowers, wood, and jewels were put up. Outside the church they made a huge heavenly crown which was 20 meters in diameter, a 10-meter-high Christmas tree, a toy train, and a Christmas card tree.
Each mission was assigned to decorate their area. Design Mission and College Mission were in charge of the main sanctuary; Mary's and Young Adults' Mission, the second sanctuary; Canaan Mission, the third sanctuary; Children's Sunday School, the fourth sanctuary; Students' Sunday School, the fifth sanctuary; Paul's Mission, the sixth sanctuary; and the Sharon Mission decorated the outside of the church. The work took a month and 330 people participated including the church departmental staff from the Facilities Management Office and members of Women's Mission. The preparation was financially supported by Men's Mission, College Mission, Canaan Mission, Young Adults' Mission, Paul's Mission, Mary's Mission, Children's Sunday School, Students' Sunday School, the 4th District of 2-17th Parish, Elder Seongkeon Vin, Deacon Joseph Roh and Deacon Hyungmo Kim.



Decorating the outside of the church in particular dealt with struggling with wind and chilling cold. Each day 10 church staff members made a banner-shaped decoration with approximately 50 thousand light bulbs on the front eaves of the main sanctuary and the second sanctuary. But unfortunately, just a week before the ceremony, the work was damaged by strong wind and looked ugly. Nonetheless, with joy and thanksgiving the staff started working on it all over again with the help of Facilities Management Office and the Transportation Department. So the work could be finished in 3 days.
Deacon Song-yul Ryu said, "I am so happy and joyful because many people joyfully became one in the Lord and did volunteer works for the Christmas tree. I thought we wouldn't have enough time during the Two-Session Continuous Special Daniel Prayer Meeting, but thanks to the positive help from Women's Mission and church workers, we could do well without difficulties. Everything about preparation went smoothly compared to previous years.
And those who volunteered could become one through the preparation. There were difficult times making the Christmas tree. But when they overcame them with faith, hope and love, God turned those difficult moments to opportunity to decorate their hearts. We pray that the Lord who were born in this world and became our Savior will be joyful and glorified by the Christmas tree decorated with everyone's love and effort.