ALL DRESSED UP FOR CHRISTMAS & HAPPY ADVENT FROM GUAA
A View of GU – DECEMBER 2025
“I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.” Isaiah 61:10 NIV
“Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” Revelation 19:6b–8 NIV
In the November issue of “A View of GU,” I closed with expressing my appreciation for all the ways our alumni showed up at the “tables” we set for “flourishing community” during the week of Homecoming.
Thank you, GU alumni, for all the ways you continue to rise up in support of the ongoing flourishing of our campus community—yes, through your giving, but equally through your coming-home engagement with—and your going-out investment in—the growth of GU students and alumni.
Homecoming offers the first of four opportunities each year for our alumni to “Fill the Ville”—to reconnect, renew and revive spiritually, emotionally, relationally and vocationally—amongst our alumni community and amidst our local community (with all the new and treasured stores and restaurants!). The second of those weekends, Messiah weekend (the first weekend in December), provides another opportunity to host our alumni in the Ville, and we get all gussied up for the occasion.🎄
The Bible talks about being “dressed up”—prepared and ready—for however God may call us to show up … armed for battle (Ephesians 6:13–17), robed for priestly service (Exodus 28, ), consecrated in servants clothing (Luke 12:35–36), or bedazzled and adorned for eternity (Isaiah 61:10; Revelation 19:6b–8). As someone with “Achiever” as a top strength, I often find the process of “getting ready” an annoying detour on the road to completing the rest of the day’s tasks, but I am slowly learning to heed the invitation to daily, monthly, yearly and other opportunities for ongoing readiness.
At Tidball Alumni House, we get “dressed up” for the holidays, prepared and ready to greet both the unexpected and expected guests during a season of Advent expectancy and waiting. (I’d like to think that every guest is “expected,” just not always scheduled. 😅) We hang the greens, adorn them with GU ornaments, and light up the house, including my new favorite decoration—battery operated, flameless advent candles 🕯️—all for the sake of creating a sweet space for our people to gather throughout the holidays.
Getting the house ready doesn’t check many boxes when it comes to my alumni relations task list, but it does prove a sweet time of decorating and delighting in coffee/hot chocolate/apple cider and Christmas amongst our community. ☕️🍪🎄 [NOTE: Next year, consider yourselves invited to the annual, often unscheduled, process of preparation (more fondly known as “Hanging of the Greens” at the Greenville University Tidball Alumni House), typically occurring sometime on the Monday afternoon after Thanksgiving. 🎄]
This year, we got all dressed up and ready to host the reception for the 97thAnnual GU Choral Union performance of Handel’s Messiah as well as the first annual “Sweet & Savory Study Night” for our Legacy League students of alumni families. As I look for ways to engage our future alumni/current students, and in particular our alumni families, it seemed that we were all dressed up and ready to serve our “Legacy League” students and Advancement/Alumni student workers during finals week. 😍📚 (For photo collages of these and other holiday activities, make sure to visit our GU Alumni Association Facebook page and/or Greenville University Alumni Instagram channel! 🛜)
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HAPPY ADVENT FROM GU ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
In the same way that we get all dressed up and ready to greet you, our GU people at Christmas time, this season of Advent invites all of God’s people to ready ourselves for the second coming of Christ as we also remember His first coming. We encourage each of you to engage each opportunity to reflect on the lights of hope, love, peace and joy as we prepare to greet “Immanuel,” while refracting the eternal light of God’s presence with us now—the Holy Spirit—to all those you encounter this holiday.
All of us here at GU, including our GU Alumni Board & Ambassadors, wish you a blessed Christmas season and we pray your ongoing experiences with the GU community continue to prepare you to live bright and flourishing lives of Christ-like character and Kingdom service in the world.
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👟 YOUR NEXT STEPS: SAVE THE DATE for Homecoming & Family Weekend 2026, October 15–18 😇 featuring the 50-year Reunion Class of 1976, 40-year Reunion Class of 1986, 25-year Reunion Class of 2001, and the 10-year Reunion Class of 2016. 🧡🐾🌿 Senior class officers from these reunion classes, watch your inbox for invitations to initiate planning for your reunion! 🙂)
🌅 RISE UP in 2025: Thank you for showing up for our current students via professional "Ivy-Linked" connections on LinkedIn, referring prospective students to GU, and your much appreciated end-of-year giving to GU!
📣 LAST CALL! GU has relaunched alumni travel in partnership with the Tidball family travel legacy with a May 2026 trip to Greece. 🇬🇷 Learn more at: greenville.edu/alumni/alumni-travel/gu-in-greece-2026, download GU in Greece – 4-Page Full Brochure (PDF with Registration Application), and watch the video recording of the first information sessions. For more information, contact Todd & Sue Tidball via cell (360-509-2890) or email (toddtidball@comcast.net). We love receiving your deposits and expect to solidify the group by the end of 2025. (We do have open spots available, but the trip will be limited to 32 total travelers.)
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Until we meet again … keep praying. Keep watching. And keep thanking God with us for the good work He continues to do on campus in the lives of GU students, faculty and staff and in you, our GU alumni and friends. 🧡🐾🌿
VIEW "FOR THE RECORD - DECEMBER 2025” ENEWS
