Pastor’s Corner“ Christmas Continues”

Merry Christmas!

Among the many things I appreciate about following Jesus in the Anglican Way is that Christmas lasts for Twelve Days rather than one. From December 25 to January 5 we remain in the season of celebrating how our Hope-Full Waiting finds its fulfillment in the coming of Jesus.

Both services this upcoming Sunday will continue celebrating the first coming of Jesus. At the 8am service, our usual Contemplative Eucharist service will have as its focus the wonderful opening of the Gospel of John: “The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, Like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish” (John 1:14, The Message).

At 10:30am we’ll offer our Lessons & Carols service. From the perspective of church history, this is a relatively recent tradition, beginning in the early 1900’s. Even so, it is “is a beloved tradition rooted in healing, because it was forged in the fires of grief and suffering.” Eric Milner-White, the Dean of King’s College, created it as a special Christmas Eve service the wake of World War I. Looking for a way to “tend to the emotional and spiritual wounds the soldiers brought home,” he shaped a service “with the suffering and trauma of the last four years in mind, a service marked by beauty, simplicity, and truth” (Erin Jones).

Our current world, of course, has its own emotional and spiritual wounds, so this service not only continues our celebration, it also offers the healing we all need. We will intersperse the readings and songs with reflections written by a friend of mine, and art created Anneke Kaai.

Come and continue celebrating together the birth of Jesus—our Older Brother, our Rescuing King, our God.

Your Pastor in Christ,