Dear Friends in Christ,
In a secular Christmas song, Andy Williams first sang of the Christmas Season, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year!” But is it? Certainly, Christmas season brings a lot of happy experiences for children and adults. But, it can also bring disappointments and, as the “Christmases past” pile up, sadness regarding memories of “glories so long ago.” What does the Christmas season conjure up for you in your memory and heart today?

Sometimes such feelings come against the backdrop of a darker world – such as the one we’re living in today in our own nation. We live in a very divided society and culture, no thanks to current political leadership in Congress and the White House.

Given this, you might think, feel, and say, borrowing from another secular seasonal song written by Jerry Herman, that “We need a little Christmas.” Or, you might even say, as a Christian, “this year, we need more than just a little Christmas; we need a lot of Christmas! What do you say?

Whatever your answer, next Wednesday, December 17th at 6:30pm, we’ll host a gathering in our sanctuary to acknowledge that “We need a lot of Christmas this year.” Ours will be a 45 minute service of secular and Christian music, reflections, and light. And, whatever you’re feeling as you come to yet another Christmas, I hope you’ll be touched in some meaningful way by the Spirit of our God!

I hope you might join us because we’re in this darkened world together as God’s children with this potential and powerful Good News: Christ is born, and God Emmanuel is here – to be born in us!

Blessings of Advent Season unto Glad Tidings for Christmas,
Pastor Ed