The bottom of the Christmas trees is bare; only the tree’s skirt and fallen needles remain. The New Year’s Day resolution has been made, and perhaps already broken. This season reminds us that it’s never too late to begin again.
This evening we gather to sing traditional Christmas hymns, shine our lights bright in the night, and be reminded of the beauty and gift inherent in each new life.
I have an abiding love for the song “Silent Night.” You know how it goes, “Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright, ‘round yon virgin Mother and Child.” There is a tender sweetness that reminds me of watching a newborn sleep, swaddled in a bassinet. I like to imagine Mary and Joseph when I sing “Silent Night.”
Advent is liminal space, a time bookended by winter’s darkness and spring’s light. It is a time of waiting—waiting for things you cannot achieve on your own: light and warmth, rebirth and new life.
What is your heritage? Who are your people? What traditions do you preserve and share with your friends and family? Please bring the bread (or baked good) of your heritage to share. And of course, bring the story, or stories, that convey its specialness to you. This service is intergenerational.