Christmas Reflections and New Service Time

Perhaps it was the promise of my parents' arrival, or perhaps it was the recording of Benjamin Britten's Ceremony of Carols I downloaded from iTunes, but this Christmas came like a great catharsis.  All the preparation, all the making ready--everything was fulfilled.  I love looking out on the congregation and seeing all the faces of our community gathered together.  I love seeing the homecoming of children from far-flung places, the homecoming to the Lord's Table of those who have been away.  I also was keenly aware of those faces I did not see, who, as the the Bidding Prayer says, celebrate with us but on another shore and in a greater light.  Yet, isn't that the beauty of Christmas?  Christ made his home with us, so we can have a home with God. 

Our home for worship now enters its 100th year.  As we close our first century, we have taken on two big challenges.  The first is our new hymnal, to which we are still adapting, but with greater and greater success each Sunday.  The second is our new worship time, at 9:45.

We voted overwhelmingly at our semi-annual meeting to move to this time; it was done not out of fear and cost constraints, but because we wanted enrich our lives by worshipping as one community of faith.  The hope of this service is to make our home of faith an even more enriching home.

The next thing for us to do this year, and our third great challenge--is to invite people to our home.  Our text today tells us that we are adopted children of God--but God has an open door to all the orphans who need a Father.  Our challenge to invite others to find their home with us, the eternal home of God.  As we celebrate 100 years, perhaps new faces will find their homecoming here with us.