In the fall of 2010, two years of planning and work were coming to fruition. A group of leaders stood on the cusp of the opening of a new worshiping community. Many in the neighborhood were anticipating the arrival of a new gathering place and spiritual home. I had been shepherding the planning team and overseeing the ways we had been laying the groundwork for this launch. Because there was construction involved, the launch date was much like a birth. We knew roughly when it would happen, but not exactly. And as the days drew close, I felt very much like I did when the time for my children’s births approached. I was beyond excited and so very aware that life would never be the same once they arrived.
Davis Mills looked down at the painting in a box in the back parking lot of First Presbyterian Church in Mayfield, Kentucky, late Saturday afternoon and said, “That’s what it used to look like.”
Ever since my girls were big enough to hitch a ride on a luggage cart, they’ve been in love with hotels.
The run-of-the-mill places that our family visited before the pandemic seemed like king’s palaces to the tykes, who couldn’t wait to take a ride on the elevator.
Churches small and large and everything in between can celebrate Advent, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day even during a pandemic, so long as they’re willing to innovate — and perhaps simplify.
I know this is a slight deviation from the beloved German Christmas carol, but you know how sometimes on a Monday morning you have a hymn stuck in your head from Sunday’s worship? I have one particular Christmas Eve etched into my childhood memories.
During Advent, I often meditate on the holy family. There’s Joseph, the adoptive father whose acceptance of Mary and Jesus is later mirrored in the adoption of the Gentiles into God’s original chosen family. I give thanks for Joseph’s love, grace and obedience when it came to putting together an unconventional family.
Referenced in sermons from pulpits across the world, printed in fine script within Christmas cards mailed to friends and family, and exclaimed at key moments in holiday movies, the word “miracle” is heard frequently this time of year.
During Advent, I often meditate on the holy family. There’s Joseph, the adoptive father whose acceptance of Mary and Jesus is later mirrored in the adoption of the Gentiles into God’s original chosen family. I give thanks for Joseph’s love, grace and obedience when it came to putting together an unconventional family.
