Christmas Letter from Rev. Carol Kerr
Dear friends,
As a parent I have wanted to teach my children things that will make life better for them when they grow up. Things that will help them live a life of value, happiness and joy. Sometimes I wish could do the learning for them. I want to be able to buffer whatever pain they may encounter. But, I can’t be there all the time for them.
There is something I can do. At Christmas I can teach them the difference between a gift and a present. Presents are the sort of things that fit on lists with sizes and colors. Presents are found in catalogs which have been circled by our kids several times as “hints.” Gifts are things that we don’t think to ask for but come anyway. Gifts differ from presents because no matter what form they take, they always represent something greater, deeper, more enduring.
The Christmas Eve service is a gift we give our children. I remember one year after the service I asked the boy who lit the candles on the altar before the first hymn, “How did you like it?” He was a heavy boy with ADD type energy who lived for football. I was startled by the enthusiasm of his answer: “Are you kidding? It was the best thing I have ever done in my whole life!” What a gift. A gift to him and a gift to me. Who would have guessed it?
My oldest son is coming home from his freshman semester at college this Christmas. The pile of presents under the tree is smaller than it use to be. But, the gift remains. We will all be there this Christmas Eve passing the light of Christ from one to the other, singing, “Silent Night.”
Christmas Sunday Service: 9:30am on December 20th. We will have a specially big choir (I think Nancy now has just about everybody singing!) We are also going to have digital pictures of Christmas on powerpoint taken by our youth.
Christmas Eve candle lighting service for the whole family: 7:00pm on December 24th. Carols, reading the Christmas story, for children and adults. Of course, candle lighting to end in peace and beauty.
I wish all of you a wonderful gift filled Christmas!
Peace,
Pastor Carol
