When I was growing up, my favorite Christmas tradition was… going to the Christmas Eve services at my church. (Seriously, I am not making this up. I suppose this means I am in the right vocation!)
All that to say, there was something magical about gathering together as a church family the evening before Christmas. There was joy and excitement in the air, even if it had been a really hard year. We dressed up, sang "Silent Night" in the dark with our candles, and drank hot cocoa in the slightly cooler San Diego winter air. Those who were there all the time and those who came occasionally always came back to the church for Christmas. It was like the family was all back together again. The Christmas Eve services at my home church became even more meaningful when I myself had left for college and then eventually moved quite far away. Often I had not been back in a whole year and when I walked through the doors of that church that raised me, it was like no time had passed. I was always welcomed back with embraces and eagerness to hear new life updates.
Those memories are the ones that made me feel that I was back home again.
I am looking forward to celebrating Christmas with all of you this weekend. I hope that it feels a bit like a homecoming whether this church has been your home for many years, or like me, for just a few months. Whether you are involved in every committee there is or haven’t been back in quite some time, this is your home. We gather together at the end of each year to make room for Christ and to celebrate a God who would make home with us. That is good news that helps us to enter the new year with strength and hope.
With gratitude,
Rev. Janelle
