From the Rector: Christmastide

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27 DECEMBER 2023

Christmas has just begun, and we must give thanks for the wonderful masses we enjoyed on Christmas Eve and Day. I am particularly grateful for the acolytes, musicians, ushers, and members of the Altar Guild who gave so much time this past weekend for our liturgies. Whenever Advent IV and Christmas Eve share the same day, the work load can be intense. That being said, due to everyone's organization and planning, everything worked out beautifully.

Now we are enjoying the days of Christmastide, and even though the secular world is quickly moving on from Christmas to the next thing, in the church we have twelve full days of celebration. Please mark your calendars for the Sung Mass on New Year's Day, our Epiphany Eve Solemn Mass and Twelfth Night Party on January 5, and the Epiphany Lessons and Carols service on January 7. Believe it or not, some traditions end Christmas on February 2 when candles are blessed at the Feast of the Presentation. The church gives us these fulsome celebrations so that we may adequately ponder the mystery of our Lord's Incarnation.

The giving envelopes for the Christmas special offering, dedicated to the Children's Ministry, will remain available in the church until January 7. It is not too late to give, and many thanks to those who have contributed. The church has received many generous donations, and on behalf of the Vestry, let me relay our gratitude for your benevolence. There is also the option of contributing online.

This coming Sunday's Introit at the mass states, "When peaceful silence lay over all the earth, and night had run the half of her swift course, your mighty Word, O Lord, leaped down from the heavens, out of the royal throne." The world needs peaceful silence especially right now, and we need the true peace that only the Christ Child can bring. As we continue to savor the mystery of Christmas throughout the coming days, may our prayer be for the peace of Christ to blanket the world like gentle dew.

Father Paul Lillie +