Merry Christmas!
Among the many things I appreciate about following Jesus in the Anglican Way is that Christmas lasts for Twelve Days rather than one. From December 25 to January 5, we remain in the season of celebrating how Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love enter our lives through the coming of Jesus.
As part of that celebration, this upcoming Sunday we’ll have our Lessons & Carols service at 10:30am (no 8am service). From the perspective of church history, this is a relatively recent tradition, beginning in the early 1900’s. Even so, it is “is a beloved tradition rooted in healing, because it was forged in the fires of grief and suffering.” Eric Milner-White, the Dean of King’s College, created it as a special Christmas Eve service in the wake of World War I. Looking for a way to “tend to the emotional and spiritual wounds the soldiers brought home,” he shaped a service “with the suffering and trauma of the last four years in mind, a service marked by beauty, simplicity, and truth” (Erin Jones).
Our current world, of course, has its own emotional and spiritual wounds, so this service not only continues our celebration, it also offers the healing we all need. Come listen, sing, and pray together.
Your Pastor in Christ,
P.S. I encourage you to read Erin Jones’ full Christianity Today article about Lessons & Carols.
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