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Written by Lyn Lloyd-Smith, from the Village Church.

If you ever find yourself in the UK or Ireland in December, consider going to a crazy, slapstick musical show, the traditional Christmas pantomime. The story will be based on a children’s tale, Cinderella or Dick Whittington perhaps, but it will bear no relation to any Disney version. The principal boy will be a girl, the pantomime dame will be a man, you will boo the villains and cheer the heroes. The audience will participate with cries of “Oh no there isn’t!” and “He’s behind you!” The performance is aimed at children, but there will be adult jokes and current political references that will go right over their heads. You may be wondering how on earth do these, and all other winter festivities, relate to the meaning of Christmas, to the holy moment of the birth of our Savior?

It seems to me that as with the raucous, secular pantomime, how each of us responds to the Nativity changes over our lifetime. For a child the scene in Bethlehem is all about the baby in the manger, the animals, and singing carols in the gloaming light. But as we get older, we gain more understanding of the transcendent nature of the Savior’s birth, the mystery of the moment when God entered history as a man.

This Christmas we will be spending the holiday season in England and are planning (with some trepidation!) to take our four small grandchildren, to see the pantomime Sleeping Beauty. May we all, as we enjoy the celebrations with child-like enthusiasm and appreciate the grown- up delights of wine and dark chocolate and Christmas parties, also take time to ponder, as Mary did, how Jesus’s birth changed everything. In Christmas are the seeds of Easter. While Christmas is a time to make merry, it is also a time of deep appreciation for our salvation. One is not possible without the other.

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Written by Cindy Guy, from the Village Church.

Music is one of the hallmarks of the Christmas season.  I love hearing and singing all the Christmas carols at home, on the car radio, out shopping for gifts and at church services. My two all-time favorite Christmas carols are Silent Night and Hark the Herald Angels Sing. It is said that music is the universal language that touches the soul.  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote a poem in 1863 entitled “Christmas Bells” which is such a beautiful work when sung and is better known as “I heard the Bells on Christmas Day.”  Here are a few of the poem’s stanzas that may reach you with their words of peace and power.  Merry CHRISTmas!

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;
“There is no peace on earth,” I said;
“For hate is strong
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep: 
“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep; 
The Wrong shall fail
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men.”

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Written by Margot Wallace, from the Village Church.  Margot also created the art provided.

At Christmas, my sister, Grandmother, Mother, and I prepared special food to be shared from the harvest of our garden, which was Dad’s domain. Each holiday season we shared our Christmas Eve feast with relatives, neighbors, and friends. Praise and adoration be to our God, for he is good. His grace and mercy fill the heavens and earth. Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving, and joyfully praise our creator. As a father, he loves us, his children. Sing his praises with joyful thanks in love and devotion! Let us love him who has loved us since the world began. Who would not love God from the heart? We cannot give him adequate praise. Still, in heaven he receives with goodwill our joyful songs of praise and pours much joy into our souls, whenever we thank him, whenever we live in him. Sing to Jesus Christ praise, thanks, and glory, for he came from heaven to destroy sin and death for us and by his precious, willing sacrifice, restored innocence and peace. Already here on earth, he renews joy and life to us by his grace. Still, greater bliss is prepared there for those who love him when one day they will be renewed in his image, made new and holy, and awakened from death. Let us rejoice in our holy God! Let us rejoice in our eternal God! How blessed it is to praise him here, and then in heaven. He is our holiness! He is our life! He always loves us, his children.

This still life watercolor painting represents some of the bounty from our family garden. Transforming that harvest into a feast was especially fun and gratifying! The excitement of Christmas soon became a reality as the eggplant became a favorite “pancake;” the avocado became delicious guacamole; each squash was distinctly prepared with raisins or chestnut bits or cinnamon, seasonings, and lots of butter!  Fresh pomegranates plucked from the tree were opened and their yummy seeds captured for the relish tray to top mashed potatoes and squash. All the hours of preparation for these rituals and routines were in honor of the birth of Jesus…The wonderful, warm hopeful message that this season brings to all Christians everywhere! We all enjoyed these gatherings of family and neighbors and close friends who we called to feast with us. Eventually, we would sing Christmas carols around the tree. My favorite: “Mary, Did You Know?”  always made our song fest list. Little did she know we would celebrate the birth of her baby in 2023!

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Written Rebecca Barlow Jordan, a contemporary author. This is an excerpt from her book “A Prayer for Peace and Joy at Christmas.”

Lord, in a season when every heart should be happy and light, many of us are struggling with the heaviness of life—burdens that steal the joy right out of our stockings. Tragedy arrives as innocent victims suffer, and an inner voice whispers, “Be afraid!” We need your peace, Jesus. We confess that our hearts are too often filled with wonder of a different kind: wondering when the bills will be paid when the terror will stop, when rest will come. Will it ever? Is the message still true? In a world where worry, not peace, prevails, stir up that good news again. 

This Advent, make it real in our hearts. Never have we needed Your joy and peace more than now. Thank You for the gift of Jesus, our Immanuel, the Word made flesh. We not only need Your peace and joy; Lord, we crave it. You’ve promised rest for the weary, victory for the battle-scarred, peace for the anxious, and acceptance for the brokenhearted—not just at Advent, but every day of every year. Your name is still called “Wonderful,” “Counselor,” “The Mighty God,” “The Everlasting Father,” and “The Prince of Peace.” We know that peace on earth can only come when hearts find peace with You. You are still our Joy. You are still our Peace. You are no longer a babe in the manger. You are Lord of lords and King of kings. And we still celebrate You as Lord—this Christmas and always.

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Written by Alan Goodman, from the Village Church.

I was 8 years old when WW II ended. I lived in the greater London area where most of our neighborhood row housing streets were just rubble from German bombing. As a child, I played in bombed out buildings – not really aware of the dreadful state of things since that was all I knew growing up during WW II. I routinely found dead bodies and parts of bodies not picked up after bombing raids – all part of my childhood.

As a child, I was terrified every time the loud sirens would go off indicating a new bombing attack. My childhood recollection of peace was only as a very young child before the war started. Fear and anxiety became the daily dreads you had all the time. I loved to sing, and Christmas was the only time of year where a group of us boys would sing Christmas Carols around our poor neighborhood for even pennies to give to our parents to help out. The message from these Carols was so out of place with the death and destruction around us but these words gave us hope at a seemingly hopeless time.

I had a soprano voice and sang in a boys’ choir in a Church of England Cathedral. I had black and white robes that I loved to wear. The richness of this music was absolutely incredible in this cathedral. To this young heart, it was music that was expressing God’s love and tranquility in an upside-down world – just the opposite to real life. Christmas was the only part of the year that gave me that deep “Shalom” peace every year during WW II. Christmas was the best time of the year for me to replace my “world” with God’s “world.”

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Written by Vickie Stone, from the Village Church. 

When I graduated from Ohio State and moved to California in 1986, it was a big adventure and the beginning of my independence as an adult, far from my childhood home.  It was the pre-internet age, so writing my first Christmas letter felt like the perfect way to bring all my friends and family up to date on my life on the West Coast. I loved including it with my photo Christmas card. It was the beginning of what would become my own personal Christmas tradition. My photo cards captured a milestone such as seeing the service puppy I raised, go off to professional training or a big event, such as traveling to Australia or Turkey. I know some people cringe when they read Christmas letters, perhaps feeling that the writer is bragging about their kids’ becoming astronauts or winning the Nobel prize.

But I love them. I love hearing everyone’s news, even if nowadays I may have seen some of their events through the year, on their Facebook posts. Christmas letters are a form of documenting what matters in our lives. Reflecting back and reading my old Christmas letters lets me enjoy my adventures all over again or reminisce about dear ones I miss, that are no longer on this earth. There have been times that I have thought of stopping my tradition because it does take time to craft it, read, edit, re-edit; but even that exercise is beneficial since it allows me to pause during a very busy season to really consider my year, recognizing the best times were the cherished memories made with special people. Sending Christmas cards with or without newsy Christmas letters, is certainly a way to let people know you love them and wish them well during the Christmas season.  May this season find you reflecting on all that was precious during your year and asking ourselves how we can follow Jesus to live the lives he wants for us.

A Christmas Letter by Keith Whitley: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGGb4RBMLxg

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Written by Melanie Chitwood, a contemporary author. 

Dear Lord, don’t let us miss You this Christmas season. Help us to simplify our activities and traditions so we can focus our celebration on Your birth. Thank You for being the Prince of Peace, and I ask You for that supernatural peace to reign in our hearts. Thank You for the simple but life-changing message of Your love for us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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Written by Mary Ann Whittier/Johansen, from the Village Church.

Virgin Mary riding a donkey, Joseph knocking on doors and being refused a room: This was our view on December 24, 1979.  Bob and I and our three teenage daughters stood on the balcony of our parador and watched the Christmas story unfold in the community square of Ubeda, Spain.  At one end the classical facade of Sacra Capilla del Salvador was lit to show statues of saints looking down on the tender scene.   Bob and I brought our family to Spain so our eldest daughter would stay in Europe during her studies abroad in France.  Using an unopened umbrella covered with a green skirt, our three daughters had fashioned a Christmas tree decorated with hair ornaments and cutouts from catalogs. Epiphany, not Nativity, marks gift giving in Spain, so stores were busy.  We bought fine leather boots. Natividad is joyous. The church is packed with worshipers.  The statues are polished and dressed in fresh clothing.  Baby Jesus wears gold sandals and silk swaddling.  All are invited to kiss this statue.  I kiss Him and so does one daughter.  The other three good Presbyterians defer.  Young choirboys in traditional red and white robes walk the aisles singing and playing tambourines.  We all rejoice. (This community in Andalusia was designated a World Heritage site in 2003).

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Submitted by Laura Metzger from the Village Church.

John and I have added this newer carol, “That’s Christmas to Me” to our play list of Christmas favorites.  To us it represents the meaning of Christmas – family traditions, friendships, hospitality,   love, joy, and giving,.  May your Christmas be filled with the spirit of Christmas found in Christ incarnate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFjdfjrtf1Q

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Written by Ruth Grendell, from the Village Church.

I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation. Philippians 4:12

When I listened to the sermon on “We the Church,” I thought about my experiences in Romania after the assignation of Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife, Elana, on Christmas Day, 1989.  During his communist dictator’s reign, cathedrals were shut down, and churches were closely monitored by his secret security force ministers to ensure there was no mention of primarily worshipping God. The people were hostages!  However,

Ceausescu had difficulty controlling the people in the northern part of the country where churches continued to exist, and their members secretly worshipped God together. Monasteries were hidden underground but people whose Romanian Orthodox beliefs never wavered were surviving quite well. Several years later, I led a group of student nurses to Romania.  In Bucharest, we stayed with families, learning about their beliefs and world views. During this time, we worked with children, adult, and geriatric facilities and taught the patient care providers who had minimal skills.  A few weeks later, we were invited to travel to the northern area where we visited with the people, attended their churches, and shared our love of Christ. What a wonderful way to end our trip—knowing their faith gatherings continued to grow.  It was difficult to say goodbye, hugs were plentiful, and we all promised to pray for each other.  In fact, we continued to connect when the new missionaries arrived!  We the Church!

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