Behind the Curtain
Larry Fournier, December 2016
Merry Xmas! It’s that wonderful time of year… Black Friday, Cyber Monday, trees & decorations, Santa, parties, etc. oh, wait! Did I forget something? Let’s not take the Christ out of Christmas! Maybe a tall tale about Christmas? A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away… a star exploded into a super nova to announce the birth of the Christ child (apologies to STAR WARS).
Luke 2:1-40 relates the wonderful story of Jesus’ birth that we use to celebrate this holiday each year. A quick peek behind the curtain reveals that Jesus wasn’t actually born on December 25th. That date was the last day of the Roman pagan holiday Saturnalia. Early Christians re-purposed December 25th to celebrate the birth of their Savior. And over the centuries as history has unfolded, a number of customs originating in different countries have added several traditions to the Christmas holiday. The one constant that has remained is the celebration of Jesus’ birth… “Jesus is the reason for the season”.
At Christ UMC we have a special Christmas worship service on Christmas eve at 7pm to retell the story, worship and give glory to our Savior. Come join us and share in the joy as we celebrate with a candlelight service.
And speaking of Christmas festivities, our own bell choir, the Joyful Ringers, will be performing a concert right here at our church THIS SUNDAY, Dec. 11th at 3pm. A great way to relax and get into the Christmas spirit. By the way… ever notice how bright and shiny those brass bells are… everyone wearing gloves to protect the sheen. It takes a lot to keep them in that like new condition. Brass tarnishes, and can be unforgiving for stains. Every so often the bells have to be refurbished to keep them in their pristine condition… and that is an expensive proposition. Which is one way you can help. A free-will offering is being taken at the concert to help cover the expenses of maintaining the bells and the cost of music and supplies. Miss the concert? You can still help with a donation by writing “Bell Choir” in the memo line on your check.
And now a blast from the past… our Annual Church Meeting has been rescheduled to Saturday, December 17th at 3:30 pm. This is the one place where you really get to see (and participate in) what goes on “behind the curtain”. Yes, it is a business meeting… but not like the ones in the corporate world. All facets of our Church and Church life are reported and celebrated… ya’ll come!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!