The “Christmas Church” in 2020
I remember the first time I heard someone refer to our church as “The Christmas Church.” I was at Costco, and someone introduced me to a friend as the new pastor at their church. Their friend told me that they had been to the Living Nativity many times, and their family called us “The Christmas Church.” How cool is that?
I was raised in a family of pastors. My dad, my grandfather, my great grandfather on my mom’s side, multiple cousins, and almost all of my uncles on my dad’s side were pastors. Christmas in a pastor’s home is a little different than most. The year rotates around Christmas Eve. We always had several candlelight worship services on Christmas Eve. My mom always tried to get the family to sit down together for dinner on Christmas Eve. It was usually sandwiched between worship hours. We basically went home, ate for a few minutes then headed back to church for the next service. Our last candlelight worship started at 11:00 at night; we’d be so hopped up on sugar from all the cookies we ate that we’d stay up for hours when we finally got home.
My grandparents usually stayed with us the whole week of Christmas. We always had plenty of sweets around; people would give us cookies and fudge for Christmas. My grandfather was diabetic, but he had the biggest sweet tooth in the house. My mom always made “special cookies” for grandpa that didn’t have sugar. He appreciated it, but I don’t think grandpa’s cookies really hit the spot. Every year, grandpa would snap off a head or arm or leg of the gingerbread men when no one was looking. Pretty soon, we had a plate of gingerbread torsos!
I have so many Christmas memories: Grandpa’s headless gingerbread men. The Walla Walla County Sheriff Department crashing our Youth Group Christmas caroling hayride because we left a hay trail all over the streets as we went from house to house. Hearing about Mary and Joseph’s journey to the manger in Bethlehem. Raising candles while singing “Silent Night.” My years can really be cataloged by Candlelight Christmas Eve Worship.
One of the things that struck me as I’ve spent time with Mary and Joseph this year is how unexpected the journey must have been for Mary. When the angel announced she would give birth to the Savior of the world, could she ever have guessed what that would look like nine months later? Giving birth in a feeding trough, surrounded by stock animals, could not have been her expectation. But amid unmet expectations, she experienced God in an incredible way as hope was born.
A year ago, no one could have foreseen this year’s Christmas at “The Christmas Church.” It wasn’t our expectation at all, but in the midst of digital nativity and worship, I believe I will look back at all the Christmases of my life, and this one will stand out dramatically. Personally, I have found hope in the message of the birth of the Savior in new and profound ways this year. I more deeply understand the hope, beauty, and sanctity of being part of a church community because of Christmas 2020. And I can’t wait to share that with you.
Please join us online at 4:00 p.m. for Candlelight worship on Christmas Eve. It will be different; we’ll be on Facebook and YouTube rather than in our beautiful sanctuary. But, I believe the experience will be more profound than ever because the need for hope in our world is so great. Yet, as great as the world’s need for hope is, it is met and wholly eclipsed by the reality of the hope that entered the world the night the Savior was born. In the darkest moments, the light shines the brightest. Join me as we celebrate that light.
In Christ, your pastor,
Bryan White