Welcome
Each week one of our pastors or staff members writes a column observing what is going on in our congregation, the Church and the world, and offering reflections on the Christian life and faith. Through this series of columns, we hope to connect your and our story to the enduring story of Christ; to offer pastoral reflections on our ongoing congregational life and mission; to report on news of the Presbyterian Church and Church universal; and to invite further reflection and deeper discipleship. We welcome your comments and suggestions. In other words, our words here are an invitation to continue the conversation.
At midnight tomorrow night, 2021 comes to a close.
It is inadequate to say that 2021 was another challenging year. Many anticipated that 2021 would include a return to “normal,” to the removal – or at least reduction – of “pandemic” from our vocabularies.
Loving each other.
The health and safety of our church family are at the forefront of our minds this Christmas as we watch the quickly-spreading Omicron variant of COVID-19. With the guidance of the Regathering Taskforce, charged with helping the church establish responsible policies, we have adjusted our traditional Christmas Eve services this year.
For six months the darkness has grown, soaking our evenings, our routines, our lives, in night. With it has come colder temperatures and the yearning to stay inside and keep warm. Night has spread and our lives have changed.
This coming Sunday, BMPC’s Youth Ministry will host our Rainbow Reindeer Games for the second time. During the pandemic last year, we had families begging for something fun and safe for their children to do. This event, Rainbow Reindeer Games, was our solution.
The bright yellow star on this year’s family Advent Calendar invited us to “light a candle and spend a minute watching the flame. Share with others what it was like to wait and what you noticed about the light.” I dutifully brought a candle, match and timer to our Children and Youth Ministry staff meeting so that we could participate in the same activity as our families. I set the timer, and we all sat watching the flame.
Eternal God,
We wake to a chill in the morning and this autumn day opens upon a vista of beauty: colorful leaves still falling; joyful reunions of family and gatherings of friends; a 400-year-old Thanksgiving memory of unlikely companions feasting together; and faith in your love by which we know we cannot begin to count our blessings.
We have never been much of a “Annual Christmas Letter” kind of family. Maybe it is a professional hazard, but there never seems to be time in the late fall or winter to write a note to our family and friends with an update on what has happened in our lives over the past year. Most years I am lucky if I even get a traditional Christmas card in the mail before New Year’s Day.
