A Note from our Rector...

I am not very good at baking Christmas cookies. If I am truthful, I find baking tedious. But I love eating the cookies everyone else bakes at the holidays. I especially love chocolate chip cookies, chocolate covered Oreos and Raspberry Thumbprints. (Reader take note!)

I am also not very good at singing Christmas Caroles. You all know I can't carry a tune. But I love listening to Christmas music on the radio starting the day we put up the Christmas tree in our home.

It makes me wonder if Mary baked bread for their journey all those years ago. Was it any good or was it tough and dry? Did she sing to Jesus while he slept in her arms after he was born. Did she sing out of tune?

I imagine that night full of its imperfections. And at the same time, I imagine Joseph sitting beside her picking up the tune of the lullaby and singing along. I imagine a a guest at the inn bringing out some fresh warm bread to share. I imagine the rustle of animals, the sound of munching hay, the smell of the dirt, the cold breeze coming through the cracks in the wood. The imperfectness and the messiness merging with grace and love and hope as people stopped by to witness the glory of God in their midst.

There is something special about imperfection. Of coming just as we are to that glorious night when our Savior was born. Because being a follower of Christ isn't about having it all together. It's simply offering who we are right now, just as we are. And it's about doing it together, as a community of faith.

This Advent, I invite you to come just as you are. Let our community be a place of blessing and grace and love for you. Let the light of Christ shine in your life and welcome you home.

Blessings,
Emily+