The Memory of Christmas

Pastor's letter for December 2009. Entire newsletter can be found at www.fumcwilliamstown.org What is your fondest memory of Christmas? Do you remember the excitement of childhood dreams that were so intense you couldn't sleep the night before? Do you remember a Christmas Eve service with your family when the sanctuary is bathed in soft candlelight, swags of evergreen graced the windows and familiar carols warmed your heart? Whatever happened to those kinds of Christmas memories? Have they been replaced by long lines at Wal-mart, the pressure to find the newest gadget, and the stress that comes from over-spending? Perhaps – but not without our approval. Christmas means so much more to Christians than it does to the general population. It is our beginning, it is our greatest hope, and it is the promise from God that love never fails. Christmas for us is not just a season, but an attitude for life. It is part of our collective memories of why the church exists and why it is so central to our lives. But there is another question that lingers and waits to be asked.

What will Christmas remember of you?

Christmas is about so much more than presents, lights, and brightly wrapped gifts under a tree; it is about a child that came into the world in the most unusual way to transform the world by giving it a lasting memory of what life was meant to be and perhaps still could be. He offered us grace and then invited us to join Him in the party of lifetime. How will this Child remember you this Christmas? If Christmas is only a passing fancy, a day of excess or a fleeting respite from the routine, then the Child really doesn't have much to remember about us does He? Fair weather friends are perhaps the best you could call us. But if we continue to live the rest of the year with compelling generosity, to serve and give with enthusiasm and to celebrate his on-going life in worship, then surely He will remember us as brothers and sisters. This coming year let us work together to reclaim our heritage and our memory of what Christmas was, what Christmas is, and what Christmas will always be, God's personal invitation to a better Life. Join us and let's reclaim Christmas.

Merry Christmas Church Family,