Dear friends,
Audrey Farrell carries the Christmas Star down the aisle.
A very Happy Christmastide and New Year to you all. I trust that this note finds you well and sharing a good Christmas season as we move into the new year. It has been a good Christmas at St. John’s. Our worship throughout the season so far has been immensely joyful and full of hope; from our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Eucharists, from tots and toddlers to pageants, from midnight mass to baptisms, from joyful singing to the holy tarantula … Yes, I finally saw it, and I am very grateful. And for those who may be wondering what I am referring to, please see the photos and video of our pageant and the star which the shepherds and magi followed … It was very special, I must say.
One of the memories that I will take with me following our Christmas Eve worship was the final “scene” of our pageant. Again, if you watch the service again online, you’ll notice that during the hymn the whole “cast” gathers around the manger, featuring one of our parish family’s newborns! And as the characters gathered, the baby smiled, the tarantula-star hovered over, and the singing rang out, I had this wonderful realization of what makes this parish what it is, and what a gift it is to be here. There so much quirky (yet incredibly well controlled!) chaos, with so much laughter, smiles, and over four hundred people all zooming in on this one moment. It was not only one of the most worshipful moments I’ve witnessed in a pageant (that wasn’t a comment on the chaos, by the way), but one of the most delightful I’ve seen in such a service. It was pure joy. And, furthermore, there was hope.
Moments like this are significant for all of us. Indeed, as I’ve said elsewhere in this season, Christmas is not always the happiest or easiest time for everyone. In fact, for some it can be an unbearable season, and for important reasons. Without boring you with my life story (again … you’ve heard my sermons), Christmas isn’t the easiest season for me either. But what caught my attention the other day in church, as the pageant came to an end, was that this moment of jubilation didn’t distract from or water down the importance of the serious side of Christmas. If anything, it was a gentle, quirky sign of hope. Essentially, it helped me stop for a second and think, “Now I can see something new worth striving for.”
Brian Locke
And so, here we are: 2025, a new year, and a lot of joy and change ahead. This Sunday, we will say farewell to Buffy Gray on the occasion of her retirement. On Monday, Brian Locke will begin as our interim organist and choirmaster. Over the next few weeks, we will also prepare for our annual meeting which will take place on Sunday, Jan. 26 after the 10 a.m. Eucharist. And from there, we will launch fully into the new year with a renewed vestry, and many plans and hopes for our future ministry. Wherever you are on your journey, I pray that you will find what you are looking for in this new year, and I hope that you will share your journey as part of this parish’s life.
Devon and I (and the cats!) send you all our greetings, prayers, and blessings for the new year.
With prayers for peace this Christmastide,
Ed.
The Rev. Edward Thornley
Rector of The Episcopal Parish of St. John the Evangelist
