May I begin this week's letter by extending to you my prayer for a blessed and wonderful Christmas!

I choose those words deliberately - blessed and wonderful - and not words that presume anything about your journey to Christmas. I am not frightened to extend the hope for joy and gladness and cheer, but "blessed and wonderful" seems to fit the many storied truths of the lives of parishioners at Saint Andrew. Many of us are fortunate enough to be in the space where happiness seems to ooze out of us in a daily manner, while others I know are facing hardships of varying weights. 

But for all us, there is space for blessing, and for wonder. 

So much could be said about "something being blessed." Often we say in the midst of troubles, "count your blessings" and in this light, it seems to infer that in the grand accounting of things, one should submit one's perspective to tilt positively on the scale of forced gratitude in which "more good is happening than bad." I do hope that more good is in your life than bad, but that's not what I mean by this sense of "blessing." Instead, I hope for you to enter into the sense of "blessing" as a deep affirmation of where you are right now. 

When someone asks someone for their blessing, often they are asking for their approval, and that's a very powerful gift, whether it comes from someone outside of yourself or from within. To find deep approval of where you are right now, as God has created you, is to be released from the anxiety that festers in our own self-doubt or personal submissions to someone else's expectations. Being blessed allows us to take a breath and start again, for God loves us as we are and as we are able. 

And I don't mean to suggest that having a "wonderful" Christmas is just a euphemism for it being "great." Instead, let's look at the word again and see that it means to be full... of wonder. To see the world and to see ourselves and be mindful of the possibilities before us, to be amazed at life's gifts and to be curious about its challenges, to be dazzled and not befuddled, and to see Gods invitation to be the ingredient to God's masterpiece yet to be written is how I hope you receive the wish for a "wonderful Christmas."

In this season, we have as a headline to our parish media, "O Come Let Us Adore Him." My final hope for you is to join us in adoring the infant child Jesus this Christmas. In our communal adoration of the child Jesus we can see most clearly the fullness of blessing and wonderment of God made available to us all. I can't help but believe that we all need a little more of that in our lives. 

A recent survey by Lifeway Research found that less than half of Americans plan to celebrate Christmas by participating in Church this year. I hope that you will be in the 47% that plans and does attend. I say this not because I'm worried about attendance figures. I hope that sharing in the Christ experience will help to cultivate your sense of blessing in your life and fill you with wonder. And I further hope your witness of Christmas will be one that extends God's blessing and the potential of wonder to all you meet. 

Have a blessed and wonderful Christmas!

Bulldog Buddies

Registration for the winter Bulldog Buddies session is open. We look forward to welcoming our Bulldog Buddies on Tuesday, January 7. Bulldog Buddies is a class for children  who turn two years old by September 1, 2024.  Our teachers and curriculum offer children the opportunity to experience our school setting in a safe, nurturing environment along with their caregivers. More information is attached. Bulldog Buddies Registration 

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