Friends,

I don’t think we could have managed one more thing this Christmas season. I mean, wow. I am writing this on December 28th, and I feel like I am just getting to the point where I can let the past week soak in, and I feel an incredible amount of gratitude for all of you. I am going to something reckless and start naming a few ministries that went above and beyond. I know I am going to leave some out, for which I deeply apologize, but there is simply not enough room to include everyone who made Christmas at St. Luke’s so incredibly special.

The altar guild went above and beyond. They made the altar go from Advent to Christmas in just a few short hours, and the Church looked amazing for all five services that we did on the 24th and 25th. The altar guild is innately behind the scenes, and their ministry deserves more attention and gratitude. Thank you, altar guild, for making everything go smoothly and look beautiful!

Every single member of our staff went above and beyond for the Church and for me. I had an abnormal amount of very good reasons to be at home this Christmas Season, and everyone on staff helped me be a good husband and father, while still being able to celebrate Christmas with you. I am thankful that our staff is not only competent, but also people that care about each other. Without our staff, things would be broken that would otherwise go unnoticed, there would be not mass e-mails, bulletins, and Christmas would not have happened as beautifully and smoothly as it did. I think I am a very good cheerleader, and I am mediocre at most everything else. Without our staff I would be lost!

It takes a ton of work to set up the broadcast system. I imagine just broadcasting one service a week is a lot, but they did it four times in just over 24 hours! This isn’t just one person, but a team of people that took the time to understand how each service is different, and to plan to make it feel meaningful to everyone watching at home. It is hard to understand the effect this has on people, because I often just see the number of people who watched on YouTube or Facebook. Christmas gives me an opportunity to meet some of those who watch from afar and are in town for the holidays. Knowing that there are so many on the other side of the camera reminds me of the immense value of their ministry. The camera and microphones aren’t some sort of frivolous benefit, but something we use to ensure our community can stay connected.

The music at the Christmas Eve services was the best I have ever heard. Granted, I am not qualified to say what is good music or not, but I am a high degree of suspicion that we heard world-class music at those services. Our music ministry is wonderful in many different ways, but the thing I like about it the most is that it is authentically our ministry. We didn’t bring in paid musicians or anything. The horns, viola, vocal soloists, and our amazing choir as a whole are all members of St. Luke’s. Healthy churches do ministry as an outpouring of their gifts and talents to the glory of God, and I can honestly say that our choir exemplifies this ideal.

The counters, treasurer, vestry, acolytes, eucharistic ministers, ushers, greening crew, readers and many others all deserve their own paragraph. Just know that I am incredibly thankful for you, and for your leadership. There is one group I wanted to highlight, before getting back to the chaos of the holidays, and that is everyone who came to Church. That was a lot of Church. Some of you went to one service, and others came and got the full experience! The Church could have been the most beautiful that it has ever been, the choir could have sung the most awe-inspiring pieces, and my sermon could have been profound, yet hilarious, but if the pews were empty, it would not have felt like Christmas. All the Church can do is set the stage, and without people in the pews, it is all for naught.

Christmas is supposed to be about the incarnation, but at these high holy days I cannot help but think of 1 Corinthians 12 where Paul speaks of Christ being like a body, singular, but made of many parts. It is the same with us. I could not do what any of the Sues (or any variation of Susan…we have a lot of them) do, because I am not an administrator, baker, outreach coordinator or greeter. Everyone at St. Luke’s brings something unique while we strive to live a Christian life. If we all tried to be everything to everyone, we would accomplish very little. Instead, when we gather and lift each other up in our strengths, we can become greater than the sum of our parts and dwell in the hope of God made incarnate.

Merry Christmas and thank you for being the Church.

Blessings,

Nick