Christmas #4

Another 397 joined us to welcome the Babe of  Bethlehem...

WOW- everything again was excellent and meaningful and personal and wow!

My favorite moment was the reading from Isaiah by a 6th grader!  She nailed it.

Bless you Calvary musicians, ushers, greeters, Live Nativity characters, communion stewards, choirs of all sizes and ages... staff!

1327 adored HIM!

AMEN!

(Going home to take off my shoes!)

Merry Christmas and good night.

Christmas Blog #3

Phenomenal worship experience!  Music, lights, strings, voices, people, old friends, new friends, family and WOW!  The best CHRISTMAS Service Ever!!

538- over a hundred more than last year!

WHOOPEE!

Cried, not because of my allergies and the amazing poinsettias, but because my heart was so very, very full.

Christmas Blog- #2

It is the noisiest and busiest service!  We had 402 and it felt like... thousands!

Lovely holy family with the cutest little angel.  And baby Jesus did not even cry.  Bonus.

Super terrific music by the Attwoods in the narathex!

Amazing Holy Family plus Angels and Shepherds!  Here is a photo from earlier this evening...

Christmas Eve Pre-Blog

My annual tradition of blogging throughout the long night of Christmas joy begins!  I have already been here for over an hour doing some behind the scenes stuff!

I am very excited about our worship services tonight!  They will be lovely!  Guest musicians are joining us.  A Live Nativity will be presented outside, even with a donkey!  Caroling music will greet folks before and after our first two worship services!

I am ready to puddle up with tears and the night has not even begun.  Just feeling very full of the Holy Spirit and the Joy of what Jesus' birth means!

Before I dash off to prepare Holy Communion for the 5pm service- be joyful because Our HOPE HAS COME!

See you in worship!

Family Christmas- What's in a Name?

Saturday evening the Lowe family gathered around these lovely tables for the festivities of Christmas!  we had a delightful time telling stories, eating great food, laughing over our gifts and antics of our pets. The only problem- er hiccup- with our tradition is that no one in the family has the last name Lowe anymore!

Yep.

That sort of thing is bound to happen with two generations of girls.  We had Lawlers, Grays, Monhollens, and Knights.  But no Lowes.  Two sisters, my mother and my aunt, each had one daughter.  Hence, it was a gathering of the Lowe family without any namesakes.  (Don't worry there are plenty to carry on the family name from other cousins!)

Our names may be a patchwork quilt now, but our love, generosity, and joy in Christmas remain steadfast!

Nativity Without the Mother of God

One of my favorite collections are my various Nativity scenes and sets. Two different nations from Africa, three from Latin America, and various artisans from Europe and the US are represented in my collection. They are each precious and unique.

The children's set you see above is the newest addition to my collection.  My mother-in-law gave it to me last year for Christmas.  So a few weeks ago, we first opened the box. To our surprise a key member of the Nativity is missing.  She is no where to be found.

There is no Mary, the Mother of God!

Instead, we have a Nativity scene with twin shepherds!  :)  Oops. Mind you this set was made in China. Makers knew that there needed to be 10 figurines in the box.  Not very particular on which ten figures though.

Mary has gone missing.  Perhaps the crying kid was too much for her.  Or the extra shepherd is the stand-in babysitter.

It is hard, if not impossible, to have a Nativity without Mary.  She models for us obedience and trust in God's amazing plan. She continues in her plans to marry Joseph and create a family together.  Mary must birth Jesus after all!  Ultimately, she will nurture his young faith and witness to him our Awesome God even as she watches her son die for the world's freedom from sin, stupid, and death.

My missing Mary has been a reminder of Mary's significance within God's plan.  Maybe even a reminder of how without each one of us... God's work is incomplete.

Each one of us matters.

When Your Former Confirmands Have Babies!

You know you are getting older when previous students of yours start their own families.  Again, I was dramatically reminded of where I am in life's cycle when one of my former confirmation students from my largest class ever- the Class of 2006- had his first born son yesterday.

Wow!  Have I been in ministry that long now?

Yes.  Yes, I have.