What a joy this morning to get back to leading the singing at church along with the other others on the music team. And what a special time to be singing. I loved opening the service with Joy to the World, followed by O Come All You Faithful (a slight modernization of words from Ye.)
Even lovelier was the elderly lady who waved and blew me a kiss as I started to sing. Later she told me how ‘thrilled’ she was ‘to see me back up the front.’ Now I don’t claim to be the world’s best singer but I do love singing, especially the traditional Christmas carols. When you sing or listen to the words of them they are just so rich in meaning and so powerful. I was conscious of being smiled at by lots of members of the congregation as well as some regular visitors down for the Christmas season that obviously enjoyed singing these carols too.
The service then included a drama written by one of our congregation, but involving several other congregation members. The topic was ‘outside the square.’ And isn’t that, in a way, what Christmas is all about? God causes things to happen outside the square, outside the norm, all because we have a God who can, and does, do the impossible – like a virgin giving birth to God’s Son.
Interspersed with the drama was a reading from the Bible of the Christmas story and then our minister gave a great sermon about not the worst Christmas give gift ever given as I wrote about in my marriage blog but the best Christmas gift ever given, which is, of course, Jesus- the reason for the season as one of our cards says.
We finished the service singing Hark the Herald Angels Sing.
Can I leave you with the thoughts of Wilda English which are on my calendar for today, ‘God grant you the light in Christmas, which is faith; the warmth of Christmas which is love; the radiance of Christmas , which is purity… the all of Christmas, which is Christ’
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