Christmas Invitation
Can you remember a worship service at a church that was really meaningful to you? Something happened for you in that moment of worship and you felt something special. Maybe you weren’t even sure what it was, but you felt something. Maybe you were sure it was the presence of God surrounding you. Maybe that worship service was on a Sunday morning, maybe it wasn’t. I will always remember the Saturday morning worship service in May that I got married to my wife Amy at Highland Park UMC in Richmond. I certainly felt something; love, passion, tremendous fear. I still remember the Thursday night service of worship when I was ordained to be a minister. I also remember the worship service we had on a Friday morning less than two years ago here at Wright’s Chapel when my mom had died. I felt sad, but also a very real sense of peace and hope. There are all kinds of Sunday services I remember too. Easter morning services with all the pageantry have brought forth feelings of joy and excitement.
Christmas Eve worship services at church have always stood out in my memory as a special time. I can still remember going to the Christmas Eve services in the town I grew up in in the small church of Delhi. I can still picture the white candles glowing. The music of Christmas still echoes in my memory. At the end of the service we would light a candle and sing Silent Night. Those Christmas Eve services of worship were special to me and I have often felt God’s presence in those moments. In the beauty of the candle light, standing next to loved ones, I have felt God surrounding me with his love.
In just a few days we will celebrate Christmas Eve worship here at Wright’s Chapel. For many of us who regularly attend church, we have made attending one of the services on Christmas Eve with our family a tradition. I hope you’ll continue that tradition this year. But I also hope this year that you will begin to think of who else you can invite to join you for Christmas Eve Worship. Who is someone you know who perhaps has never before attended a Christmas Eve service? Or who is someone you know who seldom attends church and you can invite them into this special moment? Christmas Eve worship is a wonderful time to introduce someone to the church, to introduce them to a new tradition, to faith, and to God. I hope you’ll consider inviting someone to join you and your family for worship on Christmas Eve. And I really hope that in the candles and the music and the story of Christmas that all of us will feel God surrounding us, holding us, and loving us.
We have several Christmas Eve Worship experiences to choose from at Wright’s Chapel. Invite someone to worship with you and join us on Sunday, December 23, at 5:30 or on Monday, December 24 at 3:00 pm, 5:00 pm or 7:00 pm. It could turn out to be a night that they will never ever forget.
