Dear Friends,

 

I sometimes think how odd it is that, just once a year, for tens of thousand of people, the place to be in the middle of a winter’s night is not tucked up in a warm bed, or sitting by the fire with a comforting drink, but in a church, preferably with a few candles, singing old carols, and taking part in a ritual which, for the rest of the year, is of interest to only a minority of the population. There has been much publicity recently about the secularisation of Christmas – the politically correct ‘Season’s Greetings’ rather than ‘Happy Christmas’, and celebrations of ‘Winterval’ rather than the birth of Christ. Yet despite all this, the tradition of coming to ‘Midnight Mass’ doesn’t seem to decline in popularity, and churches throughout the country will be full of unfamiliar faces for this one night of the year. Even the vast space of St. Paul’s Cathedral is not large enough to accommodate the large numbers who want to get in, and last year many were turned away.

 

There are some regular church-goers (and clergy) who get rather ‘sniffy’ about this, and make disparaging comments about these once-a-year worshippers; but I think they are missing the point. And what is the point? Perhaps it is that despite the huge commercialisation of Christmas, the pressures of shopping, eating and drinking, many people – not just those inside churches – have at least a momentary awareness that beneath the Christmas celebrations is a deeper mystery: what is this good news of hope and peace in the darkness of our world? Is there really a power of love which can heal the hurts of our lives, and bring trust back into broken relationships? Is there anyone out there who cares? – who cared enough to come and share our human life? In the darkness and the candlelight, it’s perhaps easier to give a few moments of attention to these big questions than it is in our own homes.

I believe that all people are ‘spiritual beings’ at heart, though many of us neglect our inner selves for much of the time. Christmas is a special opportunity for getting in touch with that hidden life, which helps us to make sense of the rest of the year.

 

So, no matter how infrequent a visitor to either of the churches in our parish you may be, you can be assured of a warm welcome at any of our Christmas services (Midnight Communion at both All Saints’, Wraxall, and St. Bartholomew’s, Failand, at 11.30pm, and Christmas Day at Wraxall at 10 am.) And you will, of course, always be welcome during the coming year. If you would like a visit, please give me a ring. (857086)

 

May your Christmas be happy and peaceful, however you may be spending it, and may the light of Christmas guide you into the New Year.

 

With love,

Rosey