Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
On the Christmas Eve the Church throughout the whole world comes together in wonder and awe to celebrate the birth of our Messiah. That night we will begin worship with the Church’s traditional Christmas proclamation. The Christmas proclamation reminds us that our God came to us in our time and place (e.g. unknown ages from the time of creation, several thousand years after the flood, twenty-one centuries from the time of Abraham and Sarah, thirteen centuries after Moses, eleven hundred years from the time of Ruth and the judges, one thousand years from the time of King David, in the sixty-fifth week according to the prophecy of Daniel, in the one hundred and ninety-fourth Olympiad etc.). For to us a child is born, to us a son is given.
Our God is a God of history. The holy child was born on a specific day and hour. His life and ministry engaged the lives of the people of his day and it continues to touch the lives of people today through his mystical body – the Church. Therefore the faith is not lived out in spiritual isolation from the world, rather it is lived as our savior lived – in complete engagement with the world. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them light has shined.
This light continues to shine in, with and through our shared ministries today. During this sacred season I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your care and stewardship of the ministries that have been entrusted to you. Through your efforts the mystery and saving work of the God in the flesh is made known to the world in our time and place.
Thank you for your continued faithful devotion to the Christchild.
In the Name of the Christchild,
Rev. George Schneider