Throughout Advent, we’ve looked through the lens of the sacred and have experienced time, people, places, others, and ourselves as God’s holy love reflected and incarnate in the world. Because of the experience of God’s action of love toward us, we are called also to act, the “sacred doing” of alleviating suffering wherever it is found. We dedicate ourselves in this New Year to sacred acts of justice and mercy, bringing grace to a hurting world, reflecting the sacred in all we do.

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Christmas Eve is a night that already feels sacred. We gather by candlelight to sing familiar carols, hear the ancient story once more, and remember that love still enters the world. This year, we will linger with the deeper truth of Christmas: not a tidy or sentimental story, but a holy one rooted in real bodies, real struggle, and real hope. The birth of Jesus was not a “silent night,” but a vulnerable, human moment where God chose to come close—into the mess, the pain, and the beauty of ordinary life.

This service invites us to reimagine what is sacred—not as something far away or earned, but as something already present within and among us. Through story, reflection, music, and candlelight, we will hear the good news that God’s love is not reserved for the perfect or put-together, but is born for all, exactly as we are. This is a night to rest, to breathe, and to remember our worth. Come as you are, and join us as we celebrate Emmanuel—God with us—until every soul feels its worth.

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As we gather on this final Sunday of Advent before Christmas Eve, we continue our journey through the series Reflecting the Sacred by turning our attention to Sacred People. Throughout Advent we have been invited to notice how the holy often reveals itself not in grand spectacle, but in everyday life. This week, we look closely at Mary and Joseph—two ordinary people whose lives are interrupted by God’s call. Their fears, questions, and courageous trust remind us that God’s story does not unfold through abstract ideas or distant ideals, but through real people navigating real circumstances with open hearts.

In worship, we will reflect on how the sacred still takes shape in human lives today. As we listen, sing, pray, and wait together, we are invited to recognize our own lives as potential vessels of grace. Just as Mary and Joseph bore God’s love into the world through faithfulness in the midst of uncertainty, we, too, are called to reflect the sacred in our choices, relationships, and acts of love. This service prepares us to approach Christmas not simply as a celebration of what once happened, but as a reminder that God continues to be born into the world through ordinary people—people like us.

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This Sunday, our Sanctuary Choir, Bell Choir, Contemporary Band, and several gifted guest musicians will come together to offer A Night for Rejoicing, a musical celebration of hope, wonder, and the good news that still breaks into our world.

Each ensemble has been preparing with great care, weaving together a tapestry of sound that tells the story of Christ’s birth in a fresh and powerful way. From the ringing of the bells to the harmonies of the choir, from the energy of the band to the beauty added by our guest musicians, this cantata is meant to be more than a performance—it is an offering of praise, and a moment for all of us to breathe in the joy of the season.

This Sunday invites us to wonder deeply about sacred space by asking a deceptively simple question: Is there room for each other?

When we begin to see through the lens of the sacred, we train our senses to notice the holy shimmering within all things and all people—not just in sanctuaries or special moments, but in the everyday encounters that fill our lives. In a world aching for harmony and healing, preparing our hearts to welcome Christ in everyone becomes a radically hopeful act. It opens a pathway for peace to take root, not as an abstract ideal, but as a lived reality made possible through compassion, hospitality, and attentiveness.

This week, we are invited to see our own walk upon this earth as sacred ground and to understand ourselves as sacred people—bearers of God’s presence—who help usher peace into every space we enter.

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