Merry Christmas

Beloved in Christ,

Merry Christmas! I hope my message reaches you on this Christmas Day surrounded by love and loved ones. Now is the time for us to raise our voices in joy.

The world is not perfect - far from it. But this is the world as it was when God came among us. This is the world that God chooses still. Today, we celebrate the One who came to live among us in order to perfect our faith. Today, we celebrate the presence of joy and the victory of love, even when joy and love can feel distant.

Luke's narrative of Jesus' birth tells us of someone making space in the manger for a weary family.  Our scripture reminds us that Jesus is not born into rejection, but into generosity; not in exile, but in grace; not in loneliness, but in the shared closeness of ordinary people doing the best they can for one another.  Friends, that feels like the kind of miracle that the world needs most right now.

So, this Christmas Day, tomorrow, next week, next year, let our homes, our hearts, our giving, our work, our voices, and our prayers be the guest room where love is welcome and Christ dwells, because that is the space where the Holy One is born again.

Be courageous, and rejoice!

May this feast of the Incarnation fill you with joy, courage, and love, in the name of the one who is With Us - Emmanual.

The Rt. Rev'd Julia E. Whitworth

Bishop Diocesan

First Coming

Madeleine L’Engle

He did not wait till the world was ready,

till men and nations were at peace.

He came when the Heavens were unsteady,

and prisoners cried out for release.

He did not wait for the perfect time.

He came when the need was deep and great.

He dined with sinners in all their grime,

turned water into wine.

He did not wait till hearts were pure.

In joy he came to a tarnished world of sin and doubt.

To a world like ours, of anguished shame

he came, and his Light would not go out.

He came to a world which did not mesh,

to heal its tangles, shield its scorn.

In the mystery of the Word made Flesh

the Maker of the stars was born.

We cannot wait till the world is sane

to raise our songs with joyful voice,

for to share our grief, to touch our pain,

He came with Love: Rejoice! Rejoice!