• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

St. Stephen's Episcopal Church

215 N. 7th, Terre Haute, Indiana

  • About
    • Welcome!
    • Worship Calendar
    • Live Worship
    • Sermons
    • Clergy & Staff
    • Communication
  • Community
    • Blog
    • News + Events
    • Episcopal Links
    • Links for Study and Devotion
  • Get Involved
    • Give
    • Calendar
    • Ministries
    • Service Committees
  • Members
    • Annual Meeting
    • News
    • Schedule
    • Newsletter
    • The Hope Journal
    • Resources

Christmas Joy

The Rector's Blog · December 21, 2022

Disciples, Apostles, and Saints!

I love Christmas! And I always have. The lights, candles, greens! My Mom would decorate the living room, the mantle, the bannister. We’d eat and celebrate for days. Guests would come over, we’d go to church; the whole thing felt festive and different.

Recently, someone remarked that their church was going Christmas caroling on December 31. And while seasonally appropriate, they pointed out that it really is quite exhausting to be the only ones who actually care about that.

His comments really resonated with me. And I started wondering when caroling would truly make sense. This thing we did regularly when I was young, and tried to do when I was a young adult. It really doesn’t work like it used to. It may not be about the day, but the caroling itself.

Christmas is a holiday full of such nostalgia, memory, and anticipation that we may not truly appreciate how much that stuff we valued fits into the moment that was. And that the present moment, full of its own attentions, hopes, and opportunities, may be attuned to something else.

I’m confident none of us will be caroling on Christmas Eve, with windchills below zero. And some may choose to stay home for the holiday. And we may miss out on some of what we find fun at Christmas time. But we need not miss out on joy. For all that Christmas does bring. That isn’t dependent on anyone’s calendar.

With love,
Drew

Filed Under: The Rector's Blog Tagged With: Christmas, holiday, joy

Previous Post: « Racism
Next Post: Sharing »

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • Blessed
  • A Word: Legacies
  • Leading + Following
  • Evangelism in 2023
  • Epiphany
Updates

Keep Up

Footer

CONTACT

St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church
215 N. 7th St
Terre Haute, IN 47807

812-232-5165

officeadmin@ststephensth.org

ABOUT

St. Stephen’s is a sacramental community following Jesus’s Way of Love.

We worship on Sundays at 8 & 10.

AFFILIATIONS

St. Stephen’s is a member of The Episcopal Church and congregation of the Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis.

St. Stephen’s is a member of the Wabash Valley Homeless Coalition

PARKING

St. Stephen’s is across from Indiana State University. Nearby parking lots are run by ISU and are free after 5pm weekdays and are free all weekend long. 

Five marked spots in the lot directly behind the church are available during the week.

Copyright © 2023 · Showcase Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in