Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Candlelight Carol Service

The Christmas Eve Candlelight service was a time to pause and reflect.

A chance to focus on the heart of Christmas: Jesus, Light of the World, born in a stable in Bethlehem.

Cornerstone in Mission District was full for the first of it's two services. In the peaceful atmosphere of a darkened church lit by candles, the service was a blend of traditional and modern. The band played their own reworking of carols and children in their Christmas best sang heart-warmingly.

Pastor Terry led meditations, acknowledging the hubbub of festive preparation and for some the loneliness and family pressure that the season uniquely throws up. And the true meaning of Christmas: Jesus, Light of the World, bringing light into darkness. No life too messy that God cannot enter in.

As we knelt in adoration, as those first shepherds and Wise Men, a poem: ...'Majesty in the midst of the mundane. Holiness in the filth of sheep manure and sweat. Divinity entering the world on the floor of a stable, through the womb of a teenager and into the presence of a carpenter.' (Max Lucado)

Then the finale of Silent Night and the lighting of a candle for each person.

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