December 15, 2025

Dear Church Family,

I am excited for our Christmas Eve worship and hope to see many of you there! We will have a 5pm Blue Christmas service for anyone who is experiencing difficult emotions during this season. Whether that is grief, loneliness, or sadness, you are invited to bring your pain to this quiet service and experience the presence of God. We will also have our 6pm traditional candlelight service, which will include a reading of the Christmas story, Christmas hymns, Holy Communion, and a candle lighting. I know it will be a special evening celebrating the birth of Jesus. 

This week is Charles Wesley’s birthday. Charles was the youngest son of Samuel and Susanna Wesley, born on December 18th, 1707. Along with his brother John, he became one of the first bands of “Oxford Methodists” at Oxford College, developing a new movement of faith that would become Methodism. Charles was a talented hymn writer, responsible for the lyrics of no less than 6500 hymns. Several are well-known Christmas hymns, like “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” and “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus.” 

He writes, “Come, thou long expected Jesus, born to set thy people free; from our fears and sins release us, let us find our rest in thee… Born thy people to deliver, born a child and yet a King, born to reign in us forever, now thy gracious kingdom bring.” In the season of Advent, we wait for the long expected messiah to be born and we prepare our hearts to worship him. Christmas is often very busy, full of events, family gatherings, shopping, and even worship. This can make it difficult for us to simply rest in God’s presence and enjoy a quiet Christmas. Yet, Charles Wesley reminds us that we are to find our rest in Jesus. In Jesus, we find rest from fear, anxiety, perfectionism, materialism, busy schedules, and heavy loads. I pray that this week we look forward to Christmas, not for the gifts, but for the birth of Jesus who gives us true rest. Take a breath, put away your unrealistic expectations for the holiday, put down the phone, and quiet your soul. If you are able, take a moment right now to offer this prayer to God: Come, Jesus, into my busy life this holiday season. Quiet all the noise and give me rest. Amen. 

Blessings, Pastor Delaney