Dear Church Family,
During Advent, we have been looking at some of our most beloved Christmas songs and their timeless message. Even thinking about Christmas songs has a way of stirring our hopes. We imagine Christmas lights, those familiar melodies, meaningful gatherings, and a sense that everything will be just right by Christmas. We plan carefully, and look with expectation to the perfect Christmas. And yet, as many of us know from experience, plans do not always unfold the way we imagine.
The Christmas story itself reminds us of that truth. Mary and Joseph certainly did not plan to welcome their first child far from home, surrounded by animals, with no room available. They did not expect a manger to become a cradle or questionable shepherds to be their first visitors. The long-awaited Messiah arrived not with comfort and certainty, but with interruption, inconvenience, and surprise. And still, God was powerfully at work. What looked like a detour was actually the fulfillment of His promise. Emmanuel had come. God was, and is, with us! 
In many ways, our church family can relate this season. The building project has not gone entirely as planned. We had hoped it would be fully completed by Christmas, ready to welcome this season with everything finished and functioning. Instead, unexpected delays have slowed progress and shifted timelines. Hopes have been deferred a bit. Plans adjusted and spaces rethought. I have had to fight a bit of disappointment mixed in with anticipation.
Yet, in spite of this, Advent invites us to pause and remember what truly matters. Christmas has never been about perfect circumstances or finished projects. It has always been about God stepping into imperfect places with His perfect love and abiding peace. The light of the world did not wait for everything to be ready. He came into the mess, the waiting, and the uncertainty. 
So this Christmas, we choose to focus our hearts where they belong. We rejoice that God’s love has come down to us in Jesus. We celebrate Emmanuel, God with us, in every season and situation. We give thanks that even when our plans change, His promises and His peace never do.
I hope you will join me in celebrating Christ’s birth in our two upcoming special services. The Vesper Choir will present the 100th Christmas Vespers on Sunday, December 21 at 5:00 pm, and on Christmas Eve, December 24 at 9:00 pm, join us for our Candlelight Service, as we lift our voices, light our candles, and proclaim the Christmas story of good news of great joy.
This Christmas, finished or unfinished, planned or unexpected, may our hearts prepare Him room. God is with us… and that is more than enough.

Loving you all, 
Michael