Christmas is not cancelled. I promise. The angel Gabriel will terrify Mary, baby Jesus will be laid in a manger and the shepherds will run through Bethlehem with the good news of great joy for everyone.
Emmanuel will still be ‘God with us’ despite social distancing. In fact, ‘God with us’ will mean all the more this year. The Son of God chose to enter our lockdown, joining us in our struggles by becoming a child in an unsettled family. He gets it.
Families need wonder
Christmas will look different. It could be better. The best Christmas will be when every child and young person in our community celebrates the birth of the Lord. Social distancing, hand gel and risk assessments cannot mask the wonder of Christmas. Your family and all of your community need that wonder, more than ever before. And I’ll say this quietly; families will not miss the carols or even the Christingle services. As a demographic, families are not that fussed about our church traditions. Families do want (and need) what our churches offer: relationship, community, informality, love and an authentic experience of ‘God with us’. So let’s not make this Christmas a limp, disappointing version of last year. In our families, in our churches and in our communities, let’s go all out to find creative ways to celebrate Emmanuel. He chose struggle, being born into poverty, bringing deep peace to desperate hearts. He moved in, joined our bubble and ignored social distancing. Immerse your family in that story this Christmas. Put a sofa in your church and a manger in your living room.
Tackling heavy topics in our youth groups
Anyone who has prepared a youth or children's programme for a church weekend away will know the feeling: your minister …