Twenty-eight Christmases ago I was the new pastor of Central Baptist Church in Paoli, Ind. I decided to have the churchâ??s first ever Christmas Eve candlelight communion service. I wanted everything to be perfect.
Snow fell that afternoon. A high school junior, Melody Lawson, played What Child Is This on the flute. Three generations â?? a grandmother, her daughter, and granddaughter â?? lit the Advent candles. We sang the carols â?? O Come All Ye Faithful, Away in a Manger, and O Little Town of Bethlehem. We read the story â?? Mary, Joseph, the baby, and the manger. I thought: â??This is a Hallmark card of a worship service. This is as picture perfect a Christmas moment as any church has ever known.â?
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