"I have always thought of Christmas as a good time; a kind, forgiving, generous, pleasant time; a time when men and women seem to open their hearts freely, and so I say, God bless Christmas!"
~ Charles Dickens

As we prepare to celebrate once again the birth of Jesus I wish to extend my personal invitation to attend the worship services at Westminster throughout the Advent and Christmas Season. Please make a point of attending the Festival of Carols at 4:00 p.m. December 14th. The Celebration Choir, under the direction of Martin James, readers, banner bearers and guest musicians, will have you singing along to some of the favourite carols of the season. This is a wonderful work of both contemporary and traditional styles. Don't miss it! At our Sunday 10:30 worship, dramas, special music and poignant readings will form our Advent and Christmas liturgies. This will be our second year for holding a 4:00 p.m. Christmas Eve service geared to young families with babies, toddlers and youngsters. There will be hot chocolate and live animals in our stable on the church lawn. Of course we will have our 7:00 p.m. family service and the 10:00 p.m. candlelight communion.

During these unsettled times our faith community will re-read the words of the ancient prophets and the Gospel story of Christ's birth. These readings serve to ground us in a place of hope.

 

To all those who have lost loved ones this year, I offer my sympathy and pray that memories of what you shared, however brief, may ease the pain.

 

To those who have experienced change, I pray that God will continue to guide you in your decisions.

 

To those who have experienced joy may you continue to be thankful and generous.

 

In my reading I have discovered a few facts...for the trivia people...

 

In the Ukraine, if you find a spider web in the house on Christmas morning, it is believed to be a harbinger of good luck! There once lived a woman so poor, says a Ukrainian folk tale, that she could not afford Christmas decorations for her family. One Christmas morning, she awoke to find that spiders had trimmed her children's tree with their webs. When the morning sun shone on them, the webs turned to silver and gold. An artificial spider and web are often included in the decorations on Ukrainian Christmas trees.

At Christmas, it is traditional to exchange kisses beneath the mistletoe tree. In ancient Scandinavia, mistletoe was associated with peace and friendship. That may account for the custom of "kissing beneath the mistletoe".

The poinsettia is a traditional Christmas flower. In Mexico (its original birthplace), the poinsettia is known as the "Flower of the Holy Night".

Louis Prang, a Bavarian-born lithographer who came to the USA from Germany in the 19th century, popularized the sending of printed Christmas Cards. He invented a way of reproducing color oil paintings the "chromolithograph technique", and created a card with the message "Merry Christmas" as a way of showing the technique
 
As I close, I leave you with these words by Oren Arnold

Christmas Gift Suggestions...
Give to your enemy, forgiveness;
Give to an opponent, tolerance;
Give to your friend, your heart;
Give to a customer, service;
Give to all, charity;
Give to every child a good example;
To yourself, respect.
-         Oren Arnold
 
Carolling at the hospital-Wed. Dec. 17th... meet at the lobby of the hospital... Please R.S.V.P. If you wish to join us at Boston Pizza after singing... R.S.V.P. to the church office 519-941-0381. Need a ride... let us know
   
On behalf of my family, Bob, Catherine and Sarah we extend our warmest wishes to you and yours this Blessed Season.