New Year’s Wisdom Ancient and Modern

Dear Friends,

Two New Year’s Resolutions I commend to you. Both come to us from ancient wellsprings of faith.

One: “Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy.” Some of us may recall this as a commandment, but would better receive it as a friendly suggestion for sanity and self-care. It is simply healthy to set aside one day each week for worship, spiritual quest, rest, recreation, and relationship. No church business, no electronic gadgets to separate us from ourselves and others, no frenzied shopping and running of errands. Sabbath.

Two: Tithe. It need not be taken literally, but rather resolve to be a generous giver, and decide now what proportion of your income you wish to give away. This is a spiritual practice that will ground you and feed your soul.

And if you are able, let me urge you to make a generous end-of-the year gift now to First Church. Some of you, I know, have stretched as far as possible to give all you can to support the work of this church; and I know that some of you could well afford an additional gift of one hundred, one thousand, or even several thousand dollars. Let me urge those of you who can to, right now, give on line. Or, write a check before the end of the year and drop it the offering basket on Sunday, or mail it to the church.

Speaking of this Sunday, you should know that you have a treat in store. Gini Courter, the Moderator of our Movement, is a powerful speaker. Don’t miss this opportunity to be with her.

With the rare and precious opportunity you have to worship and study theology with the Reverend Dr. Thandeka in the New Year in mind, allow me to share with you two simple statements of my own theology as encapsulated in my Christmas Eve invocation and message. They are below. If you were not able to be with us for the music, drama and candle glow of the evening, may these be small and far-from-adequate samples of a holy night. Happy New Year!

Best, David

Christmas Eve Invocation First Church Houston 2009

Welcome now to this church where we practice love beyond belief, and where there is always a place for you, and a need for you to join us if you can in transforming lives and our community.

Believing as we do in the noble things that humankind will do this coming year and in a multitude of new years to come, we gather without fearsome dogma or creed freely to embrace the truth and insights that come to us in story and symbol, in experience and in science.

This is a night for story—told in word and song. Our worship this evening was inspired by the Festival of Lessons and Carols introduced in the chapel of King’s College Cambridge at the close of the First World War. It was intended as a fresh expression for a Christmas Eve that would introduce a much needed and long-overdue era of peace on earth.

We have adapted the festival of lessons and carols to fit both our love for the Christmas story, AND our inclinations toward universality and inclusivity. Yet, it is hoped that we retain the spirit of the original—love born into a world in need of greater light, and of peace on earth.

May it then be our delight to hear the story anew. But first, let us pray for the needs of this whole world:

For a new spirit of goodwill and unity among nations, and among those we elect to govern us;

Let us at this time remember the poor and marginalized, the cold, hungry and oppressed, the lonely and unloved; the infirm aged and the little children; and all those who are deluded and enraged in the name of the holy and the sacred. May we then be instruments of peace serving all of these.

In the name of all that is holy,

Amen

Why Christmas Was Worth Saving

A Christmas Eve Message  from  Interim Senior Minister David Keyes

A delightful young woman said to me: “You know, in this church, I got Jesus back.” And I said, “Tell me more.” “You see,” she said, “I used to hate Christmas. It was all about fake happiness, and I was miserable. “All about crass commercialism wrapped up in a red Santa suit, and who would get the most presents. “All about believing the literal truth of impossible fairy tales. “All about a Jesus whose birth saved a world I knew still needed saving.”

And so I asked…what happened?

She said, “I found that there is a place where fake happiness can be replaced with honesty—where people care about who I really am, not the face I put on. “I found out I could team up with others to make the holidays a time to give to those most needy. “I found out that meaning comes to us in so many beautiful ways—in metaphor, story, symbol, ritual. I can let it wash over me, and I don’t have to pick it apart. “I found out that Christmas is really about Jesus being born IN ME, a way of saying that hope is always being born, and is always needing to be born. “In this church, I got Jesus back, and I don’t hate Christmas anymore. I couldn’t do without it.”

She convinced me (and she is made up of many) that our ancestors in faith did a good thing when we, the left wing of Protestantism, used our considerable 19^th century clout to save Christmas from being outlawed or abandoned as pagan debauchery. …Saved Christmas to make it a living symbol of the rights and needs of children—Children who were being abused, worked to death, abandoned, oppressed, and essentially, in millions of cases, deprived of all the delights of childhood.

I am glad that our ancestors in faith, in churches like this one, organized, spoke out, saved Christmas.

In many ways, it needs to be saved again—and we must be about that work.

-Comforting those made especially lonely and depressed by all the

forced merriment.

-Pooling and focusing our giving to benefit the poor, not the big box

and mail order merchants.

-Teaching a deeper way to be religious, and unveiling truth hidden

from many. In all these ways, we need, once again, to save Christmas.

Children still suffer. For many, there will be no presents, no joy, little food. To put a holiday dinner on the table, to buy gifts for a family of six whose bread winner has lost her job—these are some of the ways that the Ministers’ Discretionary Fund is used. I know that those of you who are able will give generously.

The Christmas Pledge

Dear Friends,

Gospel Rock-style music right in the First Church sanctuary— my goodness. A delight to hear women’s voices from the choir this past Sunday bring the season down to earth with “Did Jesus Have a Sister?”

There are such grand musical gifts in this congregation, some of which will be heard Thursday, Christmas Eve, along with a guest brass quartet at the 7:00 p.m. service.

And because, this holiday is so much for and about children, of course there will be a children’s pageant—the 5:30 service, a sort of pick-up pageant full of spontaneity and near-terminal cuteness. It will perk you up, so consider coming at 5:30, socializing after the pageant over cookies and hot chocolate in the Fireside Room, then joining in the caroling and drama of the 7:00 candle lighting service, at which we will have a real baby in the manger, tiny Griffin Mangum, to whom the congregation will dedicate itself.

I know not the origin of what follows, but if you find lists and pledges helpful (and why not?), this one is worthy:

A Christmas Pledge

Believing in the true spirit of Christmas, I commit myself to: *Remember those people who truly need my gifts. *Express my love in more direct ways than gifts. *Examine my holiday activities in the light of my deepest values. *Be a peacemaker within my circle of family and friends. *Rededicate myself to my spiritual growth.

May this be a blessing to you and yours.

A big THANK YOU to all in the congregation who have lavished goodies and good wishes on the staff; you have made our season bright.

Merry Christmas,

David