Pastor's Newsletter: October 2026

Now, you may think it a little early to think about our Christmas celebrations, but after hearing the following from one of my older friends I thought maybe we were too late rather than too early! She said, to a friend who seemed to agree with her, "Christmas used to mean a great deal to me when I was younger, but since I'm older I don't care so much for it. It's the children's time, anyway."

This is a sentiment we hear frequently, in one form or another. Haven't heard any real discussion as to whether this is true or not?! To worldly-minded people, who see in Christmas only a fun time and the exchange of more and more expensive gifts, its meaning may truly be lost, but is this true for the followers of Christ? Let's just think about it for a moment.

The central word of Christmas is "Saviour". "Thou shall call His name Jesus" said the angel, for He shall save His people from their sins." For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour." This is the heart of its meaning.

Now, we all know children love to hear about the Christ-child, and it is because of Him that we feel Christmas to be the festival of childhood; but as a matter of fact, it is only in the slightest degree that a child can grasp the meaning of Christmas - its keyword, scarcely at all. Children can rejoice in the coming of the Child to earth not unlike the angels did, who knew His beauty and glory, but had not yet themselves experienced His grace. A child knows Jesus as Friend and Guardian but not really as Saviour.

The more carefully taught and shielded is, the longer will it be till he realizes what the word "sin" really means. Perhaps this is one reason for the self-sufficiency of so many of our young people, in spite of -we might almost say, because of their early training. It is often not until the temptations of maturity come into these happy, guarded lives that a sense of need is actually felt. But some day the young man or woman is grappling with a power too strong to handle alone. Then they cry out for help, and for the first time the name of "Saviour" shines out with a clear meaning. Whose then is Christmas? We can answer best by asking, Whose is Christ? If He is a growing power in our lives, if His saving help means more to us every year, are we ever ready to hand over the Day of the Saviour to the children who cannot yet understand more than the faintest beginning of His work? Is not Christmas more and more a festival of hope and peace for us as we grow older? Christmas is everybody's day. It has no limits of age, of race, of country. It is the day of all who need Him, who find Him a sufficient Saviour. May it mean more to us this year than ever before, and find us more eager to share its blessings with every soul of humankind. And may we find this the year that we seriously begin (if we haven't started already) teaching children about those "hard" "serious" words about Jesus; like "sin", "faith", "grace" and, "Saviour." Remember, everyday is Christmas!! Even without the gifts!!

Blessings,

Pastor Kathleen