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Dear <<First Name>>
I can't help but think about Mary and Joseph searching for a place to rest for the night as they made their way to Bethlehem so many years ago. My family and I recently found ourselves in a similar situation, having recently moved to a new land and finding ourselves without a church family. We don't often think about the owner of the stable where our Lord was born, but I think often about the caretakers of St. Paul's where my family and I will be spending our first Christmas together in Vancouver. We thank you for the welcome we have received and know that this is the same welcome that is extended to newcomers to the parish. May you likewise welcome Jesus Christ into your hearts and your lives this Christmas season--the incredible gift given by God to the world--not merely a helpless baby lying in a feeding trough, but the son of God, of one being with the Father, through whom all things were made. The miracle of Christmas is not just the nativity of a baby (which is always a miracle), but of the incarnation, God made flesh, dwelling among us.
I wish you all of the joy of this holiday season and pray that every heart might prepare room for the Christ, whose advent we celebrate this Christmas.
-James, Sacha, and Eleanor.
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