The Bishop and Canons will offer a reflection each week during Advent and Christmas, t
hrough the Feast of the Epiphany. This year, reflections will call us to consider the Christian call to welcome and care for the refugee in our midst.
Hymn
O Come All Ye Faithful
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The Collect for Christmas Day
Almighty God, you have given your only-begotten Son to take our nature upon him, and to be born this day of a pure virgin: Grant that we, who have been born again and made your children by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by your Holy Spirit; through our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom with you and the same Spirit be honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen.
The Lessons
Meditation
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Bishop White
What shall I say! And how shall I describe this Birth to you? For this wonder fills me with astonishment. The Ancient of days has become an infant. He who sits upon the sublime and heavenly Throne, now lies in a manger. And he who cannot be touched, who is simple, without complexity, and incorporeal, now lies subject to the hands of men. He who has broken the bonds of sinners, is now bound by an infants bands. But he has decreed that ignominy shall become honor, infamy be clothed with glory, and total humiliation the measure of his Goodness.
For this he assumed my body, that I may become capable of his Word; taking my flesh, he gives me his spirit; and so he bestowing and I receiving, He prepares for me the treasure of Life. He takes my flesh, to sanctify me; he gives me his Spirit, that he may save me. Come, then, let us observe the Feast. Truly wondrous is the whole chronicle of the Nativity. For this day the ancient slavery is ended, the devil confounded, the demons take to flight, the power of death is broken, paradise is unlocked, the curse is taken away, sin is removed from us, error driven out, truth has been brought back, the speech of kindliness diffused, and spreads on every side, a heavenly way of life has been implanted on the earth, angels communicate with men without fear, and men now hold speech with angels.
Slavery is ended, the devil is confounded, the power of death is broken, paradise is unlocked. As God saves us in Christ, so are we to love and serve sisters and brothers, especially the most vulnerable, those who have no other helper. The love and care, protection and welcoming of refugees leads us deeper into the mystery of the Incarnation. It is one way, and a mighty way at that, to celebrate Christmas, when a heavenly way of life was implanted on earth. Christ is born, and taking my flesh, he gives me his spirit, he prepares for me the treasure of Life... he gives me his Spirit, that he may save me. Joy to the world, the Lord has come!
The Episcopal Church partners with the federal government to resettle thousands of refugees each year through Episcopal Migration Ministries. Our diocesan budget includes annual support for their local affiliate, Kentucky Refugee Ministries. The Episcopal Church began its ministry to refugees with port chaplains in the late 1800s, and developed resettlement programs to aid European refugees in the lead up to WWII. Our formal partnership to assist the US in resettlement work began in 1980 and continues today.
Learn more about the work Episcopal Migration Ministries does on our behalf here:
Give to support the work of Kentucky Refugee Ministries:
WHAT YOUR GIFT CAN DO
$25 provides a blanket for a refugee child
$50 provides a monthly bus pass for an adult seeking work
$75 provides groceries for a family's first week in Kentucky
$100 assists with medications for a sick mother
$150 assists with a heating bill for a 1-bedroom apartment
$500 assists with rent for a family's new apartment
$1,000 assists a family if someone gets ill and can't work
$2,500 co-sponsors a new family for 3-months
Hymn
Joy to the World
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The Collect for Christmas
O God, you make us glad by the yearly festival of the birth of your only Son Jesus Christ: Grant that we, who joyfully receive him as our Redeemer, may with sure confidence behold him when he comes to be our Judge;
Christmas Blessing
May Christ, who by his incarnation gathered into one things earthly and heavenly, fill you with his joy and peace; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always.
Amen.
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