Chreasters Please!
FROM THE RECTOR
Sometimes called “C&E Members” or “Chreasters,” parishioners who only come to church at Christmas and Easter are often dismissed by clergy or lay leaders as insincere participants in the life of a congregation. I have always thought the church could do better than that. Why not embrace those who still show up even twice a year instead of castigating them as unfaithful? Why not celebrate that our church continues to play a role in the lives of these individuals and families during the most precious times of the year?
This year, it feels like we need to do more than make room for Chreasters. Many of us have been staying away from church. Even those who came far more often than twice a year have been reluctant to step inside, and we miss it. We miss being in that sacred space. We miss seeing and embracing each other. We miss adding our voices to the corporate prayers and receiving the grace conveyed by the blessed sacrament. A few of us have been staying away out of genuine fear for our health and the health of others, and some will still need to stay home, but many more have been looking for a reason to come back, and I think Christmas is all the reason we need.
We are also changing our policies to make masks optional for all fully vaccinated individuals starting this Sunday evening at our children’s Christmas pageant. Now that children five and over have had the chance to receive the vaccine, we sense that the vast majority of the St. Paul’s congregation is fully vaccinated. We know of no community spread that has been traced to St. Paul’s, and, with new variants arising, we will continue to monitor active cases in the congregation and in the wider community. If needed, we will change our policies again. You may always wear a mask at St. Paul’s, but, if you are fully vaccinated, this Christmas you may worship again without a mask.
This will be our second Christmas in a row that has been affected by the pandemic. Do you remember last year, when we watched the service online and then lined up in the street in front of the church to come in one household at a time to receive Communion before heading back home? It was the best we could do because it felt unsafe to gather inside as a congregation. As important as it was to offer some way to commune with God and each other, so much was missing that night, including many of you. This year, we will be back inside, and I hope the church will feel full.
Our services will be at 4:00 p.m., 6:00 p.m., and 11:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve and at 10:00 a.m. on Christmas Day. On Christmas Eve, music and singing will start about thirty minutes before each service, and the 4:00 p.m. service will take place both in the parish hall and in the church. On Sunday, December 26, we will have Holy Eucharist at 7:30 a.m. and sing our favorite Christmas hymns at our Lessons and Carols services at 8:45 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.. The Christmas season continues for twelve days, and we will conclude our celebrations on January 5 with a Twelfth Night Eucharist, supper, and the burning of the greens at the home of Jana and Mac Mayfield.
If you can, make plans to join us at St. Paul’s this Christmas. If not, continue worshipping with us online and know that we miss you just as you miss us. There is a deep longing within our community to see each other and be whole again. What that means in the months and years ahead is still uncertain, but the desire to be together in church remains universal. My prayer this Christmas is that all of us will recognize in the Feast of the Incarnation that we have a place of welcome in God’s church—the body of Christ—and that those who are able to participate in person will do so. Being together as fully as we can is an expression of joy and comfort we need this year more than ever.
Yours Faithfully,
Evan