Dear Friends,

I know this doesn't reach everyone in our Pastoral Charge, however, it does provide an opportunity for me to send greetings to those on our e-lists.

As I write this, I'm sitting by a partially decorated Christmas tree, and the boys are hanging their ornaments. Sam thinks that we should have some Christmas angel decorations, where one angel is posed for a slapshot, and the other is a goalie. As for me, I'd rather see a real angel. But, then again, when Mary and Joseph encountered angels, it threw their lives into chaos. God seems to work that way, shaking things up, and challenging us.

The Christmas story is not one of ease and comfort, but of trust that God is mysteriously working out divine plans, and will accompany us and guide us along the way. [Ok, it was easier to try to write something inspirational while listening to Liona Boyd's 'Christmas Dreams' CD. Now that the CD has been switched to 'HO! HO! HO! Party Music', any inspiration seems to have evaporated. Such are the many moods of Christmas.]

Bill, Sam, Cody and I extend our wishes to all of you for a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!