Join us on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2019 at 6:30pm for the Divine Liturgy celebrating the Nativity of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Christmas 2019
Dear Members and Friends of St. Peter’s,
The Nativity of Christ changed the world. That memory is dimming in our culture in our day but the effects resound nonetheless. People live in a world shaped by Christianity even if they don’t realize anymore that the birth of Christ is the event that shaped it.
That’s not true of Christians, or at least it shouldn’t be. If it is, then those Christians cease to be Christian. Through their neglect they will slowly drift into the stream of disillusionment that dominates the present culture.
They may still hold a nominal belief in their heart, but the knowledge of how to live a transformed life that offers the hope and power to make sense of our hardships and deal with them will diminish and may even vanish.
This disillusionment is a source of great confusion and suffering for many. People are looking for the Savior. But to reach the Savior, those looking for Him must find the people and place where they can find Him.
It is very difficult for a person to find Christ alone. A person will encounter Christ in an individual way, but faith flourishes elsewhere, in a community of believers – in a Church. For that reason, Christ must be born in our hearts as well.
The vision of St. Peter’s is that we become the place where those who seek the Savior can find Him. Two thousand years ago Christ entered the world in a cave. Today He is found in His Church, among those in whom Christ dwells.
May your Nativity be blessed, filled with God’s grace and a deepening knowledge of his power in your life. May God be glorified in all things.
Yours in Jesus Christ who was born in a cave and laid in a manger for our salvation,
Fr. Hans Jacobse