Words for the Beginning, Christmas Eve

This year our Advent theme is “Words for the Beginning,” and the materials and resources have been created by A Sanctified Art. The creators write: “Advent is a season of endings and beginnings. As the calendar year comes to a close, a new church year begins. Christ's birth ushers us into new ways of  living and loving; and yet, the world as we know it spins madly on. In many ways, pregnant Mary was surrounded by endings–large and small, personal and political. But Mary proclaimed hope in a God who was and is making all things new. Christ's birth offered a beautiful new beginning for shepherds and Magi alike–all the while, King Herod tried to bring Christ's story to an end. When we ourselves navigate seasons filled with endings and beginnings, we need reminders. We need words that can feel like steady ground, like a path for our feet to find as…