One Christmas Eve a few years ago, as our congregation here in Denver stood together in a circle in the dark sanctuary, singing “Silent Night”, I was incredibly struck by the power of a community holding candlelight and singing in the night. “This is who we are,” I thought, “This is who we have always been. This is Church throughout time and space!” This is the poem that came out of that night.
A few years later, on Christmas Eve of 2020, after months and months of pandemic shut-down, fears, and Zoom church, I stood with five other people – three families – distanced and masked. In the darkened sanctuary, with the rest of the congregation on Zoom in their homes, the six of us lit our candles and sang “Silent Night.” The power of that moment left me choked and voiceless, and for the first time in my life, I was nearly unable to sing the song. But I managed to choke it out. In spite of pandemic and loss, in the face of a Creation that has been devastated and of human lives devalued, and the seemingly endless struggle to fight those systems of destruction – in the face of all that, separated and masked, the Church – here in Denver, and around the world – still dares to hold a candle and sing in the night.
Because this is who we are. This is who we have always been.
The full reading is below, and is also available as a PDF file.
We stood in a circle around the darkened sanctuary on a cold December evening. We held our candles up high and sang. And I thought, “This is the Church, throughout time and space, holding a light in the night. And singing.” This is who we are: This is Church: Holding light. Not the light of Absolute Truth. Not the light of My Way. Not the light of Colonization. But the light of defiance and hope. The light that shines even when the gloom is a given. Even when all our phone calls, all our letters, all our work and voting, all our organizing and reaching out, all our rallies and marches don’t make a difference, Even as fascism rears its alluring head and seduces the masses with its Siren song and easy answers, Even then: A candle in the night. This is who we are: This is Church: Movement. Acting. Singing in the night. Ritual and voting. Prayer. Dismantling systems that oppress and destroy. A fight against extinction. The power of love.