Archbishop Fred Hiltz, Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, has written a special message for Christmas 2011. The full text follows.
Dear sisters and brothers,
As long as I live I expect that every Christmas my heart will take me back to the midnight Eucharist in St. John’s Church, Lunenburg where I served for a number of years. The air was sweet with the smell of natural spruce tied on long garlands hung around the church. Everyone’s face was radiant with candlelight. From the balcony, a chorister would sing the carol of Christmas Eve, “O Holy Night.”
Within that carol are these lines:
A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices.
For yonder breaks, a new and glorious morn.
Indeed Christmas comes with its thrill of hope for the world and its promise of peace for all people. It seems to me that the church’s calling is to so embody that hope and peace that it is more than thrill and promise. It is revealed in song and service, in prayer and perseverance, in joy and justice all grounded in God’s reconciling love made known.
The holy child whom we adore becomes the Lord we trust, the Lord whose love transforms all evil and estrangement, all suffering and despair. Pray dear friends that as we bend the knee in adoration, we may give our hearts to his love and his ways in the world.
May your Christmas be holy, good, and peaceful and the New Year blessed with much happiness in Him.
Fred J. Hiltz
Archbishop and Primate