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Indulging in some Christmas nostalgia recently I was musing about how busy I used to be during the holidays. (For about 12 years, I was fully immersed in church ministry, most of that time at Unity-Midtown Church in Atlanta, GA.)  One memory led to another and I suddenly recalled a talk I once gave there at Christmastime called "Put the X back in Xmas!" My curiosity thus piqued, I wanted to know what I'd said.

It turned out the recording was one of many Husband Roo had already uploaded to our computer last winter. I did some research and, as it turns out, the talk was part of a Unity-Midtown Sunday service exactly 20 years ago, in 1995, when Christmas Eve fell on a Sunday. Listening to it was like traveling back in time. But where I ended up was not so much in the Past as in a space of wonderful Presence. How amazing to find inspiration from my 44 year old self ringing true and being helpful to me today!

A link to the recording is below. Roo has graciously edited the original so mostly what you'll hear is my talk. At the conclusion, however, there's a lovely rendition of Ave Maria sung by Helen-Marie accompanied by B.J. Sharp, both of whom provided the music for the church at that time. The sound quality is pretty good but because we invited audience participation, there are a few uneven spots. We edited out a bit that came earlier in the service when I asked each person in the congregation to write out a blessing on a piece of paper. (You'll hear some reference to that on the recording.)

If you're feeling at all depressed or harried by the Season, or simply want to hear how my creativity found an outlet before I started painting, I invite you to take some time to listen to this rather non-traditional and actually quite spiritual way of thinking about Christmas. I realize that measured by the amount of attention we normally give to such things these days, 35 minutes is almost an interminable length of time. However, if you've got the stamina, I hope you enjoy it! (And feel free to write out your own blessing ....)

I wish you a very Merry Christmas!

Ellie

"Put the X Back in Xmas!"