Does Christmas Mean Something?

Does Christmas Mean Something?

by | Dec 19, 2021 | Sermons

I was recently speaking with a man from the community who was both repelled and fascinated by the Church and religion. He had a lot of questions, but one in particular intrigued me. He asked, “What were holidays like Christmas originally designed to do for people? Is there a way to dial it back so that holidays actually mean something other than spending?”

I’ve been asked a lot of things over the years, but this question was new and is more important than I think the man asking it realized. At its core, this question is both an indictment of the Church and a plea for some shred of hope. It’s an indictment because, if the Church had been living its mission, the question would be unnecessary. But it also contains the hope that maybe there’s still some way to peel back all the layers and find something that can help us get through this life with a sense of meaning and purpose.

In this sermon, I explore his question and the larger meaning of Christmas.

— Pastor Anne

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Christmas Eve at Crawford

Christmas Eve at Crawford

by | Dec 13, 2021 | News

With services and live music both indoors and outdoors this Christmas Eve,
we hope you will join us wherever and however you feel most comfortable:

5:00pm Service of lessons and carols, indoors and
streamed live on Facebook and YouTube
6:30pm Community-wide Carol Sing outdoors,
on our front steps (dress for the weather!)
NEW!  7:00pm Outdoor service, back by popular demand!  NEW!
30-minute service of lessons and pre-recorded music
10:30pm 30-minute concert of Christmas selections
by the Occasional Brass Quintet
11:00pm Service of lessons and carols, indoors and
streamed live on Facebook and YouTube

All are welcome! Please wear a mask to help keep everyone safe.

Our Christmas offering this year will be donated to two of our favorite charities: Mission of Deeds and the Woburn Council of Social Concern. You can donate with a check or cash in person, through our website here, or by texting CrawfordXmas to 44-321.

Preparing the Way

Preparing the Way

by | Dec 12, 2021 | Sermons

I don’t think there’s a time of the year when we are more focused on preparations than the Christmas season. We groan under the weight of baking, shopping, writing cards, wrapping, decorating, and all the things that go along with the season. And in the midst of all that hustle and bustle, there is this strange and annoying man in the Gospel—John the Baptist—telling us that there is yet one more preparation to be made. We need to prepare the way of the Lord. But how?

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Poinsettias

Poinsettias

by | Dec 6, 2021 | Conversations

This is an excerpt from the Blessing of the Greens service conducted by Rev. Anne Robertson at Crawford Memorial UMC on Sunday, December 5, 2021. You can read more of the history she shared about the origins of our Christmas decorations, here.

The most popular flower of the Advent-Christmas season is the bright red poinsettia. First introduced to the United States in 1828 by Dr. Joel Robert Poinsett–our first foreign minister to Mexico–this brilliant tropical plant is called by the people of Mexico and Central America, the Flower of the Holy Night.

A charming Mexican legend explains its origin. Having finished running his daily errands, an orphan boy named Pedro sadly counted his centavos. There were hardly enough of them to buy his evening meal. “Come with us to the cathedral,” urged his friends. “No,” answered Pedro, “I have no money to buy a gift.”

“Take this,” suggested one of his practical friends, pointing to a weed by the side of the road. Hesitantly Pedro picked the stringy weed, climbed the steep hill to the church, and slowly made his way to the altar with its Mexican manger scene. Kneeling, he reverently laid his gift in front of the figure of the Christ Child. He soon became aware of the murmuring crowd. In wide-eyed amazement, he saw a dazzling and beautiful scarlet flower where only dried leaves had existed a moment before. His humble offering had been miraculously transformed.

The poinsettia has also been used to symbolize the more tragic side of Jesus’ coming. It reminds us of the blood of the male infants killed by Roman soldiers as King Herod sought to find the child that would threaten his throne. It also symbolizes the blood that Jesus would shed on the Cross.

The Day the Sun Exploded

The Day the Sun Exploded

by | Nov 29, 2021 | Sermons

The first Sunday of Advent is the first Sunday of the Christian Year, which is structured around the life of Jesus. It seems natural that we would begin the Christian year with preparation for Jesus birth; but the Church has always recommended that we actually start at the end, with a discussion about the end of the world and Jesus’ return. I can be a liturgical rebel, but this week I’m going to go with the flow and start at the end. I spent a lot of time in my younger years focused there, and I learned a few things from that experience.

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