By Mother Maddie

Before my family fell in love with church, we fell in love with the ballet. Our home was often full of Russian ballet dancers and choreographers whose bodies and minds seemed to accomplish the impossible. I was three years old the first time I watched them dance the Grand Pas De Deux in Act II of the Nutcracker. Sitting backstage under the prop table, my own costume itching my neck, the majesty of the moment enraptured me. Through the bright glare of stage lights, I watched the Prince lift the Sugar Plum over his head. I was too young to worry he might drop her. As far as I could tell, it was all pure magic.

I was ten years old when we first stumbled into an Episcopal Church, just old enough to begin to lose the wonder of Christmas. But behind the thick wooden doors of that neighborhood church, new mystery awaited. In chanted prayers and swinging smoke, I could feel that something mysterious was happening on the Altar, something tremendous that I could not yet name. My heart was stirred. I wanted nothing more than to get as close as I could to that glory.

That is the gift we hope to give you on Christmas. In the transcendent music, the stunning flowers, the beautiful vestments, we hope to open the eyes of your heart to God's great love for you. Not magic, but mystery – the mysterious reality that the God of the Cosmos emptied himself to be born of a Virgin, bridging the gap between earth and heaven once and for all. Because of Christ's Incarnation, the world is alive with the presence of God, imbued with his glorious majesty. Light shines in the darkness, which the darkness shall never overcome.

But all too often, we miss the mystery. We cannot see the Light shining in every corner of God's creation. We cannot find the Incarnate Lord, alive in our fellow man. We cannot rouse our hearts to joy. At least, not without a little help.

This is the work of the Church, to help you encounter the depth of God's love for you. Every liturgy is a gift to you in which we pray you will experience a moment of astounding beauty, a little foretaste of the heavenly glory which surrounds us. We hope to bring the Gospel to life for you, especially in this season.

This is a gift worth sharing, so invite a friend or a neighbor or a loved one to join you at Transfiguration this Christmas. Perhaps your invitation will spark a little joy and wonder about the God who is born for them on that most holy night. In your invitation, a little miracle might unfold. Someone in our pews this Christmas will hear this song of hope for the very first time, will meet God on the Altar for the very first time, will learn that they are lavishly loved by God for the very first time. Only God knows how that mystery will change their lives and how it will continue to transform yours.

Mtr. Maddie