The Cayman Islands are within the ancient
Episcopal Jurisdiction
of
The Bishop of London granted him by the Crown in 1634
St Alban’s (Grand Cayman) & St
Mary’s (Cayman Brac)
Church & Office - 461 Shedden Road
P O Box 719, Grand Cayman KY1-1103, CAYMAN ISLANDS
Tel (345) 949 2757 : Fax (345)
949 0619
www.churchofenglandcayman.com
rector@churchofenglandcayman.com
25 Dec 2011
Welcome
to St Alban’s Anglican Church
CHRISTMAS DAY
Today's Scripture: Isaiah 62: 6-end Titus 3: 4-7 S. Luke 2: 1-20
Today: 9.00
a.m. Matins; 9.30 a.m. Christmas Eucharist; 6 p.m. Evening Prayer
Mon, Tues, Wed: 12.30
p.m. HC. Sat 10 a.m. Prison Ministry
Next Sunday: 9.00 a.m. Matins; 9.30 a.m. Holy Eucharist; 6.00
p.m. EP.
Christmas Day
Almighty
God, who hast given us thy only-begotten Son to take our nature upon him, and
as at this time to be born of a pure Virgin; Grant that we being regenerate,
and made thy children by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by thy Holy
Spirit; through the same our Lord Jesus Christ, who liveth
and reigneth with thee and the same Spirit, ever one
God, world without end.
FAITH
IN FOCUS: NEVER-ENDING STORY
We all
know the Christmas story backwards. From our earliest days we have cherished
all the details from the ox and the ass to the Wise Men bearing gifts. And each
year we come and celebrate in song and drama as the details unfold of what
happened two thousand years ago.
But
what if Jesus were to be born today? What if the Incarnation were not just a
historical event but a daily birth? What if God asked each of us to be made in
his image and likeness and be born into the world, to bring freshness and hope
to our surroundings, to be a source of life and joy to those with whom we share
our life?
And,
of course, he does.
Christmas
is the feast of God’s humbleness. It is when God asks the greatest favour of us all. He begs us to be born again, to start all
over once more like his baby Son, so that we may be images of his unseen
Godhead. He asks us to live in such a way that the eternal goodness of his
being may once more become apparent in our world. He trusts us to co-operate
with his divine nature by agreeing to portray our human nature at its best.
Christmas
is the feast of God’s humanity. There is no aspect of our lives (whether it be ecstasy or pain, glory or humiliation, creativity or
frustration) that God is not involved in. Through the birth of his Son he
shares our humanity to the full so that we may catch a glimpse of his divinity.
There is no concern of ours that is too lowly for God.
So the
Christmas story continues in every generation. God never stops offering to be
born again in the lives of men and women who are open to his life-giving
Spirit. The miracle of Christmas is that God still trusts us enough to be born in
us each day. And if we come to church to celebrate Christmas it is not simply
that we enjoy the story. It’s because we are answering God’s call to keep
telling it by our lives.