Now It Begins

It has been a rough few weeks for us and the nation. We are preparing for our annual meeting and looking towards the future. We had a beautiful Advent and Christmas season, but our work as people of God really is just beginning. Wilmington just swore in the newly elected leaders that have promised a rebirth for our city. We wonder, could this be the change we need. Our nation is struggling with the transition of power, leaving many to wonder if supporters on either side will ever see eye to eye.

If ever a time came for God to help us, it's now. Yet, God has helped us in the Christ child, and Howard Thurman reminds us of that. Howard Thurman is an African-American theologian, educator, and Civil Rights leader. In his poem “Now the Work of Christmas Begins” he reminds us that our story does not end with the hushed wings of angels and the fading of the Epiphany star.

Our story, together, begins.

When the song of the angels is stilled, when the star in the sky is gone, when the kings and princes are home, when the shepherds are back with their flocks, the work of Christmas begins: to find the lost, to heal the broken, to feed the hungry, to release the prisoner, to rebuild the nations, to bring peace among the people, to make music in the heart.