Dear FCC Family,
Our Christmas celebration this year will be a special one. It is not our usual Christmas where we gather as one big family to celebrate together, but this year is a year that is far from usual. We wanted to find a way to celebrate Christmas with the spirt of Christmas, and at the same time work within the restrictions and measures put in place to protect all of us during this pandemic.
We asked ourselves-what is Christmas without singing Christmas carols and eating together? So the idea of having satellites hosting small groups was born. We are grateful for all the hosts who opened up their homes to become satellites–making this an intimate Christmas celebration.
We look forward to being able to worship and fellowship together physically as one big family soon, but for now, we hope we can worship and fellowship together in spirit as one big family.
Last week, I re-read Rev Yap’s Christmas letter from 2014 and I want to share an excerpt with you. I hope this will be meaningful to you as we celebrate Christmas this year.
“In our time, we have come to this historical moment to look more upon Jesus as he stood with the marginalized communities of the poor & needy, stigmatized & discriminated, victimized & oppressed. Jesus represents now not one to be worshiped but a way of life to be lived. He was faithful to his God as serendipitous creativity and engaged in the evolutionary process of creating communities which are more human & humane through expressing reconciliation & love, justice & peace, freedom and creativity. This creative process continues on today and we are called to participate and move into the yet unknown future.
May we be challenged as we celebrate and commit our lives to this same process of change and transformation. Our intention is to shape a more inclusive egalitarian community that welcomes all sorts and conditions of all people regardless of their gender, sexual orientation, economic status, racial, religious, and ethnic background. This is to establish shalom.” -Rev Yap Kim Hao, 14 Dec 2014
Wishing you a joyous Christmas and a hopeful New Year.
Pauline & Miak