I love the holidays. I enjoy Advent candles and the Christmas decorations, picking out a tree, the midnight service on Christmas Eve. And, I occasionally find them stressful. There’s always a lot to do. As an employee of the church I’ve had to print all the extra bulletins, make sure we had plenty of candles and other advent supplies, and prepare for Christmas, in addition to my own personal Christmas preparations. Most years I had a long to-do list.
It’s at times like these that we should strive to be conscious of the needs of the congregation. It’s easy to get caught up in the tasks that await us or to focus on our own families and neglect the church family. This may not be true of everyone, but I have found that, as a church employee, when I have a long to-do list, answering requests from parishioners goes down on my list of priorities. I’m more worried about checking all the immediate tasks off the list then attending to the less concrete needs of the congregation. I can become more concerned with the Christmas bulletins rather than considering whether parishioners have the support they need during what can be a difficult season for some people.