In that time we've had productions of works by Shakespeare, Sophocles and local playwrights.

With each production bringing its own set and a different vibe to the room.

This time we brought the lights.

As 120 people gathered to sing carols and celebrate the magic of Christmas; that God would send his son, 'the light', into the world as a human; with a name.

“The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.” — John 1:9

‭That's why Christmas lights are so good. Christmas is all about lights.

“She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” — Matthew 1:21

We even had a dash of Farsi, first O Holy Night, then the story of Jesus read in Farsi by Masoud, and in English by Jonas.

Christmas has a way of bringing people together; young and old, families, and people from different tribes and tongues, and nations. All people with names; names that mean and signify something to others (even if your life isn't synonymous with the meaning of your name in the baby name books). Names are universal. They're part of our humanity.

At Christmas, the light that gives life gets a name.

Jesus.

The one who saves; God with us; becomes one of us and is named Jesus. He becomes 'The Christ'... and so, this is Christmas. The magic. The miraculous. The beauty that truly brings a people together in a way that tears down the boundaries we would put up if not for Christmas. Between each other; across divides like age, and language, and nation... but more than that... the barrier between us and God; the finite and the infinite, the sinners and the Holy... that barrier is bridged as God becomes human; and then as that human goes on to offer us a way back to God; as he saves us from our sin.

Merry Christmas. Why not join us at 9am on Christmas morning, in the Billie Brown Theatre, for more celebrating of the magic of this 'season'...