A Message from Pastor Kaji

Dear Church: 

Thank you to everyone who contributed to and helped us prepare the kitchen and the meal kits for our families. On Monday we distributed the kits, and once again, families received them with deep gratitude. It is always a gift to witness care offered so faithfully and received so fully. We are already looking ahead to our next distribution in the new year, and we will continue to gather donations in the meantime. Please keep an eye out for opportunities to give and serve as they arise.

I am also grateful for the people directly and indirectly impacted by the recent violence in the shooting deaths and injuries at Brown University, and the deaths by suicide at two schools within a 5 block radius of our church. We gathered for an impromptu prayer service co-hosted by the Interfaith Center of New York on Saturday night. Abundant thanks to Chaplain Vanessa Lindley, the Rev. Dr. Chloe Breyer and Stephanie Wilson for coming in on her day off to ensure that we could open our space for this important moment. In the lead up to the service, I crafted two guides for the families. Please read and share them with anyone who might be helped by them: 

After a School Shooting: A Pastoral Guide for the Living from Pastor Kaji 

After a Suicide Loss: A Pastoral Guide from Pastor Kaji

I also want to extend my thanks to C. Anthony Bryant for his extraordinary music leadership on Cantata Sunday. His care, creativity, and musical excellence continue to shape our worship life in profound ways, and last Sunday was a beautiful offering.

As we look ahead, I hope you will join us for Christmas Eve: Lessons & Carols, on Wednesday, December 24, at 5:00 pm. This service will be rich with scripture and song, with many of the readings led by our children and youth. It promises to be a meaningful way to mark the birth of Christ together.

Please note two important things: after Christmas Eve, the church will take a break until we come back together for worship on January 4th. Which means that, next week, we will have only online worship. With much of our congregation traveling and our very stretched, exhausted staff, this is the most faithful option. I hope that you can understand and support our staff in closing the office and going offline next week to enjoy some well-deserved rest. We are grateful for the care and patience of this community as we honor that time.

On Sunday, December 28, we will gather for Christmas I, with a reflection titled “Room Enough.” We will continue to sit with the nativity story, attending closely to Luke’s telling and what it reveals about hospitality, capacity, protection, and the quiet strategies of God at work among ordinary people under pressure.

Below you will find two study guides: one for Christmas Eve: Lessons & Carols, and one for Sunday, December 28. Whether you use them on your own, with family, or in conversation with others, may they serve as gentle companions in this holy season.

Pax Christi,

Pastor Kaji

Study Guide

Christmas Eve: Lessons & Carols

December 24, 2025 | 5:00 pm

Scripture Readings

Wisdom 9:1-6, 9-11 (Year A, p. 72); Isaiah 9:2-7  (Year A, p. 100-1); Luke 2:1-20 (Year A, p. 64-5); Colossians 1:15-20 (Year A, p. 73); 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (Year A, p. 64); John 1:1-14 (Year A, p. 74)

For Reflection

1. Wisdom’s prayer asks for guidance rooted not in power, but in relationship. Where do you most desire wisdom right now?
2. Isaiah speaks of light breaking into darkness. In Luke’s telling, that light arrives with sound and glory, but it is directed toward shepherds, not palaces. What does it mean to notice where God chooses to make that kind of announcement?
3. Luke’s nativity story unfolds through ordinary people and unexpected witnesses. What details feel newly alive to you this year?
4. Paul speaks of hope that holds grief and promise together. Where do you find yourself holding both?
5. John names the Word becoming flesh. What does it mean for you to consider God choosing nearness?

Practice for the Evening
As you move through Christmas Eve, notice moments of awe and moments of quiet. Let both be prayer.

Study Guide

Christmas I: Room Enough

Sunday, December 28, 2025

Scripture Reading
Luke 2:1–20 (Year A, Wilda C. Gafney)

For Reflection

1. Luke tells us there was “no place” for the Holy Family in the lodging. How does that language shift the way you hear the story?
2. What does it mean to imagine the nativity taking place in a home already stretched beyond capacity?
3. Where do you see care being practiced under pressure in your own life or community?
4. The angels announce the birth with overwhelming glory, but they direct that announcement to shepherds on the night shift. What does that suggest about who is trusted with good news?
5. Where do you sense God choosing protection, quiet, or strategy rather than visibility?

For Prayer or Journaling

• Where do you feel stretched right now?
• Where do you see love still showing up, even there?
• What might it mean to trust that there is room enough for God to meet you where you are?

Practice for the Week
Offer one small, ordinary act of care this week. Let it be enough.