When Love Looked New

On Christmas Eve, something quietly magical happened in our Sanctuary.

As the lights dimmed and candles were lifted high, many began to see the glow of candlelight in a new way. Thanks to a thoughtful gift from our Minister with Children and Families Mardi Bowen, each point of light became a heart. Through special “heart glasses,” candle flames shimmered and multiplied—filling the room with floating reminders that love had arrived.

It was a simple idea, and a profound one.

Love didn’t just arrive at Christmas; it changed how we saw something so familiar to us. For a few holy moments, the familiar ritual of candlelight was transformed. The faces around us softened. Children smiled in wonder. Adults lingered a little longer. Light became love, and love became visible.

That’s the promise of Christmas: when Christ arrives, the world doesn’t just look brighter, it looks different. It looks new!

And now, as we move beyond Christmas and into the season of Ordinary Time after Epiphany, we carry that vision with us. Epiphany proclaims that Christ’s light is not hidden or fleeting. Glory is revealed! The same love that arrived in Bethlehem continues to shine—calling us to look again, to see more clearly, and to recognize God’s presence in the familiar.

Those heart-shaped lights were a gift for one night, but the invitation remains:
What if we learned to see the world – our neighbors, our church, our calling – through the lens of Christ’s love?

As we begin our new worship series, Glory Revealed, we’ll explore how God’s light continues to break into our lives. We invite you to join us this Sunday as we begin the series with fresh eyes to the beauty, promise, and presence of God among us.

 Love has arrived.

And now, God’s glory is being revealed … sometimes in extraordinary ways, and sometimes as simply as a candle, a heart, and a changed perspective.

By Nancy Bryan-Ellison
Photos by Brook Benavides