Dear Friends,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life... (John 1:1-4)

This week, I read a profound Christmas reflection by Rachel Roth Aldhizer, who writes about her infant son, David, born with holoprosencephaly and a life expectancy of just two years. Rachel eloquently writes:

“It’s easy to see the image of the Holy Child we sentimentalize at Christmas in the face of a healthy, normal newborn. Jesus, we think, must have been a perfect child, in form and function. This Christmas, it’s the stark difference between my son and the images of the Christ Child we see in the manger that is peeling something back. Jesus was born at a time of cultural upheaval to a disgraced mother in the back of a barn; my baby was born to the flurry and rush of the NICU. While Mary might have cried in relief that her labor had ended, I sobbed in agony and great pain seeing the face of my son, whose unique set of birth defects points to a short and complex life.”

And yet Rachel so powerfully bears witness to the goodness and sovereignty of God who is at work in little David and in her:

“This Christmas, I’m looking with new eyes at the weak and the sick, and at all those whom God has humbled. Our Savior became one of them – one of us. This is the call Christ extends to us, that we die with him and be raised again in glory with him as new creations, to sing the song of praise he puts on our lips. In Christ’s strength, I am a mended toy who has found a new home, a testimony to God’s grace. Because I know that I have been loved first by the great king, who sought me out when I was broken, the most misfit of toys, I can now say with hope, ‘He is the Lord, let him do what is good in his eyes,’ not just with the life of my little son but with my life as well.”

Let me encourage you to read her article here.

And please take part in the upcoming events we’re co-hosting with Anglicans for Life for our diocese and the Anglican Church in North America:

The ySummit for youth on Thursday, January 20, 6:00-9:00 p.m. at The Falls Church Anglican and livestreamed for youth watch parties throughout our diocese and across the country.

The service of Morning Prayer on Friday, January 21 at 9:30 a.m. at The Falls Church Anglican and livestreamed, led by Bishops of the Anglican Church in North America, followed by the March for Life in Washington, DC.

Summit for Life, Saturday, January 22, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Falls Church Anglican and livestreamed. Speakers include renowned ethicist Wesley Smith and Professor Carter Snead, author of the acclaimed book, What It Means to Be Human.

Details are below.

Let’s join in honoring life as we learn and grow and pray together. Pray for those facing crisis pregnancies and end of life decisions. Pray for the unborn, the weak, the aged. Pray for our witness and for our ministries in support of those who are most vulnerable.

Faithfully yours in Christ,

The Rt. Rev. John A. M. Guernsey