by Eddie Pipkin

We here at Excellence in Ministry Coaching would like to wish you a joyous Christmas with some solid rest and reflection once all the events are done and with some quality time with the people you love. I thought I would share with you a little nugget from five years ago, some verses I penned to celebrate (tongue firmly implanted in cheek) all the hard work you do.

Here is the little parody poem I wrote five years ago, an homage to “Twas the Night Before Christmas” (“A Visit from St. Nicholas”). It celebrate the intense workload of one of the two busiest seasons for ministry practitioners and volunteers:

Twas the day after Christmas,

And in the church house,

Not a noise to be heard,

Not even a mouse.

The preacher was conked out,

Exhausted completely,

While the Music Director

Snored in tune, softly, sweetly.

The Minister of Children

Was washing off glitter,

While the youth guy was posting

Fresh pics on his twitter.

The worship space glowed

With one left-on light

The creche was upturned,

No angels in sight.

Sheep costumes cast off,

Sunday School rooms imploded,

And the kitchen sink with

Empty food trays exploded.

Most seats were now bearing

Newsletters discarded,

While others showed wax drips

From candles unguarded.

Poinsettias were wilting

The live tree was brown,

The wise men were tilting,

The star sagging down.

But the sweet strains of silence

Carried echoes of grace,

From the Scripture and prayers

That had passed in this place.

Of the people who’d gathered

Together to sing

Of the hope of the ages,

This Child born a King.

Of Bethlehem town

And no room for the stranger,

But peace for us all

From a babe in a manger.

This church, like all churches,

The large and the small

Had hosted this Good News

Of love for us all.

Because those who serve

In the ministries there

Had mastered the chaos,

God’s glory was shared.

So celebrate gladly,

You’ve served the Lord well,

You’ve all been a blessing,

Your hearts should be swelled.

And you all

should be resting,

Aplop on your keisters,

‘Cause you know in just four months

It’s gonna’ be Easter.

If you did the five-years-ago math, you picked up on the fact that these playful words were composed in 2020. They acknowledged the hard work all the church folk routinely engage in, having a good laugh along the way, but little did any of us know that within a couple of months the world as we knew it would be turned upside down.

Looking at these words now, it’s worth noting how some things never change — the churchwork of this year is largely the same it has always been, with the same familiar rhythms and events — but also changed in subtle and not-so-subtle ways from what it was in 2020, the pre-pandemic days.

We can rest with gratitude that we have been able to gather together to celebrate our traditions. But we do so knowing that there is never a guarantee that we can predict what will be happening in the months ahead. There never was, of course.

The only guarantee, the Christmas promise, is that God is in the details and we are all working together towards a common goal, taking strength and hope from one another.

So, Merry Christmas, and thanks for your devotion to the work that you do with excellence.

Be sure and take that nap you earned!

(By the way, if you read the poem, you’ll note one anachronism, a reference to a thing that no longer exists, history having passed it by. The first person to name that anomaly in the Comments section gets a $20 donation to the charity of their choice!)