Christmas Eve, 2020

Dear Hyde Park Family,

(Outdoor candle lighting has been canceled Christmas Eve, due to forecast stormy weather; full Christmas Eve schedule of services is here. Please see more at the end of today’s message.)

From a Sermon on Christmas Eve
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
(Preached on Dec. 24, 1967, at Ebenezer Baptist Church)

This Christmas season finds us a rather bewildered human race. We have neither peace within nor peace without. Everywhere paralyzing fears harrow people by day and haunt them by night. Our world is sick with war; everywhere we turn we see its ominous possibilities. And yet, my friends, the Christmas hope for peace and good will toward all men can no longer be dismissed as a kind of pious dream of some utopian. If we don’t have good will toward men in this world, we will destroy ourselves by the misuse of our own instruments and our own power…

I have a dream that one day men will rise up and come to see that they are made to live together as brothers.

I still have a dream this morning that one day every Negro in this country, every colored person in the world, will be judged on the basis of the content of his character rather than the color of his skin, and every man will respect the dignity and worth of human personality.

I still have a dream that one day the idle industries of Appalachia will be revitalized, and the empty stomachs of Mississippi will be filled, and brotherhood will be more than a few words at the end of a prayer, but rather the first order of business on every legislative agenda.

I still have a dream today that one day justice will roll down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I still have a dream today that in all of our state houses and city halls men will be elected to go there who will do justly and love mercy and walk humbly with their God.

I still have a dream today that one day war will come to an end, that men will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks, that nations will no longer rise up against nations, neither will they study war anymore.

I still have a dream today that one day the lamb and the lion will lie down together, and every man will sit under his own vine and fig tree and none shall be afraid.

I still have a dream today that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill will be made low, the rough places will be made smooth and the crooked places straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

I still have a dream that with this faith we will be able to adjourn the councils of despair and bring new light into the dark chambers of pessimism. With this faith we will be able to speed up the day when there will be peace on earth and good will toward men. It will be a glorious day, the morning stars will sing together, and the sons of God will shout for joy.

On behalf of the staff and lay leadership of Hyde Park United Methodist, I wish you and yours a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Let us move into 2021 with a renewed commitment to “bring new light into the dark chambers of pessimism,” and work together to fulfill God’s vision for the world.

Hope, Peace, Joy and Love,

Magrey

The Rev. Magrey deVega
Senior Pastor, Hyde Park United Methodist

CHRISTMAS EVE AT HYDE PARK
For the full schedule of our online Christmas Eve services, visit our website. Unfortunately, due to anticipated inclement weather on Thursday evening, we will not be conducting our Candle Lighting Ceremonies on either campus.

THIS SUNDAY: Amen! Hallelujah!
Join us this Sunday as we conclude our amazing year-long journey through the Bible with Revelation, a book that gives us encouragement and hope for the present day. On Jan. 3, we will welcome the new year and share in a grand celebration of all we have experienced as part of The Bible Project 2020. A schedule of online and outdoor tent services is on our website.

MIDWEEK MESSAGE TO RESUME IN JANUARY
The Midweek Message will take a brief break and will resume in early January.