Christmas Greeting from the ILAG Pastoral Team

Matthew 1:23: "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means, God with us).

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

May our Lord of grace, mercy, love and peace be with all of you.

We are close to celebrating the time when Jesus Christ was born to give us the gift of grace. And as we celebrate, we remember and lift up our prayer of gratitude for this gift. We also are grateful for the gift of being a church together, for being part of God´s family, and for being able to celebrate this event with all of you.

But the most important thing to remember is that God is with us, the Immanuel. When we read the Gospel of Matthew, we witness how God works through us to do great things. Every time we read the Gospel story of Mary and Joseph, two faithful servants of God, chosen to accomplish a big plan, we cannot help ourselves but be amazed by their faith and courage.

This leads us to think about our partnership, how we were chosen to serve God´s people in need, in bad times and good times, how we were chosen to be partners, how we were asked to be a voice for the ones who have no voice, how we are part of God´s plan in fighting for justice, for love, for peace.

We are grateful for the partnership we share, for the great experiences we have lived together during this year of 2016: walking together, this journey we are on, and how much our churches and our faith have grown from this relationship.

There have been joyful moments, sad moments, bad moments, good moments, but in the midst of all of this, we remain together in one faith, one God.

Grateful is a word we repeat a lot, as we have received more than words can say. We have been blessed by your friendship, your support, your prayers.

Receive Christmas greetings from your brothers and sisters in Guatemala. We always pray for you.

Immanuel, God with us.

The Rev. Karen Castillo and the Pastoral Team of the Iglesia Luterana Agustina de Guatemala