From the Pastor: Dec 2025

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”  John 1:5

Dear Friends, 

December arrives with a hush and a promise. The days grow short, the nights long, and yet—somehow—hope grows brighter.  Advent is the season of leaning: leaning into mystery, into waiting, into the quiet assurance that God is coming near.  

Thanksgiving is the blessed bridge into this advent of God’s love, because we begin our December journey with gratitude.  It’s a good starting place for working and praying for the light to come. Our stewardship season has been a testament to the faithfulness of this community. Through your pledges, prayers, and presence, you’ve declared that Katonah Presbyterian Church is not just a place—it’s a people. A people committed to caring, to justice, to belonging. Thank you for giving generously, trusting deeply, and planting seeds that will bear fruit in the year to come.  I hope that your sense of belonging to this family deepens as the holidays draw near.

And now, we turn toward Bethlehem. Not with fanfare, but with wonder. The Christ child comes not in splendor, but in vulnerability. Not to the powerful, but to the poor. Not to the center, but to the margins. And in that holy reversal, we find our true center.  This December, may we make room—for silence, for joy, for each other. May we remember that the greatest gift is not under a tree, but in a manger. And may we lean into the light that no darkness can overcome.

With deep gratitude and Christmas hope,

Love and light

Martin