BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENT
I didn’t get married until I was almost 36, and then for the next ten years my wife and I were not able to have children. So I was 46 when my wife announced we were going to have a child. Because of a previous miscarriage we didn’t want to announce this good news until we were relatively certain this pregnancy would be full term. What we considered to be an appropriate waiting period took us up to the Advent season. On the first Sunday of Advent as I lit a candle for John the Baptist, I read the story of Elizabeth and Zacharias. After a few minutes of reflection I added “This year I know how Zacharias felt because we are going to have a baby.” There was no reaction–so as the Christmas angel would have said long ago, I said in 1993: “This is an announcement.” I will never forget the applause, cheers and tears. As if to underscore the…
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