Comment: For Christmas Eve, 1993, we went to a simple format. The liturgist and I alternated as we did prayers, carols, and scripture texts about Mary, Joseph, and Jesus, and concluded with a candlelight ceremony.

Planning for 1994 again made us search our imaginations. Maybe these moods go in cycles. We felt we wanted something more for this new year. I suggested the "You Are There" format (from CBS's radio and television programs of that name) and that got several excited. It involved people from the congregation but required little actual preparation. We never knew for sure who would come!

Picking the time to which to go back, though, was a problem. The wisemen wouldn't be around yet on the night Jesus was born! We decided to go back to "Twelfth Night," knowing we could still intervie…