The Christmas hymns and carols being among the most lovely, sing-able, and familiar, are also among the most richly doctrinal. I know of no other time of the year where so many Evangelical and Protestant congregations (from all sections of the worship-style spectrum) are singing and meditating on such explicitly creedal confessions of the church and Scripture with such frequency and regularity.

I realize that there is a spectrum of opinion and conviction amongst the readership of Ref21. There are those in the Reformed orbit who are entirely opposed to singing hymns in corporate worship, to say nothing of any sort of acknowledgment of anything even vaguely approximating the liturgical calendar! Those convictions are certainly respected and respectable, but (fair warning) for adherents of such a position, the following article will probably serve only as an irritant.
However, for those within the Reformed communion who do not hold to the aforementioned convictions, I suspect many of you might be like me: I serve in a Reformed Christian tradition where large segments of our denomination do not observe a church calendar or liturgical year. A few congregations do, a few more have a quasi-Advent observance during the month of December. But really for the majority of congregations, it’s simply the weekly cycle of Lord’s Day Morning worship and Lord’s Day Evening worship each and every Sunday.
There are a whole host of reasons for this reality and the aim here is not to debate the merits or detractions of a liturgical calendar, but simply to point out that (in American Protestantism at least) regardless of how high-church or low-church an individual congregation may be, almost every congregation I know of gives some sort of head-nod to the two predominant “festival” days of the year: Easter and Christmas.
We can argue another day about whether this should be. There is a venerable tradition of its custom, particularly coming out of the Continental Reformed Tradition.[1] But I digress.
No, the point of this article (assuming the reality of Christmas and the hymns that accompany it) is to give some attention to the theologically rich and particularly creedal congregational singing that comes ‘round at Christmastime.
In addition to the Christmas hymns and carols being among the most lovely, sing-able, and familiar, are also among the most richly doctrinal. I know of no other time of the year where so many Evangelical and Protestant congregations (from all sections of the worship-style spectrum) are singing and meditating on such explicitly creedal confessions of the church and Scripture with such frequency and regularity.
Perhaps it is lamentable that this is a phenomenon that does not happen more often. But the national worship scene being what it is, it is worth celebrating the fact that such singing is happening and that our Christian worship as is the more blessed and enriched because of it.
If you will indulge me a few examples and comparisons, I think you will see why such creedal hymnody encourages me and moves me to consider that the state of Christian worship in this nation may not yet be totally forgone and forsaken.
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Notes
[1] Do with this information what you will. Much of it was born out of compromise and as a result of tensions between ecclesiastical leaders and various civil magistrates. As historians, we must acknowledge the historical reality and subsequent traditions that followed:
Synod of Dordt Church Order: “Article 67 – The Churches shall observe, in addition to Sunday, also Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost, with the following day, and whereas in most of the cities and provinces of the Netherlands the day of Circumcision and of Ascension of Christ are also observed, Ministers in every place where this is not yet done shall take steps with the Government to have them conform to the others.”

Don was a committed churchman. As an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), he served pastored churches in Savannah, GA, Virginis Beach, VA, Blacksburg, VA, and Narrows, VA. In 2003 he started Metokos Ministries, which focused on consulting full time with small churches on revitalization and officer training. He served a number of terms on the PCA Committee on Christian Education and the Standing Judicial Commission.

Don Keith Clements, 85, of Blacksburg, VA, was called home to glory on Wednesday, June 5, 2024. He was born in Detroit, MI, on August 28, 1938, to the late Russell and Julia Mench Clements. He was preceded in death by his wife, Esther A. Clements.
Don served 22 years in the Navy, twelve years enlisted with two tours of Vietnam, rising to the rank of Chief Petty Officer. He re-entered the Navy in 1976 as a Chaplain several years after seminary. He retired from his service in 1985.
He received a Master of Divinity in 1974 from Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis MO; he received a Doctor of Ministry in 1989 in Adult Education from Gordan Conwell Theological Seminary in MA.
Don was a committed churchman. As an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), he served pastored churches in Savannah, GA, Virginis Beach, VA, Blacksburg, VA, and Narrows, VA. In 2003 he started Metokos Ministries, which focused on consulting full time with small churches on revitalization and officer training. He served a number of terms on the PCA Committee on Christian Education and the Standing Judicial Commission. Don was also active in ministries in the presbyteries in which he served.
Dr. Dominic Aquila, Editor of The Aquila Report, recalls when Don called him in early 2008 with the idea of beginning a web-based magazine. Not only did he have the idea for this magazine, but he had a name to call it: The Aquila Report (TAR). We launch this venture with the first series of articles in May 2008, experimenting with several formats to find the best way to provide news and articles for members primarily in the Reformed and Evangelical family of churches. Don was a visionary and he and I worked long and hard to launch TAR so it could its place to provide a significant service to the wider church.
Don is survived by his daughters, Stephanie Clements, Susannah Clements, and Sarah Clements, and granddaughters, Nora Hein and Alexandra Hein.
Graveside services will be conducted Monday, June 10, 2024, at 11:00 A.M. in the Draper Valley Presbyterian Church Cemetery, with the Rev. Taylor Rollo officiating.
In lieu of flowers donations may be made to PCA Ministerial Relief Fund, at https://genevabenefits.org/
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To start asking the “what” questions too early can do more harm than good, as if we are denying that what’s happening to us is real and that we are terribly sad because of it. But at some point, by God’s grace, shifting that one word can make a world of difference. It can move us into a posture of humility, accepting that God can take what is terrible and use it for good.

“Why?”
It’s a question every parent is familiar with. And, at least in my experience, it’s both beautiful and annoying at the same time. It’s beautiful in the sense that it exposes the natural curiosity and wonder of our children. It shows us their seemingly insatiable desire to discover and know. It propels them into greater and greater learning as they encounter more and more of the world around them. But it’s also annoying.
It’s annoying because most of the time, there is no end to it. Your kids ask you “why” something is, and the majority of the time, that only leads to another “why” question. You can explain and explain and explain and yet there is still more to explain, until at some point, most every parent answers the “why” question like this:
“Just because.”
Kids grow, and as they do, they also tend to ask “why” less and less. It doesn’t disappear entirely, but it’s like that natural sense of wonder gets beaten out of them. Their creative curiosity starts to ebb, and it’s as if they care less and less about the reasons behind certain things. They begin to accept that things are the way they are and they no longer need an explanation for it. And then they become adults. They become us. And we don’t ask the “why” question a whole lot. But when we do, we usually do it out of a posture of pain.
We are hurting because of disease, death, destruction or else the general chaos we see in the world around us. We can accept a lot, but every once in a while that chaos becomes too personal and too overwhelming for us to accept much more. And so, like children, we once again cry out, “Why?”

Why is my wife sick?
Why can’t I find a job?
Why is there so much anger in the world?
Why is God allowing this to happen?

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