Craig Melvin received some uplifting words for the holiday season from someone very close to him.
Craig spoke with his pastor, senior minister Rev. Jeff Rider at Green’s Farms Church in Westport, Connecticut, about embracing the true meaning of the holiday season.
“This is such a stressful time for people. And there’s a sense that they want to nail the holidays. They want to get them right. And that means different things for different people,” Rider said in their chat, which aired Dec. 22 on TODAY. “It can mean different things for different families within the same family, which is oftentimes a real challenge to navigate.”
But Rider said what people are really looking for remains the same throughout the year: relief.
“But, you know, honestly, I think one of the things that people are really looking for more than anything is what they’re looking for all the time,” the pastor said. “They’re looking to be part of something bigger than themselves, and they are looking to connect and grow with their relationship with God.”
Craig shared that his older brother, Lawrence, who died in 2020, was a Baptist minister and often said, “You’re there for the baptisms. You’re there for the weddings. But you’re there for the illnesses. And you’re there for the funerals.”
Asked how he counsels those experiencing grief during the holidays, Rider said his philosophy is to seek community.
“Leaning into that message that Christmas is Emmanuel. Christmas is God with us,” Rider said. “And if you’re not feeling that, one of the greatest and easiest ways to embrace that or to feel that is to connect with other people. Sometimes, when we’re feeling that sense of grief and loss, we isolate. We go into our corner. And I think really what it is, it’s an invitation to embrace. It’s to get into community as well.”
Rider also shared his vision for what people can take away from holiday services this Christmas season.
“I would love to tell you it’s that they’re just blown away by my amazing messages, or even the fabulous music,” he said tongue in cheek before turning more pensive.
“But what they come away with is a sense of energy, of being alive. And it’s the comment that I get time and time again,” he continued. “There is something powerful about that, each and every time when you realize, when we can set aside the difference, when we can set aside the pettiness, when we can find it in our hearts to forgive, that moment is just electric.”
Looking ahead to 2026, Rider said he has a similar hope for the world as years’ past.
“My hope and prayer for 2026 is not all that different from 2025, 2024, and a whole bunch of others,” he said. “It’s the prayer to help me and to help this world to learn how to disagree better. You know, learn how to lean into difference, and to lean into the sense of community and belonging that comes from that.”
“Hope. Hope is alive,” he added. “Hope is here for you. And it’s found in the most unlikely of places. When we do church right, we make room for God, and God shows up. God never disappoints.”
