A light in the darkness.

Mother Theresa will be canonized next September and clearly she was a light in the darkness. Malala Yousafzai is a light in the darkness in her unending fight for the educational rights of girls. Here in Baltimore, Destiny Watford, the high schooler fighting the permit for a trash incinerator in her neighborhood, is a light in the darkness.

Ever since San Bernadino, the hateful rhetoric in our country has escalated. It can seem very dark these days. Regardless of your religion and whether you are celebrating Christmas this week or not, you crave a light in this darkness. 

But let me tell you...there is much light already piercing through this darkness.

• 10,901 trees have been planted by Maryland congregations
• 17 Anne Arundel County congregations are installing stormwater improvement projects with the help of Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay and the Watershed Stewards Academy . . . Read MORE 2015 IPC Highlights