... so there was no mail mishap to explain why you weren't invited. I have to wonder if the hosts are having a financial crunch and simply couldn't afford to throw a large party this year. Maybe it has nothing to do with perceived "worthiness" but is a bottom line problem.
In any case I love your ideas for your own party. I'm very curious as to how it turns out, and whether you ever find out the real reason behind the "cuts" this year.
I didn't mean that I could understand leaving someone out because of religious differences. I meant that I could see how the situation the OP was describing could be interpreted either way -- as an oversight, OR alternatively as deliberate.