Dear friends:
I didn't grow up observing Advent, probably because Thanksgiving usually meant driving many hours to Michigan, (three children in the back seat of a Chevrolet Impala) to visit friends in Michigan. After such cruel and unusual punishment, my parents probably decided it best simply to go straight from Thanksgiving turkeys and pumpkin pies to Christmas trees and "Jingle Bells” — one consumer feeding frenzy pressing hard into the next.
But as I’ve moved deeper into the liturgical tradition, I have come to love the holy season we’re now entering. I love the pause, the beauty, the flat light, and the candlelight. I love the opportunity to consider the powerful, transforming, and shaping fundamentals of our faith: God’s coming to earth is for the purposes of hope, peace, love, and joy. When life gets tough — and it does for all of us — what better news could we ask for?
This week we’ll go full-on Advent with candles, hymns, and even an apocalyptic passage, something I’m prone to avoid because at best it sounds strange, at worst, dangerous. You can read it here.
I’ve enjoyed preparing and think it offers an important word as we head into the holiday season. I also call your attention to the fact that Serenitye Taylor, our talented Pastoral Resident for Congregational Life and Care, will bring her preaching skills to the early service.
Join us and bring a friend.
Bob
