Minister's Moment

November is here! And, even as irritated as many of us get when people try to skip over Thanksgiving, it is actually time to start talking about Advent … because the first Sunday of Advent is November 29!

Advent is often seen as a time of hope and joy ... twinkling lights, pageants, and presents. Yet, in the midst of it all, we know the world is still not as it should be. And hope can be hard to find.

This Advent season, we will focus on the actions we can take as we move through the night, with hope for tomorrow, into the dawn of a new day, where that hope seems clearer.

During the seasons of Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany, we will have many different opportunities to come together, worship, learn, grow, and experience the Spirit of God moving among us – individually and as a community – in new ways.

In addition to worshiping together on Sundays, we will have three opportunities for our adults to gather and experience a spiritual practice called “Visio Divina.” This is a practice, based on Lectio Divina, where we use a piece of art to focus us as we listen for God to speak among us.

Each time we gather, we will participate in Visio Divina, read passages of scripture, then take time to reflect.

We will gather on Sunday nights, November 15, December 6, and January 10, at 5 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall. During our first gathering, on November 15, our time of reflection will be used to create the parament we will use on our communion table throughout the seasons.

In addition to our regular Advent Devotionals, we will have a Children’s Prayer Calendar and an Advent Calendar for Daily Breath Prayers available for you to use in your own devotional practices. Our youth will use a curriculum that goes with our series.

Night brings promise and possibility. Dawn brings those promises and possibilities to light.

Just as surely as the sun rises, God’s steadfast love and mercy are made new every morning. Join us this Advent and Christmas season as we move toward the horizon, crying out, speaking up, taking courage, and choosing joy.

May it be so.

Ann