November Rector’s Message
A holy Advent is one way to unplug from the demands of the winter wonderland. A holy Advent is a pause and a deep breath of expectation and not rushing to the dessert. A holy Advent is honesty before God and neighbors for what we have done and left undone. God becomes incarnate, is born to Mary, puts on flesh, and moves into the neighborhood, not as some sort of vacation, but because we have failed to walk in God’s ways, again and again, and again. We hope that you will join us on the faithful journey of Advent to prepare your heart for the newborn King of creation. Advent begins on November 28th. Our liturgical color will change to blue. We are in the process of welcoming new garments and hangings for this season, which may or may not all be here by the time Christ is born. This year we are inviting all of you to help us create an Advent artwork for our sanctuary. In our direct mailing, you will find several Advent colored hearts. We want you to fill them in (instructions elsewhere) and return them to us as a way of gathering beyond the distances.
Before Advent begins we will have an Advent Wreath-making party ON THE SUNDAY BEFORE ADVENT (AND THANKSGIVING) . We will have the candles and frames and some do-dads and greens. If you already have an old wreath frame, bring your own. If you have some evergreens to trim in your yard and want to bring those – then do. If you have ribbons and sparkles and other Advent wreath do-dads to share, well you know. A good and holy Advent is centered in practicing the Advent traditions, such as an Advent Wreath.
Heaven and Nature Sing Self-Directed Advent Groups
“Why do we gather? We gather to solve problems we can’t solve on our own. We gather to celebrate, to mourn, and to mark transitions. We gather to make decisions. We gather because we need one another. We gather to show strength. We gather to honor and acknowledge. We gather to build companies and schools and neighborhoods. We gather to welcome, and we gather to say goodbye.” – Priya Parker, The Art of Gathering
Our life together is already in the next era, even if we have not flipped the calendar. The CCRP community isn’t just neighbors in the area who see each other occasionally on the property, it is strangers and friends across the region and even country. We need to learn new ways of gathering, fresh ways that are safe for all who are gathering. So this Advent season, we invite you to the new era, to try something new. We invite you to try creating a small group to gather for fellowship, discussion, and perhaps food for Advent and Christmas.
- For some a breakfast group would be wonderful, others a pint of something around a fire, others gathering online or by phone.
- For some, every week would be lifegiving, for others two meetings would be all they could wedge in.
- If you are willing to host a group with guests you don’t already know – let Rev’d Jane know the details of place and safety.
- If you are new or loosely connected here and would like to join a group – also let Rev’d Jane know.
However, you gather, follow this pattern:
- Share a prayer from the page of the day in Heaven and Nature Sing or the prayer of the week for the Advent Wreath (at the end of the book).
- Check-in with one another. Joys, concerns, stories, whatever you want to share.
- Choose one day to read together, sharing who reads.
- Ask the four questions:
- What sentence or phrase leapt out at you?
- Is there something that pokes or rubs?
- Where do we find ourselves in these pages?
- How will we respond in our lives?
- Close in prayer (another from the book or you could use the Prayer During the Day collects).