December Rector’s Message
Our God is the One who comes to us
in a burning bush,
in an angel’s song,
in a newborn child.
Our God is the One who cannot be found
locked in the church,
not even in the sanctuary.
Our God will be where God will be
with no constraints,
no predictability.
Our God lives where our God lives,
and destruction has no power
and even death cannot stop
the living.
Our God will be born where God will be born,
but there is no place to look for the One who comes to us.
When God is ready
God will come
even to a godforsaken place
like a stable in Bethlehem.
Watch …
for you know not when
God comes.
Watch, that you might be found
whenever
wherever
God comes.
-Ann Weems
I watch, I read, I look, I hope, I grow tired. Another Advent and Christmas and Epiphany outside of anything ordinary, except that the abnormal has become ordinary. Yet even in all of this strangeness – God comes. That is the meaning of maranatha, Our Lord comes. That is the meaning of the sacred season – that in a world that is so tossed and alienated and frustrated and backwards – God comes. I hope that you will choose to explore one of the many ways we have offered you to explore the depth and meaning of Advent and Christmas this year: the devotional Heaven and Nature Sing, Advent till Epiphany Word, the Do Not be Afraid kit for households with children.
The opportunity of this year is that a continued pause gives us a chance to use our time to be nourished by the Spirit of God. The other is the chance to give beyond giving material things. We commend to you this year the Gifts for Life program of Episcopal Relief and Development. No stuff, no shipping problems, holy good news for people across the globe. Let us make our way into the surprises and the truths and discover Christ along the way. He is with us, meeting us in the terrible and holding us through all the chaos with the practices of the generations. Let your Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany be a three part season of faithfulness, leaning into prayer and wonder and confession and service to make our way to the creche – for he comes!
We are quite pleased to have the choir return to their ministry of body and soul, and to welcome the talents of our guest music director Dr. Steven Neau. Praise the Lord for music ministry. As the year wraps up I must highlight again how astonishingly talented and hard working the staff is. Through so many difficulties and the inertia and questions and joys, they have kept us praying and learning and serving. Hold them in your prayers, and in your Christmas remembrances. Lastly, we do hope for more evolutions of our life together in the months ahead, however we must all do our part with vaccination, masking, distancing and self care. It is a blessing to be walking with Christ and you, and I look forward to growing in relationship with even more friends in the year to come.