Worship – Next Sunday is the beginning of Advent! This year our theme is Generation to Generation. The stories, scriptures, and traditions of the Christmas season have been passed down to us throughout the generations. Many of us enter this season with a swell of memories and emotions as vast as the cultural and religious rituals this holiday holds. Like a tapestry woven throughout time, the Christmas story weaves us in—to remember how God has shown up in the past, to continue the work of collective liberation, to behold the presence of God in flesh and bone.
Our Advent theme is also a call to action: what are we being called to generate or bring forth? What have your ancestors and those who have come before you passed on for you to continue? Considering the many ways we embody, remember, and tell the story of Christ’s birth, which rituals hold the most meaning for you? What about this season will you pass on to the next generation?
From Generation to Generation… reminds us of the ways our lives, histories, actions, and stories are interconnected and woven together. The work of God is always unfolding—in and through us. This Advent, may you remember that you belong—to a story etched into the wrinkles of time, to generations that have come before and will come after, to a love that won’t let you go.
The first week of Advent the theme is There’s Room for Every Story… and here is a beautiful poem to set the tone:
Prayer Poem by Rev. Sarah Speed | A Sanctified Art LLC | sanctifiedart.org
ROOM
I asked God—
what about my
fingernail-biting habit
or the way I leave all the cabinets
open in the kitchen?
What about the way I can be dramatic,
drumming up a fight, only to
hand out apologies like souvenirs?
What about the way I second-guess myself,
let shame drive, or stay quiet when I
have something to say?
What about the way I chase accomplishments
like a dog with a bone?
What about the doubt, or the fact
that I’m terrible at prayer and
cannot help but yawn during church?
What about
What about
What about?
My baggage might be too big for the van
But then
God called me by my first and middle name,
which always means business,
and said:
Who told you that you were too much?
Sugar, there is so much room for you here.
So that’s when I grabbed a seat
and we hit the road
and I knew right then
that the rumors were true.
There is room.
There is room.
There is room.
Did you see the article featuring Leah Beauchamp Day? Check it out here
Monday & Tuesday – I’ll spend most of these two days getting ready for Sunday. It’s the new liturgical year! Everything changes, opening closing pieces, offering song and we start our journey to Bethlehem. We have three people who are making an adult profession of faith, and becoming members of the United Church of Canada, what a great thing to celebrate on the first Sunday of Advent!
Wednesday/Thursday – I’m in Sackville, NB for a Division of Ministry Resources meeting. This is part of my work in the wider church through the Future Directions Committee.
Friday won’t be a tech Sabbath this week.
Saturday – New Year’s Eve Potluck! Join us at 6 pm to share some food and fun!