Dear Family & Friends of Christ Church, 

​

Though I am writing this on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, with visions of turkey legs dancing through my head, I am aware that a shift is just around the corner. In just a few days, Thanksgiving will be a mere memory and all eyes will turn toward the coming of Christmas.

 

In church world, we begin an entirely new liturgical year this week with the start of Advent. The season of Advent is, for me, a welcome alternative to the frantic energies which can all-too-often dominate our Decembers. Advent prescribes a wholly counter-cultural approach to the preparation tasks that can overwhelm and shorten our fuses this time of year.

 

Instead of trying to pack in more, and more, and more, Advent reminds us that excess baggage only makes our journey to Bethlehem more difficult. Michael Podesta’s short poem for Advent is one I appreciate:

 

A Poem for Advent

If we fill our lives with things,
and again with things,
if we must fill every moment of our lives with action,
when will we have the time
to make the long slow journey across the desert
as did the Magi?
Or sit and watch the stars
as did the Shepherds?
Or brood over the coming of the child
as did Mary?
For each of us, there is a desert to travel,
a star to discover,
and a being within ourselves to bring to life.

Michael Podesta

 

I hold you in my prayers this season, as we engage the hard, holy work of shedding some of the spiritual weight that encumbers us on our journey. I hope that you will use the resources of this community to help you on your way.