HELLO!

There is A LOT going on this weekend. But I begin with more on the sad news I shared two days ago. There are two Celebrations of Life next week for members of our faith community; Ralph Higgins’ funeral is Friday, December 5^th at 11 am at Woodlawn United Church and Shawn McCormick’s funeral is Saturday December 6^th at 2 pm at the Atlantic Funeral Home in Dartmouth. Please keep these families in your prayers.

This Sunday, November 30^th at 5 pm please join us for an ADVENT POTLUCK meal (crafts, conversation, and food) in the Brick Hall.

And note, Bethe is offering a Grief Recovery Session for those experiencing a sense of loss over the holidays, 9 am to 12 noon, Wednesday December 10^th at our church. You need to register, so please contact Bethe if you are interested. Also…that same day, at 7 pm Bethe and I are offering a Blue Christmas Service in our Sanctuary. All are welcome. Last year several people invited their friends to join them.

I am offering two Advent Faith Studies, on Wednesday December 3^rd at 11 am in the Sams Room I will facilitate a conversation on the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12) and on Tuesday nights (December 2, 9, 16) 7 pm in the Sams Room I will share a summary of Marcus Borg and Dominic Crossan’s book, “The First Christmas: What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus’ Birth”. Everyone is welcome, there is no need to have read the book.

November 30^th marks the first Sunday of Advent. I asked Kaitlin and Chelsea to offer short reflections for all Advent Sundays, before lighting the Advent candles. They’ll also sing a song sacred to them in this season. Our scripture for this week, Matthew 24:36-44, bids us not just to wait, but to keep awake, and to watch, and to be prepared. However you may feel about this apocalyptic story, I still think it’s awfully good advice at the outset of Advent. There is so much that can distract us from the life of faith, from service to neighbour, from recognizing God in our midst. For Matthew, God is acting through Jesus to effect change. Scholars affirm many in Matthew’s time were losing confidence in the expectation God’s presence would make itself known. The expected apocalypse seemed delayed. Matthew wrote to encourage them to continue. We should recognize that we’re asleep. Advent’s reply is, “Wake up!” My favorite writer, Flannery O’Connor, wrote, “To the hard of hearing you shout, and for the almost blind, you draw large and startling figures.” That’s precisely what Jesus does in his prophetic wake-up call. Jesus shouts, he draws startling figures. These aren’t soothing invitations. But they keep us awake, alert, ready. Join Bethe and I for Advent surprises!

Peace, Kevin

PS If you would like to receive posters for the daytime Advent study and/or the evening one, please let me know. Please share with friends.