Hi All,

Well, we have had our first snowfall, and despite the warm temps that threaten to melt it, I am enjoying the look of the fresh snow and find it makes the already lit Christmas lights and decorations to be all the more cheerful.

This Sunday marks the beginning of the Advent season, the four Sundays and days prior to Christmas when we prepare our hearts and spirits for the coming of Jesus once more. It can be hard to recognize Advent in our society, which tends to jump right to Christmas as soon as the Halloween decorations come down.  And this year, with a growing collective need to be cheered up after a very difficult year, it is little wonder that we can already see Christmas trees lit and decorated in living room windows. As well, there is the desire by many to gather gifts, add the decorations and do some baking in preparation for Christ(mas). No matter that things will be different this year, the desire is there, pulling us away from the reflective preparation we are called to in Advent. 

So how do we honour Advent when Christmas surrounds us in so many ways? One way is to have our Advent wreath ready to light and I refer you to the Advent email you received last week with an invitation to make your own wreath ready for this Sunday. Another great way it to mark the time leading up to Christmas is an Advent calendar. There are all kinds of Advent calendars with doors to open each day in Advent. Some have pictures of different parts of the nativity, with or without scripture passages. Some have secular pictures or even sweet treats for each day in December.  One year we had a calendar with a tiny ball of yarn for each day!

Another kind of Advent calendar is one that is more reflective, offering a daily reflection or activity to help pass the time leading up to Christmas in a more prayerful and thoughtful way. There are no rules about Advent calendars that say that you cannot have more than one and so I will be enjoying one with sweet treats as well as this Advent calendar to help me get ready for Christmas. I hope you find it helpful to help make your Advent season more meaningful.

This week at Wesley we will be marking the beginning of Advent by lighting the first candle in our Advent wreath, the candle of Hope. There will be an opportunity to share your wreath before we light the candle and so have yours ready. We will also be celebrating communion during worship so please have some sort of bread and juice ready for that part of the service. The children will be gathering at 9:30 for Sunday school and worship begins at 10:30. The Zoom links are below and you will get a reminder on Sunday.

I look forward to seeing you on Sunday.

Rev. Heather