Advent 4, 2021

 Link for this week's streamed service is here

This week we light the candle of Love in our Advent wreath. 

With the secularization of Christmas in the public sphere, I wonder if love get's short shrift. We hear talk of peace and joy. All kinds of organizations raise money for charity. We set up dazzling displays of lights. I went to Butchart Garden's this week and the decorations are spectacular. They make children's eyes grow round with wonder and a treat of hot chocolate fills hungry tummies. But does Love dwell in these bedecked attractions? Does Love fill hungry hearts?

Perhaps because I'm a farm girl, or perhaps because these words have been set to music, I'm particularly fond of this poem.

Christmas Eve, and twelve of the clock.

“Now they are all on their knees,”

An elder said as we sat in a flock

By the embers in hearthside ease.

                                      -- from The Oxen by Thomas Hardy

The image of the animals kneeling in the stable to honour the Infant Christ resonates with me. My own, hard-working, eminently practical father made a point of checking the cattle in the barn at midnight on Christmas Eve. A memory I hold close in my heart. 

As a teenager I joined with a group of friends to go carolling through town before the service at my church. It was a magical time. In memory there was always a gentle snow falling. We sang only for the joy of it, seeking out shut-in folk that we knew of, regardless of any church affiliation. It was a very small town.

At those times my heart was bursting with love, for my friends, my family, and for the night. The church service always ended with the scene at the Manger in Bethlehem. How silently, how silently/the wondrous gift is given/ So God imparts to human hearts/ The blessings of His heaven.

Those moments of silence and reverence were mountain peaks in my faith journey. The music, the night, the fellowship and the Baby in a manger filled me with a sense of God's deep, deep love for us. In subsequent years when I've felt discouraged or doubted my faith, those memories draw me back.  Love came down at Christmas, Love all lovely, Love divine;/Love was born at Christmas/Star and angels gave the sign.

At SPPC we hold a candlelight service on Christmas Eve. We sing carols of joy and hope and peace, but the high moment of the worship is Silent Night, Holy Night, when the candles are lit and a tiny flame passes from worshipper to worshipper. This is a moment of reverence, a moment to feel God's love, incarnate in a Baby, a moment to feed hungry souls with the extravagance of our Father's love, a moment to make firm the foundation of our faith.

Amid all the Christmas hoopla of Santa Claus and twinkling lights, of Rudolph and Frosty the Snowman, of wrapping and baking and visiting, set aside a moment to gather at the Manger and worship the Saviour, Infant Holy, Infant lowly.

Ed. Note:  Boxing Day is my self-declared "reading my new books" day. Since the 26th falls on a Sunday, This will be the last post on this blog for 2021. See you in 2022.

Advent 3, 2021

 The link for this week's streamed service is here

Advent three is when we light the candle of joy. With snow on the higher elevations, overflowing ditches, and a slippery parking lot, we look for joy.

We found it, inside at SPPC on Sunday morning. The sanctuary looks lovely with the flowers and candles and Christmas tree. We were had a larger-than-usual congregation too. Maybe they came seeking joy, or maybe they heard there was food. In any case, we had an uplifting worship service and a delicious pot-luck lunch afterwards.

There was plenty of food so all were welcome even if they forgot to bring a dish.

Here is our hard-working clerk of session getting a moment of rest. She sang the solo at worship, too.

The dessert table always gets a special look.

The sermon topic was "living water." At lunch, tea and coffee were in demand.

When all were fed, the clean-up began. Thank you to the faithful crew who always show up in the kitchen.

Speaking of joy

• Happy birthday this week to Gerald, Carla and Irma.

• Session met on Wed. faithfully carrying out the work of the congregation amid the uncertainty caused by the virus

• Jesus is Lord congregation meets joyfully in our sanctuary on Sundays and Fridays.

• Larry's wife is safely home from Ireland.

• There will be a Friendship Coffee in the church this Thurs. Dec. 16. Attendees must provide Proof of Vaccination. Call the church for more details. 250 656-2241

Before COVID changed everything, we often heard complaints of the busy-ness of Christmas and a wish for simpler things. 
During this second Christmas in the Covid era, may you find simple joys fill your days as we await the birth of Christ, our source of all joy.

Advent 2, 2021

 The link for this week's live-streamed service is here

 

 Just before the church was decorated for Christmas, Friendship Coffee returned to the building. This very popular fellowship event was held outdoors in the Rose Garden in Sidney during the summer months, but that option doesn't work in winter weather.

    Nearly 30 people gathered in the hall/sanctuary at the usual time on a Thursday morning to visit and catch up on "life." The gathering operated under the Public Health "planned event" guidelines which meant everyone present had to show proof of vaccination. Cards were scanned at the door.

    Rather than the usual serve yourself routine, coffee and goodies were brought to the tables and carefully served out by masked servers. Great goodies, by the way. The organizers noted that most people stayed at one table instead of moving about as we did in pre-COVID times but the fellowship was lively and deeply desired. 

    The only hitch in the proceedings was getting folks to leave. It speaks to the hunger we have for fellowship that the gathering ran well past the allotted time and, in the end, the last stragglers had to be "encouraged" out the door.

    Provided we don't get new restrictions in the next few weeks, a second coffee morning will be held on Dec. 16. More details will be available as we get closer to the date.

• Don't forget, we are collecting for White Gift until Dec. 12. 
• Donations for the Food Bank are extra important during the Christmas season. Boxes are in the narthex.
• Gerald celebrates his birthday on Dec. 13

Signs of the times:

 A server will seat you shortly. Thank you for your patience.   If you've run out of patience please fill in an application. We're hiring.

 

The world is short staffed. Be nice to the ones who show up!

The above greetings posted in restaurant doorways speak to the general grumpiness of the population, worn out with nearly two years of pandemic restrictions. Probably not the best way to approach Christmas but perhaps a tiny hint of life for the Israelites under Roman occupation. Into that world of fear and injustice and pain, was born a "Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. King of Kings, Prince of Peace, Emmanuel."

    As an antidote to our fretfulness, the Times-Colonist published a story about a family rescued from the landslides on Highway 7 at the height of our first storm. There were about 250 cars on that stretch of road, trapped between two slide zones. One van with a family of five was caught in the mud and sent down an embankment, rolling over several times before coming to rest against a couple of trees. Among the people stuck on that stretch of road were medical professionals, a military reservist, and many people of good will. They banded together to rescue the passengers in that van, get them up a 30 foot embankment, and carry the severely injured teenager across the debris field to an ambulance waiting on the other side. 

It is a story of high drama, extreme danger, heroism, and the best of humanity. If you haven't read the story already, here is a link. heroic rescue

On this second week of Advent, let us reflect on the peace candle. Peace in the sense of shalom, peace that allows us to look at each other through the eyes of heaven, to recognize, in the stranger, a brother or sister, a child of God. 

May you all live in the light of hope and peace in the coming days.