Prepare the Way

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

The choir anthem on Sunday contained the line "Jesus is coming, prepare!" A crew of volunteers had prepared the sanctuary on Saturday. The Advent Wreath was in place, ready for the lighting of the first Advent Candle on Sunday.

The tree was up and decorated. Lights shone along the walls.

Nativity scenes graced the narthex and the hall as well as the sanctuary.

Angels and sheep statues marched along the upper window sills.

Candles and poinsettias added the festive touch to the sanctuary. 

The front door announced the season.

And the candles and messages of Advent shone from the roof!

Decorating the sanctuary takes many hands.

And lots of laughterI

  And some muscle and elbow grease

 And patience!

When I got home the voice on the radio was talking about Advent as a season of waiting and listening and anticipation. My wish is that, even when we are all super busy with the preparations for the "holiday season," we find time to Prepare the Way of the Lord!

Welcome to Advent

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

A few weeks ago we held a deep cleaning bee at the church. We scrubbed and scoured and pulled out furniture, looking into every corner for overlooked cobwebs and stray crayons. By the time we were finished, the church sparkled and smelled like fresh air.

Airing out the quiet room.

  

Industrious vacuumer who didn't want

her picture taken.

 Always time for a laugh.

 Shining the pews.

Apart from being good stewardship, all that elbow grease made the place ready for Christmas decorations. So, this week, we held a decorating bee. 

These photos show finished product. Sorry I didn't get pictures of all the helping hands.

🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄

And now that we are into December, there Christmas events are popping up everywhere. One that is of particular interest to our congregation is the Die Mahler Ensemble playing on Saturday, Dec. 7 at St. Paul's United Church in Sidney. Our organist, Larry, is part of that ensemble and our choir, with friends, will sing a short work based on Christmas carols. 

Christmas is Coming

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

And . . . all at once Advent is here and the rush toward Christmas is upon us. To begin, we decorated the church. Many thanks to Pam and her Friday crew for making the Christmas spirit visible at SPPC. 

Laying out the master plan

worker bees

Preparing a spot

for Hazel's 

knitted nativity.

        

The finishing touches.

Don't forget the outside.

Then, on the first Sunday of Advent we enjoyed the familiar carols and heard a message of hope. 

Bearing witness to hope, after service we joined Josh and Emily for a baby shower/lunch. We shared in their excitement and happiness. Celebrating love and family in the approach to Christmas felt very right. 

Thank you, Emily and Josh, for sharing these precious moments of your life with the congregation. 

 A baby needs grandparents, too.

Just as this family waits and prepares for a new life, Advent is a season of waiting and preparing. It is easy to get caught in the excitement of presents and baking and trees and concerts and goodness knows how many other distractions coming our way, but take a quiet moment here and there to be still and prepare your heart for the coming of Christ.

The first Sunday of Advent celebrates hope. Let us remember that God sent His Son to bring us hope, even in the darkest times. When the noise of the world is loud and harsh, let us reflect on Hope in the time of Advent.

Advent 2 2022

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

This Sunday we lit the second candle of Advent, the candle of peace, and celebrated the Lord's Supper.

    Rev. Irwin was back in the pulpit (welcome home Irwin and Diane) and he spoke of how society doesn't really recognize Advent as distinct from Christmas. Coincidentally, I had been asked that question just a few weeks ago. "What is Advent?" inquired my interlocutor, who had already put up her Christmas decorations.

    "A time of waiting," I replied. "A time of quiet and contemplation." A very simple reply to a complex topic but it was the best I could do.

    We're not good at waiting. I have a friend on the waiting list for medical treatment. The wait is draining him of "life," as he avoids any activity that could aggravate his heart condition. I have every sympathy with him for disliking the wait. But that's a different kind of waiting than what we do in Advent.

    I remember an adage from my youth that said "anticipation is half the fun." Waiting was vital to making Christmas Day wonderful. We used the month of December to plot and plan and dream and imagine the perfect Christmas morning. There were events leading up to the Big Day -- concerts, and carolling, and baking, and decorating, and letter writing, and counting how many Christmas cards arrived in the mailbox. We counted the days of waiting as a blessing. 

    Sunday's scripture was about John the Baptist and his cry to "Prepare the Way of the Lord." There is no shortage of preparations taking place for the great unwrapping of gifts on Christmas morning, or gorging on a feast on Christmas afternoon. But John called on us to prepare our hearts too. For that we need inner peace. We need time to pray. We need a period of waiting.

   

Among the preparations for Christmas are opportunities to visit. Last month a couple of our elders invited their district members to an Advent gathering in the lounge. Thanks to Joan for sharing the picture. 

And here is advance notice for one of my favourite Advent activities, a Community Carol Sing, on Dec. 18, at 2:00 pm in the Sanctuary. Bring your friends and lift your voices in favourite carols. Refreshments will be served. Parking is free. The welcome is warm.

May your waiting this week be blessed.

Advent 1, 2022

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

Saturday morning eight volunteers showed up at the church to put up Christmas decorations in time for the first Sunday of Advent. Many hands make light work and we had a good time besides. The Christmas tree, the valance lights, nativities in the narthex, wreaths on the back wall and swags on the front door, were all done in a few hours.

Thanks to Tore, Jerusha, Janet, Carmen, Pam, Joan, Barb, and Alice for their time, talent and good humour.

                                           Thanks to Elizabeth, we have angels joining the flock on the upper window ledge.

After the fun comes the clean-up

The outdoor lights had been hung when the weather was fine last week, but left unlit until Sunday. Now we have the candle of hope burning inside and out.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rev. Irwin was away this week so we happily welcomed Pastor George to the pulpit once again. The last time he was here was Advent 1 in 2020. You can read about him here. Of course, that was during COVID lockdown and we had no one in the pews.

George's message reflected on the sorry state of our world today. War, want, fear, and disaster crowd the headlines. And yet . . . we light the candle of Hope. Hope in our Saviour. 

Hope in the world is vain. Hope in the Lord is unfailing.

May this season of Advent bring hope to your home.