“The season of Advent means there is something on the horizon the likes of which we have never seen before… .What is possible is to not see it, to miss it, to turn just as it brushes past you. And you begin to grasp what it was you missed, like Moses in the cleft of the rock, watching God’s [back] fade in the distance. So stay. Sit. Linger. Tarry. Ponder. Wait. Behold. Wonder. There will be time enough for running. For rushing. For worrying. For pushing. For now, stay. Wait. Something is on the horizon.” ~Jan Richardson.

 

Watch message:

 

Or read message:

It’s December: the holiday season.

As I write this message, Hanukkah has already begun, Christmas is right around the corner. We’re busy. Very busy.

Which is why I’ve been thinking about the season of Advent – the weeks leading up to Christmas that are meant to be a time of stillness and waiting and quiet. A time of anticipation leading up to the birth of new life, new possibility, at Christmas.

I’ve been thinking especially about the waiting, anticipating part.

Because in addition to whatever we’ve got to do, the reality is that so much is also in flux – so much is uncertain, so much feels unknown and “not yet” these days. We are waiting to see…

Not just waiting to see how your holidays will go, or the fate of that trillion-something dollar budget, or this new variant.

It also feels like the seismic impact of the pandemic has opened up big questions for people everywhere. Questions that we are still wrestling with as individuals and a society, about what really matters to us, where are we are heading, what are we are doing, and why we are doing it.

How will we figure that out? Maybe it’s not a figuring at all.

In this pivotal time in history I think we need a way to find quiet, within and outside ourselves, to allow things to emerge. Time to let the glitter fall to the bottom of the snow globe. Time for spaciousness, some stillness, some intentional waiting. Intentional space to see what rises to the surface.

To that end I would like invite you to create some space on your calendar: one this month, and one in January.

The first is an evening of reflection, spaciousness and intentional stillness using a practice called Lectio Divina. This ancient practice is designed to help us slow down and allow our own deeper wisdom to rise to the surface. If you’ve never tried it, it’s worth exploring. This will happen on Dec 9th from 7:30-8:30. Click HERE to learn more and sign up.

The second is the worship service on January 9th. This special service will be a chance to reflect together on what is emerging right here, at Westminster, or on what we hope will emerge. This will be a chance to come together, create some collective space and see gathered wisdom may surface as we move through this “in-between” time together.b

Two opportunities to create some space and allow something deeper to emerge.

I hope you’ll put them both on your calendar.

And I hope, whether you join me for these or not, that you will take some time this month to be intentionally still. Sit outside on a starry night. Find a spot that overlooks the ocean and just sit for a while. Give your spirit a chance to rest. More will be revealed.

In anticipation of what time and our own good hearts will show us,

– Ellen