Advent 1 – 30 Nov 2025

Vicar’s Message

This Sunday we begin what is perhaps my favorite season of the church year. Advent is a time of anticipation, of waiting in darkness for hope to be born. I love the words of the prophets, hungry for justice, I love the powerful images from the natural world, but I especially love the way that the message of Advent is the opposite of the weeks before Christmas in the secular and commercial world. When everything around us says: hurry up, do more, buy more; Advent says: slow down, listen, go to the wild places. I pray that each of you will take some time this season for quiet listening, time to prepare your hearts -whether that is an offering like those from our Archbishop John or Alongside Hope’s reflections from Ray Aldred or just a moment to sit quietly at the beginning or end of the day. I hope that taking time for Advent reflection is not another task but that it is a gift in that spirit we are cultivating together of doing a few things well. Maybe instead of giving up something for Lent this spring, we can give up something for Advent right now, drop one thing from our shopping list, or menu, or “to do” list and pause and remember who it is we are preparing for.