This week, as we enter into the season of Advent, we begin a new Church year, a new opportunity, a new invitation for the grace of God to be unfolded in our lives. What we celebrate in Advent is not so much our coming to God, but that we have a God who comes to us. What we see revealed in Jesus is that we have a God who takes the initiative, who doesn’t wait for us to make the first move towards Him, but rather who takes the first step towards us.

This Thursday, we pause to remember all the blessings in our lives. Gratitude is a foundational attitude of the Christian life, remembering and giving thanks for all that God has done for us. There’s not one person who can say that God hasn’t done anything for them, that God hasn’t poured out some blessing in their life.

At least to me it seems like it was just summer a month ago and yet here we are just over a month away from the Christmas & New Year’s holidays. Soon the Advent wreath will be up in Church & the Christmas decorations soon will follow as we celebrate these great events in the life of our faith. I wanted to share with you this weekend our upcoming schedule for Christmas and New Year’s so that we could all start to plan & prepare.

I remember when I was just starting out playing the flute, taking music lessons. Every week I would go to my aunt and uncle’s music studio (they still own it to this day) and in the room where my teacher and I would practice he had a poster. The poster had a picture of Uncle Sam pointing out and it bore the saying, “I want you to practice!” I think back to that poster as I think about our latest Parish Council meeting discussion, because that’s basically what our discussion was focused around.

Two years ago this Sunday, I made what I believe to be my most important staff member hire at both parishes. Many have met her and many have been welcomed and greeted by her when visiting the parish office. Her name is Angel and I guess that you could say that her “official staff title” is Special Assistant to the Pastor.