This week, which begins with the “Gaudete” (Rejoice) Sunday of Advent, the rector reflects on prioritizing joy in our lives both at good news and in the midst of disappointments and injustices. “Joy is both gift and discipline,” she writes. Also this week: news of our (soon-to-be) bishop coadjutor, Matthew Heyd; and the Sunday Forum following the 11 am service: “Traditional Icons & the Mystery of the Incarnation,” with art historian Dr. Dennis Raverty, PhD.

The rector writes: “If the first week of Advent is about awakening to watch in the dark, the week to come is about preparing the way. The voices of Isaiah and John the Baptist call us to action — to clear a path through the wilderness, to repent of ways that no longer serve (and maybe never did), to a change of heart and life.” Also: check out our Ascension advent calendar of photos inspired each day by a Bible verse posted to our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts.

This week, the rector finds resonance in the season of Advent, especially against the dark and terror-filled backdrop of yet more gun violence, this time in Chesapeake, Virginia, and Colorado Springs: “Advent is full of paradoxes — crisis and possibility, hope and profound challenge, watching and preparation, yearning and mystery. We see with deepening clarity the brokenness of the world; we wait with longing for the coming of the holy one.” Following the 11 am service, we’ll be making an Advent wreaths (greens, wreath forms, and candles will be provided). And next Saturday, our diocese will elect a new bishop coadjutor, who will eventually become our new diocesan bishop. Sleepers, awake!

This week: the rector shares a poem by Joy Harjo, “Perhaps the World Ends Here,” to reflect on gathering around a table for food and relationships, but also to bring to it all our loves, struggles, griefs and joys — to make, in other words, a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. Also this week: Sunday’s forum will discuss our diocese’s upcoming election of a new bishop coadjutor, and at the 11 am service, we will ingather and bless the pledges that have been made to support the parish in the coming year. If you haven’t filled out your pledge form yet for 2023, you can do so here!

This week, the rector reflects on the entwined themes of gratitude and choice: “Sometimes our thanksgiving simply overflows, and we rest in the grace of God and the awareness of our dependence on one another and others we may never know. Sometimes gratitude is a discipline, a practice as we choose to trust and honor interdependence. Sometimes our gratitude makes it possible to be generous or take a risk.”