2022 is quickly winding down and we are heading into the busiest two weeks of the year. So please take extra special care of yourself… get rest, eat sensibly, and stay hydrated. Now resting might be a little easier than the other two with holiday parties and special delicacies and beverages.

This is also a time of the year when we can get quite nostalgic… as you pull out your decorations and remember who gave you that ornament or when you went to San Francisco in December and brought back an ornament as a memento…

This time of the year is when the days are the shortest and we celebrate the winter solstice… this year Rev Todd Glacy will be hosting a drumming circle on Wednesday, December 21 from 6 – 8 p.m. at the church. Bring your drum and come for this wonderful evening and to welcome in winter officially. If you don’t have a drum, come anyway; there will be extras available.

I want to highlight the special services, so you get them on your calendar. Christmas Eve service will be at 5 p.m. this year. There will be no service on Christmas morning. The New Year Burning Bowl service will be on New Year’s morning which is Sunday, January 1 at 10 a.m. This is a time to release the old and welcome in the new. Bring friends as it is a wonderful service that is very meaningful.

We will then have the White Stone Ceremony on January 8. This also is a very special and meaningful service. If you haven’t experienced it, make it a priority.

Sunday was the third Sunday of Advent and once in keeping with the series I am doing this year it was “The Silence.” We have moved from “The Dark” and “The Body” to the silence. I was blessed by receiving from someone a quote by Joyce Rupp that set the tone for the message and brought in the two previous weeks.

She writes: “The stirrings in the womb of our darkness are the WHISPERS OF OUR SOUL, urging us to move toward a place where we have not been before. We may be pushed to make changes in our lives that we would never have considered otherwise. We may be forced to look at hidden wounds and inner issues that we had always been able to shove aside. We may be led to appreciate life and our gifts at a much deeper level. Most always, the womb of darkness is a catalyst for creativity and for a deeper relationship with God. Always, it is a time for trust in the transformative process and for faith that something worthwhile is to be gained by waiting in the dark.”

Kenneth Leech: English Anglican Priest and Christian Socialist penned:

“If you love truth, be a lover of silence. Silence, like the sunlight, will illuminate you in God, and will unite you to God. Love silence: it brings you a fruit that tongue cannot describe.

“In the beginning, we have to force ourselves to be silent. But then there is born something that draws us to silence. May God give you an expression of this ‘something’ that is born of silence. After a while, a certain sweetness is born in the heart, and you are drawn almost by force to remain in silence.”

Embodied Practices for the week:

Begin your day with 30 minutes of silence or whatever you are used to and then increase it by 5 minutes as the week goes on.

In the morning, move and eat and listen to your body. What hurts? Where are you carrying tension? What do you want to say today?

End your day with time in the silence. In the evenings, try a practice of stillness – choose a word (emotion, desire, longing, fear) and start with that as you go deep into yourself.

Next week is the last week of Advent and it is “The Wait.”

You are a blessing in my life,
Rev. Patricia Bessey

P.S.: Just a reminder to take care and pay attention to what your body is telling you. If you feel great join us in person, if you don’t feel so great join us online.