In less than two weeks the election will finally be behind us. I am hopeful that we, as a culture, will be able to let go of much of this anxiety and anger that seems to be in the air and focus again on things closer to home and to our hearts.
The Sunday after the election, November 13th, is the beginning of when we prepare our hearts for Christmas at St. Paul’s. The first of our O Antiphons will be sung on that day, and the first of our banners, with the Old Testament images that foretell Jesus, will be hung.
On that Sunday, there will be at least two further shifts. One is that our children will be focusing on learning the tunes and the lyrics to the best of our classic Christmas songs. There will be opportunity for all generations to sing these together. These are no longer taught in schools the way they used to be. If they are going to be passed on, it is up to us.
The other shift will be a shift in my preaching. I will be going back to some of the most simple and accessible themes of our faith: belovedness, mercy, forgiveness, simplicity. It is as thought the often toxic media environment we’re in has provoked in me, and maybe in you too, a desire to go back to the simple basics.
In the meantime, we are in our Stewardship Campaign, and I hope you are engaging with our invitation to generosity. We are blessed to be stewards of this sacred space and of this ancient way of being good, whole human beings in community.
Blessings,
Christopher
p: (415) 456-4842