December 2024
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on
them light has shined. – Isaiah 9:2
Grace and peace to you all! I am thrilled to be writing this to you. We have an exciting journey ahead of us,
and I look forward to getting to know you all.
As we begin this December, we move into my favorite season of the church year: Advent. Advent is a time of
anticipation, of longing and expectation. We light the candles in the Advent wreath and count down the days
until Christmas, preparing ourselves for the joyous celebrations, the good cheer, the food and music and com
munity this season presents.
This time also holds a great deal of anticipation for us as we begin our ministry together. And yes, it is togeth
er. I may be the called pastor, but the ministry of the church is done by all its members. There is a place for
each of us to serve; my responsibility is to help you find where your place is. It’s one I am eager to undertake,
but to do that I need to know who you are.
Beginning in January – once the Christmas season is finished, because who has time in December for anything
else? – I would like to start meeting with each of you. I want to know what you love about St. Luke’s, what
you miss, what you hope for the future. I want to know what you love about this marvelous creation in which
we take part. What brings you joy? What makes you feel accomplished?
We all have gifts, you see, but until I know what your gifts are, I can’t help you find new ways those gifts fit in
here. I’ve already started to get to know some of you, and the pieces are starting to come together, but there is
life and energy we have in reserve. There is potential hidden below the surface; we simply need to discover
how to bring it out.
For my part, most of you have discovered that I love to sing; what you might not know is that I am a lover of
our liturgy, and this has led me to learn about it and how it can be used. In January, I will use my gifts to offer
a four-week discussion of the liturgy: its purpose, it’s components, how it has evolved and how it continues to
evolve today. Meetings times for these discussions will be announced when we have them on the calendar. I
hope to see you there as we remind ourselves that there is purpose to everything we say on Sunday mornings.
For now, I invite you to live into the anticipation of the Advent season. Enjoy the thrill of knowing what is
coming. Allow it to propel you forward into the mysterious future God has planned for us!
Blessings,
Pastor Rob