Weekly Update: First Sunday of Advent

From the Vicar..

For those that know me well, they know that when the weather is nice, I can almost always be found outside. When I reminisce on my backpacking adventures, one of the most memorable trips that comes to mind was a three night backpacking trip I embarked on with my father in the Great Smoky Mountains a few years ago. This trip was so memorable, not because it was the most incredible trip I had been on or because it featured the most magnificent mountains, but instead because it was one of the most difficult hikes and yet offered the least amount of reward at the summit.

I often go on trips to reach parts of the world that many may not have a chance to travel, to summit mountains for the best view of nature, or to challenge myself to reach some sort of reward in the end. I’m a goal-oriented person, so this isn’t a surprise to me. So, what I remember most clearly about that trip with my father was the complete lack of fulfillment I found at the top of that mountain. For three days, we had climbed straight up mountains, stumbling over the rocky and wet terrain on our way up, and spent our nights trying to stay warm and dry in our tents. Yet, at the top, when my dad checked his GPS and yelled “We’re here!,” I looked up and was met with fog and an even more dense forest than the one we had been climbing through for days. I remember saying something like, “Seriously, this is it?” It turns out at the top of that mountain, there really wasn’t anything to see. It was simply unimpressive.

Even in my retelling of the story, I am focused on the end. I pay attention to the disappointment of the “reward,” glossing over the three days it took to get there. In the climbing, I was surrounded by stunning nature. We hiked along a stream, drank its fresh, ice cold water, came across deer and bunnies, slept in a valley where the wind howled through the night, and didn’t see another person the entire time we were there. I spent invaluable time with my father; we sipped coffee by the fire, ate not-so-fully cooked pasta, and had conversations that will remain with me for years. This was always the reward. I was simply too focused on the summit to see that at the time.

While hindsight is often 20/20, I share this story with you as we begin Advent on Sunday. I too, am looking forward to Christmas, but I am intentionally taking time during this Advent season to focus on the present. While the world around us speeds as we approach Christmas, I have committed to spending time strengthening my own prayer life as I ask where God is calling me to pay attention this Advent season. I’ve started to think of it as an Advent Calendar, but instead of opening small gifts in a drawer everyday, I offer the gift of prayer to God.

I hope that you will continue to join me in prayer this season. At home, I offer you an activity to do with your family, called “The Presence Jar.” And in addition to the prayers of the liturgy on Sundays, we will have the opportunity during worship to explore different ways of praying. I hope this space for interactive prayers during worship offers a new lens to your own prayer life and welcomes time for creativity during our Sunday mornings together.

I am looking forward to exploring Advent with you this year and look forward to beginning our journey together on Sunday.