Hello Beloved,

We’re nigh on the third Sunday in Advent: how did this happen? How can it be that the baby will come so soon, when we’ve hardly had a chance to get things ready? The house is a mess, and the crib isn’t even put together, and we’re so unprepared, oh, so unready to take care of something as tiny and fragile as…

We’re all pregnant, with something, right now: with possibility, with hope, with something just waiting to burst forth from us in a holy mess (little too graphic, people? well! life is messy). This weekend we’ll give you a chance to eat like a pregnant woman, and think like one.

Tomorrow, Saturday, we’ll gather at John Olson’s home to carol the neighborhood and eat cookies, to unplug the Christmas machine and make space for the indwelling Christ through music and friendship.

Sunday, in worship, I’ll be preaching on the Magnificat: Mother Mary’s sung response to what God was growing inside of her. Sarah G. is our newbie liturgist–she’ll tell us her own poetic response to Mary’s song, reminding us of the difference between waiting and expecting. Laura Ruth will pray with us. Choir sings! After worship: you can go the Welcomer Training at 11:45, rehearse for next week’s Christmas Cantata at 12:30, leave your kids safely with other beloved parents while you take some time to do what you need to do to get ready, and finally, re/Advent yourself in the fourth re/New worship service, this time in the sanctuary, at 7p, a beautiful, beautiful way to worship our God.

Christlove,
Molly