Reflection for Family Ministry e-news

Welcome to the New Year!

This Sunday is when the season of Advent begins and we enter a new year in the church. The word Advent means "coming" or "arrival." The focus of the entire season is the celebration of the birth of Jesus the Christ in his First Advent, and the anticipation of the return of Christ the King in his Second Advent. Advent is the four weeks leading up to Christmas Eve. It starts on the 4th Sunday away from Christmas Eve.  

Advent is a time to prepare our hearts and our lives for Jesus' second coming. But at times it can be hard to remember that there is a season on Advent, since the world around us is ready for Christmas. There are all sorts of signs that tell us Christmas is near - lights on houses, wrapped packages, Christmas music, and television specials are just a few. Sometimes we concentrate so hard on those things that we miss the message that God sends us in the waiting days of Advent. As we continue to prepare for the birth of Jesus, I hope you will ask yourself, "Where is God leading me and my family this Advent season?"  

Maybe your family is being drawn to do community service together or to volunteer for something at church? Maybe God is leading you to give your family members the gift of your time and attention rather than gifts? Wherever God is leading you and your family this season I pray that you are willing to follow and to truly enjoy the season of Advent before we celebrate Christmas.

Peace,

Lauren+

Thanksgiving Thankfullness

During the month of November lots of people have been posting on Facebook one thing they are thankful for each day. I've been holding out to make my list until Thanksgiving day so that my list could be all together (these are in no particular order).

1. Rob, my fiancee, who is always supportive of me and has made me the happiest woman in the world.

2. Cubby, my cat, who has been with me through thick and thin for 17 years. 

3. God has blessed me with my life and all of the people and things in it.

4. My parents who love me and continue to show me how to be in the world as an adult.

5. My siblings who are the only people who truly understand the crazy of our family.

6. The Schoeck family who is almost as excited to welcome me into the family as I am to become a member of their family.

7. Photographs that provide a window to the past. 

8. Technology - computer, internet, iPad, phone that keeps me connected to the world.

9. Air conditioning that makes living in Arizona possible and enjoyable.

10. The Jackson family who include me as one of their own.

11. Having a comfy warm bed to sleep in every night. 

12. The Constance family who treat me like a sister and an aunt.

13. For my goddaughters, Ava, Paige and Alice, who I am blessed by.

14. Books, that take me to new worlds.

15. Being able to serve as a priest in the Episcopal Church.

16. Omega Phi Alpha - the sorority that gave me a place to find life long friends in college.

17. The Tichenor family, Jonathan Potter, and Matt Seddon who taught me how to live on my own, live in community, and to relax and fun.

18. Movies, that make me laugh.

19. St. Matthew's Church, especially Fr. John Hall, who raised me up in the faith and helped me find my call.

20. Salt and herbs that make food delicious.

21. The abundance of food in my life, especially lazy day breakfasts.

22. For the future.

Proper 28 Year B

1 Samuel 1:4-20, 1 Samuel 2:1-10, Hebrews 10:11-14 (15-18) 19-25, Mark 13:1-8

       Everything on this earth is temporary. Buildings, roads, jobs, even our lives are all temporary. No matter how large or how secure we may be in our faith of the material world around us, it is all temporary.  

        Most of us are familiar with the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World:  the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, the Lighthouse in Alexandria, or the Statue of Zeus on Mount Olympus.  These amazing feats of art and architecture were believed to last forever, but even they disappeared.  Only the pyramids are still standing today but they too are slowly eroding due to the harsh desert winds.  No matter how hard we try there is nothing that we can make that will stand the test of time.

        This is partially what Jesus is talking about in today’s gospel. As the disciples and Jesus are walking around the busy grounds that surround the temple, they see large buildings and the disciples are clearly impressed.  Why wouldn’t they be?  If we were to close our eyes and imagine for a moment what the disciples were seeing.  They were coming out of the temple, which by some accounts was ten stories tall and adorned in silver and gold.  Out of the dimly lit interior they step out into the radiant sunlight.

Reflection for Family Ministry e-news

I can't believe that Thanksgiving is already next week. Wow, have that months been flying by! I hope that each of your families have plans to celebrate Thanksgiving with your family and friends. Thanksgiving is not only a time to gather and to share a meal but also a time to share what we are thankful for.  

Linda Kavelin Popov, the author of The Family Virtues Guide, suggests that thankfulness is:

• Being grateful for what you have.
• An attitude of gratitude for learning, loving and being.
• Being glad for the special things which come along.
• Being grateful for the little things which happen around you and within you every day.
• An openness and willingness to receive each of God's bounties.

I encourage you to share this definition of thankfulness with your family as you celebrate Thanksgiving. I hope that this definition will help each person who hears it expand the things that they are thankful for in their individual life and in the collective life of the family. If you do not have plans yet, please know that you are welcome to share in the All Saints' Thanksgiving dinner after the 10am Holy Eucharist service on Thanksgiving Day.

Peace,

Lauren+