Dear Beloved Community of St. Augustine’s,

This past Sunday in Children’s Chapel, our youngest children learned how the church tells time. Their teacher showed them a golden string. Sometimes, time is like a line with a beginning, middle, and end… But sometimes, the beginning is the ending, and the ending is the beginning. She tied the string together, making a circle. This is how the church tells time...

In the rhythm of the church year, we enter Advent this week, the season between the ending and the beginning…or the beginning and the ending. Here at St. A’s we observe a seven-week Advent, so we start our Advent season at the very end of the church year, when our lectionary texts take an apocalyptic turn, anticipating the second coming of Christ. Then a new liturgical year begins at the end of November, and we’re still anticipating the coming of Christ. The end is the beginning and time is a circle. We wait for Christ to be born in Bethlehem and for Christ to come again.

This is how the church tells time, not in a forward march toward progress at all costs, not in a frantic dash to Christmas, but in a cycle of beginnings and endings, of loss and hope, of longing and joy--until the day Christ restores all things to himself.

We invite you to live deeply into “Advent time” with chances at St. A’s for prayer, preparation, reflection, and celebration. You’ll find more information about these opportunities below.

Yours in hope and anticipation,

Shannon

We make changes to our liturgy in Advent. The vestments and altar cloth are blue. The color of the predawn sky, and traditionally associated with Jesus’ expectant mother Mary, blue represents our hope and anticipation as we await Christ’s coming.

At the beginning of each service, we’ll have a moment for silent prayer as a person or family comes forward to light a new candle on our Advent wreath and we watch the light grow.

Lighting Advent candles at home is a meaningful and simple way to observe the season. Join us in the parish hall as we assemble seven-candle Advent wreaths together on this coming Sunday, November 8. We will have candles, greens and decorating accessories for you to construct a new display of candles to add light to your Advent. There will be a free will offering to help cover the cost of supplies.

Christian meditation invites us to step away from the busyness of everyday life and cultivate stillness of body and mind. In that stillness, we create space for prayer and a deeper awareness of the presence of the Living God in the here and now. Advent is a wonderful time to try meditation for the first time or the hundredth!

Join us on November 29 following the service, for a brief introduction and guidance, followed by a period of silent meditation and an opportunity for reflection and sharing.

Amidst the busyness and cheer of this time of year, it’s important to pause and acknowledge the ways that this season—these longest nights of the year—feels heavy and hard for many of us as well. Experiences of loss or strife, feelings of fear or grief…these things can make hope and connection hard to come by. 

On Thursday, December 17, at 7:00 p.m. we will hold a worship service to honor those aspects of these longest nights. This candlelit, contemplative service will feature readings and music focusing on God’s presence with us in darkness. It will also include an (optional) time for healing prayer with anointing.

In Advent, we stand in the tension of the already, and the not-yet. The season invites us to look toward the future, even while preparing to celebrate God’s historic becoming-human at Christmas. 

This year, as we wait and hope for Christ’s coming reign, we will ask: how do we 21st century Christians, made in the image of God, engage with the technological forces actively shaping our future now? In this 5-session series, we will explore the lectionary texts for Advent — many of which are tinged with apocalyptic themes — along with other short readings, articles, and art from contemporary sources, as we seek together a Christian self-understanding and ethical orientation toward our shared digital life. 

The midweek sessions will be offered in hybrid format and will take place on Tuesdays from 12:30-2:00 p.m., throughout our extended advent season. (Tuesdays November 10 & 17, and December 1, 8, & 15.) Each session will start with a central concept (such as wisdom, vocation, comfort, humility) and ask: how is this aspect of our God-given human identity challenged — or sharpened — by encounter with the technologies of this age? 

Come share in the wondering and lend your voice to this exciting conversation! RSVP using this link so we can communicate with you about the series.

In conversation with our Advent formation series, Christian ethicist Dr. Kate Ott will visit St. A’s on Sunday, December 6. Ott, whose book Christian Ethics for a Digital Society has received broad acclaim, will preach and offer an adult forum on Christian ethical approaches to generative A.I. It promises to be an opportunity for deep learning, reflection, and conversation.

Go deeper with the week’s sermon and lectionary texts and wonder together how God is calling you to respond in your daily life. All are welcome to attend.

St. A’s is known to attract legendary saints, who appear in December in full regalia to bring treats, tell legends, and introduce us to global Christmas traditions. This year is no exception! While St. Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, can only make a brief, unseen appearance on December 6 to leave treats in shoes for Sunday School, his friend St. Lucia of Sicily will visit us on her feast day, December 13, and help us celebrate in style.

In the gloomiest days of winter, St. Lucia is said to appear with a crown of glowing candles on her head, bringing sweets, coffee, and light. Join us at coffee hour in Puhlman Hall as we welcome St. Lucia with a procession, singing, and lots of holiday fun.

Preparing to host your own Christmas gathering? Love sampling baked treats? Join us for St. A's cookie exchange on December 20, in Little Puhlman Hall following the worship service.

• Bring 3 dozen cookies (with the recipe, if you wish)
• Those participating will select a variety of 2 dozen cookies to take home; plates will be available
• Extra cookies will be delivered to our homebound members