UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA NEWS
Advent Greetings from the Moderator of The United Church of Canada
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Dear Friends in Christ,
Advent greetings to you!
This week my Advent video message has been posted
on YouTube (youtube.ca/unitedchurchofcanada) and on www.united-church.ca
I am grateful for this opportunity to speak directly to you and your congregation.
What follows is a slightly expanded print version of the video message.
Please feel welcome to use either these words or the printed transcript of the video as a bulletin insert or in a congregational newsletter sometime during this liturgical season.
The transcript can be downloaded from www.united-church.ca.
If you would like to keep up with my regular travels (spiritual and
geographical), you are invited to check out my blog at www.united-church.ca/moderator where you can register for email notification
or an RSS feed by which you will receive immediate updates.
Moderator's Message, Advent 2009
Expectant mothers understand Advent, in a way perhaps no one else can. To be an expectant mother is to live every moment with the knowledge that new life is on its way.
Advent is waiting, wondering, preparing, and trying to believe the words of the Angel Gabriel, "Do not be afraid."
Mary had many reasons to be afraid. As our Song of Faith puts it:
We sing of Jesus, a Jew, born to a woman in poverty in a time of social upheaval and political oppression.
And yet, Mary was filled with joy, saying "My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God."
Such joy enabled Mary to embrace an unreasonable hope in a time of great anxiety, injustice, and uncertainty.
Even in such a time as hers, Mary turned from fear to joy.
Even in such a time as ours, the angel tells us to turn from fear to joy, to embrace an unreasonable hope.
In my own experience, turning from fear to joy is neither an intellectual nor solitary exercise. I cannot think my way into joy nor discover it on my own. I can, however, listen for God's mysterious music and, with others, imagine how to joyfully dance the ways of God, even in the most fearful places.
With the gift of church, we are not alone in the movement from fear
to joy.
I sat recently with young adult leaders of a Winnipeg congregation. They described how most friends their age have a distrust of the church. Yet they themselves have turned from fear, to embrace joy and hope by imagining - and acting as if - their church is a trustworthy place in which to embrace their questions, thereby making it trustworthy.
Advent is an invitation to listen for God's music of abundance over
scarcity; joy over fear; hope over despair - imagining, dancing, and
behaving according to God's ways, and trusting the truth of the angel's assurance of abundance, joy, hope, and love. These are the ways of God's peace in the world.
How will you dance from fear to joy during this Advent season? How will you embrace unreasonable hope? How will you love without limit?
Mardi Tindal, 40th Moderator
The United Church of Canada
Follow the Moderator's blog and messages at: www.united-church/moderator.ca