Begin Again

Rev. Susie Hayward

On the night of November 29, we’ll tear off the last sheet of our church year’s desk calendar to begin a new liturgical year the following day, the first day of Advent.

The theme our worship team chose this year draws from words offered by both the Raven in our beloved story told by Bree each Advent, and by Sikh activist Valarie Kaur at an Interfaith Watch Service in 2016. Both the Raven and Kaur ask: “What if this is not the darkness of the tomb, but the darkness of the womb?” We honor the darkness of the womb, experiencing it as a sacred, generative space where life is made possible – not a place to be feared but rather one in which we are nurtured.

Our scriptures during this holy season of mystery and anticipation invite us to consider just that… in the moments in our lives and our world that feel dark, when we feel despair, turmoil, or sorrow, God is always present, bringing forth something new. Look around and wonder: what is gestating even now, preparing to break forth to transform us and the world? Maybe it’s the small flickering of hope for liberation you have felt in the midst of addiction. Maybe it’s a new friend who is teaching you something that will change your life, or maybe a new relationship that is growing for the life of our church that will transform us. Maybe it’s the under-the-radar organizing by activists across movements in this era of democratic-backsliding that is preparing to burst forth a new era of building love in the public square.

This Advent, we will draw from the words of mystics like Howard Thurman, who invite mystery into this season when we await the arrival of our teacher Jesus, and from the ancient prophet Isaiah, whose poetic imagination speaks across the ages, and from various other poets, prophets, and teachers. We will engage spiritual practices to feed your soul. Marty Haugen will lead Holden Prayer on Wednesday evenings in the Chapel – a simple service by candlelight. Our 8:30am service on December 7 will be contemplative in style.

So much of the church year, some 65% of it, is what the calendar calls “Ordinary Time” – constituting the hard work of discipleship to serve our neighbors and act for justice. This active, discipleship work of healing our world does not stop during holy seasons like Advent (be sure to sign up for ISAIAH’s December 13 Light in the Storm convention!). But our calendar integrates the fasting seasons of Advent and Lent in recognition that our lives of faith require regular periods of slow down, of prayer, of soul care, to sustain and shape our discipleship work. The importance of that dimension of our church life is underscored by the fact that it’s where we begin again, every year – with a holy season drenched in candlelight and prayer, mystery and wonder, silence and stillness.

May you be nurtured in the womb of our Mothering God this season, and may it transform you into new life.