Dear Anglican Parish of Huntley Friends,

Last Sunday during coffee hour I had to giggle at the sight that I watched; children going crazy on the stage, small conversations happening throughout the hall, laughter in the sacristy, a broken frame being picked up from the floor and then the hum of a vacuum that sought to fight the sounds of everything else! Not unlike the chaos of a large family supper at which there is more noise and laughter than silence and serenity, the sight reminded me that this is the blessing of being part of the Parish of Huntley family of God. We gather each week to worship God and we bring with us our ups and downs, our wholeness and our brokenness, our peace and our unsettledness, our perfections and our imperfections, our happiness and our grief, our chaos and our noise.

Indeed that is what it means to be part of the body of Christ ~ to take the radical step of connecting yourself with a bunch of other people who may be in a totally different place than you are in your day-to-day journey but with whom you are intimately connected to as brother and sister in Christ. In a world that seems so isolating we take a counter-cultural stance when we are determined to be together in community and to continually welcome and re-welcome new people in our midst.

During Advent this community of ours spends four weeks waiting for Christmas Eve; when we celebrate the decision God made to break into humanity through the child of Jesus. It is a season of anticipation for God to do something totally new, unexpected and utterly human. It is an invitation for us to recognize that we, as Christians, are encouraged to constantly live ‘Advent-Lives’ by handing ourselves over to the possibility that God will break into our own journey ~ at any time!

Whether we offer an hour of our time to worship God any given Sunday or we pray to be open to God’s direction for our day-to-day journey it is always a blessing for our spiritual selves!

Throughout this Advent season I encourage you to be open to God breaking into your life in the days and year ahead and doing something totally new, totally unexpected and utterly human in your journey.

May you be reminded that you are part of the Body of Christ in this world; a world that often seems so confusing and isolating. Challenge yourself to take the radical step of connecting yourself with a bunch of other people who may be in a totally different place than you are in your day-to-day life but with whom you can laugh or cry, chat or remain silent, share coffee or chase around a wandering child, make a mess or pull out a vacuum. You are always invited to live life fully as the family of God at the Anglican Parish of Huntley.

I look forward to sharing the wonders of this season with you!

The Reverend Monique Stone