As this year turns to the next,
Bless the passing of time, God,
whether we like it or not.

Bless children growing right before our eyes,
our ageing bodies and ageing parents.

Bless the presence of each moment, 
and the movement of hours turning 
into days, weeks, months, 
seasons, years, lifetimes.

For the year behind us, 
may we be graced with memories.
Give us hearts large enough 
to hold heartaches, 
resilient enough to accept 
losses, and content enough
to be grateful.

For the year ahead, give us 
open hands and open minds.
Help us embrace growth and beauty,
unknowing and paradox. 

Bless the good earth who grounds us,
and horizons that give us space to see.

Bless the sun who travels
the globe each day,
and the moon whose change night
by night is perceptible.

Bless the water with is many forms,
modelling change and transformation.

Bless the sky and its moods, brilliant
​and drab and everything in between. 

Bless us with rituals that bring
shape and meaning to our days.

Bless us with companions who 
provide connection and comfort.

​Bless us with hope in a future
with light, love, and laughter.

​- Wendy Janzen

Our December worship gathering, as always, combined themes from the Advent season and the coming winter solstice. It is no coincidence that we celebrate Advent when we are at the darkest point of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. The return of the sun symbolizes the coming of the Light of the World, Emmanuel: God With Us. 

While we want to be mindful of not polarizing light and dark, or demonizing darkness, we do acknowledge that there is destruction and brokenness in the world; as a result all of us, and all of creation is in need of hope and healing. This is what we celebrate as we light candles and wait for the sun’s shift back toward lengthening days.

Just as there are different types & stages of light, twilight, and darkness, we experience light and darkness differently in our own lives. The intensity of darkness varies. Perhaps it is a constant companion - one you are more or less comfortable with. Perhaps it is a veil that you long to have lifted. Both light and dark play important roles in our lives and in creation. 

“Sing, starry sky and every constellation, for what the Eternal One has done. Shout for joy, dark soil underfoot and deep caverns below; Erupt in joyful songs, mountains and forests, and every tree in them! Sing joyfully, for the Eternal One has rescued Jacob; the splendor of God will be revealed...” (Isaiah 44:23, The Voice)

Leah invited us into a time of wandering with this invitation: "Sometimes when I enter into our wandering & wondering times, I find having a phrase or words to repeat to myself…kind of like a mantra. So today I offer you the opening line of the song The Sound of Silence by Simon & Garfunkel, which says 'Hello Darkness, my old friend'. We invite you to use that phrase as an invitation to lean into the darkness today during your wanderings & wonderings."

After wandering and sharing with each other, we listened to this song Find the Light by David Ramirez as we lit candles. 

Our closing blessing was A Blessing for Traveling in the Dark by Jan Richardson:

Go slow
if you can.
Slower.
More slowly still.
Friendly dark
or fearsome,
this is no place
to break your neck
by rushing,
by running,
by crashing into
what you cannot see.

Then again,
it is true:
different darks
have different tasks,
and if you
have arrived here unawares,
if you have come
in peril
or in pain,
this might be no place
you should dawdle.

I do not know
what these shadows
ask of you,
what they might hold
that means you good
or ill.
It is not for me
to reckon
whether you should linger
or you should leave.

But this is what
I can ask for you:

That in the darkness
there be a blessing.
That in the shadows
there be a welcome.
That in the night
you be encompassed
by the Love that knows
your name.

- in Circle of Grace: A Book of Blessings for the Seasons, Jan Richardson

Oh! What wonder
that I should be graced
to witness a small 
flock of singing starlings
suddenly fall silent,
and as if one body
lift from the branches.
A singularity
floating, swooping, soaring 
to music I cannot hear, but see.
An orchestra with wings.
A drab grey canvas brought to life
with poetic movement.
A performance of the ages, 
with an accidental audience of one
star-struck human awed
by the glory of it all.

Bless you, Starlings, for the 
exquisite wonder and delight
you bring to the world.
Bless you for honouring 
your calling and praising
with your bodies.
Bless you for showing us
the beauty of community
and being part of something
bigger than ourselves.

​- Wendy Janzen