Advent.

I was on a call this week with a Christian author hero of mine, Brian McLaren, where he quoted the former president of the Czech Republic, Václav Havel, who once wrote this about hope, “[h]ope is not the same thing as optimism. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.” This season of Advent is often spoken of as it relates to hope, but as Havel wrote, hope is not the same as optimism. Hope is the conviction that some things are worth doing, no matter the outcome. And in this, I hear echoes of the reality of our humanity, and us, the work of this Sunday Night Service.

This Sunday is the fourth Sunday of Advent, and will be our final service for 2022 (we won’t meet on Christmas night, but if you really want to go to church that morning, you can come to All Souls upstairs at 10a!). Come out this Sunday night––I’ll be preaching, Kate Lamont and Jason Morrell will lead us in music, Maggie will be presiding and we’ll have mulled wine and hot chocolate following the service.

Additionally, if you’re looking to head to church on Christmas Eve, come out at either 4p, 8p, or 10:30p to All Souls upstairs, for some Christmas carols, the Eucharist, candlelight, and darkness––all three services are different but all beautiful in their own way.

I’m grateful for you all, the ways that you showed up so fully in 2022, and for the hope you live and bring. Cheers to a new year!

Warmly,

Emily