Rector’s Letter

Sunderland officially kicked off Christmas this year with the Christmas Light Switch-on at Keel
Square on November 16th . Meanwhile retailers are pushing the launch of their Christmas advertising earlier and earlier each year. The John Lewis Christmas advert was aired for the first time on Thursday 9th, perhaps just in time to clear their shelves of the Halloween stock so they can be packed with Christmas goods! Popular culture wants us to have Christmas as early as we can, there seems to be no need to wait.

I have a bit of a reputation in our house for being a bit of a grump when it comes to celebrating Christmas in November! The thing is, I can’t help wondering how ‘fast forwarding’ to Christmas plays out for us if there are reasons why we’re not feeling very joyful at the prospect of the season. There may be good reasons why we don’t feel joyful! What if we’re missing loved ones through bereavement? What if the season places too much pressure on finances and it’s actually quite a difficult time of year? As we’re pushed by retailers and marketers to have the ‘perfect’ Christmas and to spend lots of money to achieve that, are we at risk of missing something really important? Are we at risk of missing something of God?

Advent is traditionally a time of waiting, a time of preparing, a time perhaps of rediscovering the promise God makes for everyone in Jesus Christ. During the weeks of Advent in December, I want to encourage us to consider afresh what it means to prepare for Christmas and not to miss out God! We might do that by recommitting to coming to church to gather together as community to hear God’s Holy Word, to share in Holy Communion together. That could be at our regular services or at the special services we are holding in the lead up to Christmas. I want to encourage us over this time, when we’re together in our services to acknowledge we’re in the presence of God, the God we believe who came into the world in Christ and who we believe will come again.

Ultimately, I want to invite us to make time and space for God in this Advent season – whatever our own circumstances – perhaps in the busyness or the pressures this time of year imposes, perhaps in the sadness or the loneliness we might be experiencing, perhaps in the challenges we see going on around us in the world. Wherever we may find ourselves, at the moment, I want to encourage us to make space for God who comes to us in the Christ-child to share all of our humanity with us. I leave and commend the following prayer for us in Advent:

Faithful God, you keep your promises
and come to meet us again in Jesus,
help us to prepare our lives
and make space for you once again
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
With my prayers and very best wishes for this upcoming season.

 

With my prayers and very best wishes for this upcoming season.