Advent Pastoral Letter, 2024

November 23, 2024

My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Greetings and blessings to you and yours, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ! We come to the end of our Christian year together, which is also the threshold of a yet another annual liturgical cycle. Beginnings and endings are important, and are bound together. It’s not insignificant that the last Sunday of our year is called The Sunday Next Before Advent, for the appointed Scriptures on this day are both a consummation, completion and crown of the whole previous year, but also, and emphatically, an anticipation of all that is to come. Precisely at this point, we ask God to “stir up the wills” of his faithful people, because we have not yet arrived at our end: our love has not yet been made perfect, we are not righteous. And so at the end of the year, we begin again at the beginning.

Yet we are here concerned not merely with beginnings and endings in a temporal sense, but with a very specific beginning and ending on which our eternal salvation depends. Our Morning Prayer readings in Advent from the Gospel according to St Mark indicate this beginning with utter clarity and simplicity: “The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (Mark 1:1). This story, this proclamation of good news, is our most urgent concern, when we begin again at the beginning. Complementing this, our Evening Prayer readings from the Revelation of St John put before us last things, “eschatology” as the theologians call it. At stake in this prophetic vision is the end of history, when the created order itself shall be drawn to its final conclusion. Here, we encounter the finality of the Gospel, as we look to our crucified and risen Lord’s final coming: “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last” (Revelation 22:12-13). All of this Advent puts before us, so that we might begin again, so that with a pure heart we might see him face to face at the last, so that we might repent and believe the Gospel.

There are plenty of opportunities in the coming weeks for us to celebrate Advent, to prepare for the coming of our Lord. I urge you to take these opportunities for prayer, study, meditation, and worship, so that you might be ready to welcome the Christ-child when he comes to visit us in great humility. Our schedule of services and events this Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany is as follows:

Sundays in Advent: Dec. 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd

10:00 a.m. Holy Communion (except the 15th which is Morning Prayer)

4:00 p.m. Evening Prayer (except the 15th, which is Holy Communion)

Wednesdays in Advent: Dec. 4th, 11th, and 18th

6:00 p.m. Evening Prayer, with meditations by parishioners

6:45 p.m. Bible Study on “The Mystery of God Incarnate.”

8:00 p.m. Sung Compline

Saturday, Dec. 14th: After the Second Sunday in Advent

9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Advent Quiet Day

“The Holy Scriptures in Times of Exile: The Book of Daniel 1-3,”

with Missioner Rev’d Greg McMullin

Tuesday, Dec. 24th, Christmas Eve

6:30 p.m. Nativity Pageant, Crèche Blessing & Holy Communion

Children are especially invited to participate as angels or

shepherds, with costumes provided; families who wish to be

involved are encouraged to arrive a bit early.

Wednesday, Dec. 25th, Christmas Day

10:30 a.m. Holy Communion

Thursday, Dec. 26th, St Stephen’s Day

6:00 p.m. Carolling in Fairview

After carolling, we return to the Hall for hot drinks, treats and

conviviality.

Sunday, Dec. 29th, First Sunday After Christmas

10:00 a.m. Holy Communion

4:00 p.m. Christmas Lessons and Carols

A service of Scripture readings and beloved hymns and carols,

through which we contemplate the joy and mystery of Christ's

birth.

Wednesday, Jan. 1st, Octave Day of Christmas, and Circumcision of our Lord

9:00 a.m. Morning Prayer & Holy Communion

A potluck brunch follows the service.

Sunday, Jan. 5th, Second Sunday After Christmas

10:30 a.m. Holy Communion * Note time change, new standard for 2025

4:00 p.m. Evening Prayer

Monday, Jan. 6th, Epiphany of our Lord

6:00 p.m. Holy Communion

A potluck supper follows the service.

I want to thank you, parishioners and friends of Trinity, for the many ways that you’ve given yourself to the worship of Almighty God, and for your faithfulness in the ministry and mission entrusted to us, serving Christ in our neighbour. I also must express my thankfulness for the many kindnesses you have shown to me, for your continued support and prayer for me and my family this past year. Forgive me for all the ways that I have failed you. “O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is gracious: / for his mercy endureth for ever” (Psalm 136:1).

Please find an envelope for your Christmas offering, enclosed.

Under the Mercy,

Fr Benjamin Lee, Rector 

The Commemoration of Clement, Apostolic Man, Bishop of Rome