Winter Themes

In the dark and chilly days of winter we yearn for the light and warmth of the other seasons. Yet as a people of faith, we know the cycle of the seasons often reflects the cycles of our own lives when we experience darkness and death, letting go, the dying of the old to make way for the new. Our hope is grounded in the knowledge that what seems dead and buried is in fact a resting place for seeds of new life that will only emerge after their time of hibernation and repose. Richard Rohr writes that “I’ve come to understand that life “composts” and “seeds” us as autumn does the earth. I’ve seen how possibility gets planted in us even in the hardest of times."

Throughout the liturgical season of Advent and Christmas and Epiphany we move from that sense of darkness to light in the anticipation and celebration of Christ’s birth. And then we move forward in the hope and promise of that light until winter starts to thaw and the earth is ready to burst forth again in new life. 

Throughout the month of December we walk the journey with Mary & Joseph to Bethlehem and celebrate the light that outshines any darkness.

In the month of January we will reflect on the writings of Eugene Peterson, a Presbyterian minister who passed away recently, author of The Message translation of the Bible and many other works on faith. 

And February brings us to a month to reflect on the different relationships in our lives, our family, our neighbours, intercultural relationships and our personal faith relationship.

The Worship themes for the fall season looked through the lenses of scripture and a popular TV series, This is Us.  This show is drawing significant viewers from the 18 to 40 year old demographic.  Part of the success, some will say, is the superb acting and ‘crisp’ script.  Russell Moore in The Washington Post says: “The secret to This is Us is less about ogling some other strange, dysfunctional family as it is about seeing in it our own.”  We all journey this life and in so many ways we share a common story; stories of struggles, and heartbreak, but also stories of courage and triumph through love.