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Message from the Minister
Ancient Love

Nothing says “love” quite like Christmas baking. We have a long standing CookieDay tradition in our family.  Allan and I
were happy to carry on that tradition lastweekend with our grandchildren, producing a great array of gingerbread and sugar cookies. The same recipes and thesame ingredients somehow produce adifferent variety of creative results each year. Of course the most important ingredients for the day have more to do withthe precious time we spend together, and
connecting the sweet taste of Christmaswith family stories passed on from generation to generation.
This Sunday is Week 4 of Advent, which is when we focus on love. The Advent hymn we are reflecting on this week is O Ancient Love, lyrics by Michael Joncas (1994). When I read these lyrics, I am reminded of the many ways we experience God’s eternal love: it is passed on from generation to generation; it is revealed in human form; it is shared when we reach out to strangers, when we care for others; and it is there in our own human weaknesses. These lyrics manage to cover many aspects of our experiences with holy mystery – Creator, Christ, and Spirit.
At Christmas time, the act of remembering the story of God’s love birthed in human form makes it possible for us to imagine God’s love incarnate in you and me— and in all of creation. We each experience this love differently because of the relationships we tend. No matter how you experience the sweetness of the Christmas story, remember the most important ingredient is love. I try to remind you of that each Sunday. You are loved, gifted, and called into each new day. Let’s dare to believe that is true for each of us.
Peace and joy,
Nancy