Slideshow image

Embraced in the
quiet
centre
of hope ...

I must admit, this year I am already getting caught up in the excitement and the preparations for Christmas. Even though there are still limitations on what we can do together, this year feel more ... dare I say ... hopeful.

This is our first Advent/Christmas season in our Red Deer home, so Allan and I have been discovering interesting “new” places for our “well-loved” decorations. I have also discovered this can be a process which makes something old seem some-
how new. It’s all in the way you look at it, I guess. Creating new spaces for familiar traditions brings a fresh perspective for new insights to grow.

Advent and Christmas started showing up this week in our sanctuary too. There is a difference though, in the ambiance created for the season in the quiet of the sanctuary. There is a comforting familiarity to the traditional items – the banners, the wreath, and the candles. As I see Sunnybrook’s version for the first time, there is a breath of new life brought to the old story.

My hope for you this Advent season is that Sunnybrook can be a place of sanctuary for you from all the craziness of the season— a quiet, calm, warm embrace that may be both familiar, and yet new for you to discover all over again.

Peace and joy,

Nancy