Who are you? Who are you as a Christ-follower? Advent is a time of preparation. A time when we prepare for Christmas by opening in our hearts a place for the Christ-child to be born anew. It is a time of intentionally journeying to the manger, a time of pilgrimage. A part of the way each of us can prepare is by doing some work and prayer around some of life's essential questions, one of which is "who are you?"

“I had a “Facebook Memory” pop up of last year's Annual Meeting. Although it only happened a year ago, it felt far off. Potlucks like that seem to have taken place a lifetime ago. I miss them and long for them. I know that with continued effort, with continued social distancing, and with mutual respect, one day they will return. I look forward to that day.”

“…I was contemplating the difficulty of 2020 as I was preparing my report for our Annual Meeting. Like everything else this year, there has been some good, and there has been some bad, but I feel like God has been present for it all. When I look at it this way and I see the body of work St. Martin’s has accomplished, I smile.”

The Royal School of Church Music (RSCM, or Children’s choir) rehearsals will resume on November 8!

Know that always, but especially now, your children are welcomed and encouraged to be in worship with us. No matter how they come. It is good for the development of their faith to see you worship and to get to worship with you. It is good for their souls to pray with you. It is good for them to get to see all the parts of the service. Their giggles are the best music we could offer. So let the little children come with you. Let the wiggles happen and the sprints around The Point go on! When we say "all are welcome," we mean it.

rying to sum up my thoughts for today has proven to be exceptionally difficult. My mind is a jumble of concerns. In real-time, I am praying about our election and our election process. I am proud of members like Tim Thames who is working at the polls. For Tim and others doing the same, I give thanks. I am praying for safety. I am praying about COVID. Rising numbers are a reality. I want all of our members to be safe. Again, I am praying for safety. Randomly, I am praying/nervous about a bike race I am riding in tonight. Noah will be racing, too. In the race between the two of us, he's going to win. I literally have a zero-percent chance of beating him; instead, I am hoping not to crash. Again, I am praying for safety.

In the face of the variety of circumstances that 2020 has brought our way, St. Martin's needs your financial help to budget for 2021. As your priest, I understand if hours and income are less. If this is you, I ask that you give what you can. It will be graciously received and accepted. If you are a person whose income has remained stable or even gone up, I ask that you pray about giving a tithe. A tithe is a biblical practice of giving 10 percent of your income to the church. I understand that this is a challenge, but I also know that if Denise and I, as a priest and a teacher, can do this, many of you can as well. We do it as a gift to God and commitment back to each of you, whom we consider our family in Christ. Finally, if you have never pledged to St. Martin's, I pray that you consider doing so. Our success in 2021 depends on the commitment of the entire community.

Lately I have been hearing a lot about COVID fatigue, which seems to manifest itself primarily in two places. Like ambient light fills a room, the first place COVID fatigue manifests itself is in a general sense of tiredness that comes from living in the midst of the ambient stress of a pandemic that permeates every aspect of our lives. Going to the grocery store, e-learning, regular learning, family functions -- all now require extra thought and extra considerations. It's tiring, and if you have felt yourself being more tired as of late, please know you are not alone.

We are each doing differently during this time. Some days we are doing very well, and on other days, we feel like we have just won front row seats on the struggle bus. The offering of grace means you understand that everyone has the potential of doing well during this time, and at the same time, not so much. That on any given day we could be in any position. A simple "I understand. Would you like to talk? I am happy to listen" can go further then any of us could possibly imagine.