Small Acts Make a Difference
This Sunday marks the beginning of Advent. Even though 2024 won’t begin until after Christmas, in the church calendar, the new year has already arrived. In the church, the future is planted like a seed in the quiet of late fall, as the days shorten and the natural world goes dormant. It is a season suited to reflection and rest in preparation for what is to come.
So what is to come? What might 2024 look like for you? The year that has just gone by was full of good things, like the return to a normal social life with the return of gatherings and events. It was also full of heart-rending difficulties, as unexpected violence broke out and an old war trudged on. It was also somewhat discouraging as people continue to struggle with loneliness, having gotten out of the habit of public life. In hindsight, 2023 seemed to be saying “there are a lot of very difficult situations around you, events you have no control over…what are you going to do?” That is the question that I bring with me into the Advent season. What can be done in the face of seemingly overwhelming challenges to the well-being of the world.
The answer that emerges like a sprout from deep within the soil of the past year is “small acts make a difference.” I may not be able to bridge the divisions in our country, but I can be helpful to the stranger I meet on the bus, I can be gracious to my neighbor when she is angry and feels unheard, and I can make time for someone who needs to talk. I may not be able to stop a war, but I can become educated about its causes so that I have a deeper appreciation of the humanity of both sides. I may not be able to prevent homelessness, but I can provide dinner to those in my community who are hungry.
These kinds of small acts are exactly what we do here at church. This Saturday from 9-3, we will be hosting a Fair Trade Sale where you can purchase items that will make a difference in the life of an artisan and her family. On December 12th you can invite a friend or neighbor to join us for a Christmas workshop. Bring someone who might otherwise be alone during the holiday season to enjoy an activity and holiday music. You can join in the annual Tamalada, where we make a feast of holiday food for Transition House families, attend the annual PW Christmas tea and bring a friend, or invite someone to the Longest Night or the Christmas eve service. This is a sign of what is to come in 2024—small acts that make a difference in our lives and in the lives of many whom we have not yet met.
Blessings,
Pastor Jen
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