Father Dave’s Corner: Advent 2025

Beloved of God,

The new church year is quickly approaching, with only one more Sunday in Ordinary Time followed by Christ the King Sunday remaining in the current year. Our liturgy cycles to Lectionary Year A beginning on the First Sunday of Advent: November 30th. Both the new church year and the season of Advent will bring changes to our worship together. Due primarily to our current staffing situation, these changes will be modest but prayerful.
This year, the following faith resources will be offered as opportunities for you to deepen your spiritual life during the Advent season:

First, the following daily devotional book will be available for free to everyone in the congregation starting on Christ the King Sunday: Living Well Through Advent 2025: Practicing Generosity With All Your Heart, Soul, Strength, and Mind from Living Compass. Copies will be on a table in the back of the Nave throughout the Advent season.

Second, an opportunity for spiritual formation will also exist from 9:00 to 10:00am on Sunday mornings in Advent in the lower Guild Hall using the weekly reflections from: Advent Reflections: Meditations for a Holy Advent from EWTN Publishing. Copies will be available from the church office for a $10 donation.

Third, over the noon hour on Friday’s during Advent, we will be offering: Stations of the Nativity: Reflections from Scripture & the Church Fathers; in the church. This service mirrors the structure of the Stations of the Cross that we pray during Lent but focuses on events leading up to and following the birth of Jesus. It consists of 14 stations, or meditations, that guide a person through key moments of the Christmas story, such as the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Journey to Bethlehem, and the birth of Jesus. Each station includes a scripture passage, a reflection, and a prayer to help believers prepare their hearts for the Christmas season.

Finally, we will once again be offering the candlelit Blue Christmas service and prayers for healing in the church on Thursday, December 18th at 6:30pm. If you are struggling with anxiety, sadness, grief, or loss, then this service offers you the opportunity to intentionally offer these pains up to God for healing.

Under His Mercy,
Fr. Dave+