The Advent and Christmas season is full of activities. Invite yourself, your community of faith, and your neighbours to pause, to breathe deep, to pray, find some stillness, some calm, to offer spaciousness to bring your whole self, your true you to God, whether full of excitement or full of exhaustion. Experience sanctuary and peace. Pause for prayer as often as you can, noticing what there is to be grateful for, the little things. Be comforted by an attitude of gratitude that appreciates the blessings and lifts up needs.
Decide when you can open your doors to your sanctuary, inviting the weary world in for some quiet. What context works best for you? Lunch hours? Before after or during activity times in other parts of your building, such as when Scouts or Guides meet, before or after weekly coffee? Extending time around your worship? The day following an event? Invitation leads to invitation. Perhaps you are doing a community singing or inviting community to help decorate, invite them to come back the next day to experience their own time of sanctuary when your sanctuary will be open for quiet reflection. Whether you play quiet music or allow silence to envelop and hold those who stop by, bring the invitation of rest. A table of invitation to prayer that greets those who stop by might offer a pitcher of water and glasses, or coffee and tea depending on your energy. An invitation card of all that is offered this season might be available. Perhaps a prayer box inviting people to share their own expressions. Make sure everyone knows and invites others to sanctuary times. Add times to come to the sanctuary to your website, your social media. Signage. Perhaps invitation to “come for quiet” can even be extended to continue in January.
If you need a listening ear, a time to be prayed for, reach out and let’s share a time of prayer together. I will be pleased to pray with you. If that’s too much, send me a quick note of your prayer request and I will hold you in prayer. Contact your growth animator, Sharon Ballantyne at 506-306-0500 or by email.
Don’t forget to join the Wednesday drop-in every Wednesday morning, a thirty-minute virtual coffee break to connect with people from across UCC-East. 9:45 Atlantic and 10:15 in Newfoundland-Labrador. Contact Sharon if you need the link.
A reminder the application window for Canada Summer Jobs for 2026 summer students are due by December 11.
