Pastor Brian's Blog

Dear Trinity Friends, There are more days in Advent 2016 than in other years because Christmas falls on a Sunday.  Advent always starts four Sundays before Christmas.  This year we have twenty-eight days of preparing for Christ.  Advent is derived the Latin word for “coming.”  It refers to the past and the future.  On the one hand, we celebrate the birth of Jesus (his first coming).  On the other hand, we anticipate Christ’s final triumph (his second coming).  Between these two events, Christ promises to be with us still, in the sense that he comes continually to us in Word and Sacrament and Spirit.  Advent is meant to be an interruption of “ordinary time.”  The holy breaks into the daily.  In fact, Advent is the beginning of a new year in the church’s calendar, marking the new life that God makes possible in Jesus Christ.  The prophet Isaiah gives voice to God’s action: “Look! I’m doing a new thing;  ...

In Advent, we start a new series called “Advent Anticipation.”  The series begins on the first week with Jesus calling the disciples to watch for the fulfillment of all things.  On the second week, we are invited to repent from our worldly attachments and to turn to the coming reign of God.  On the third week, we can see the world in a new way.  On the fourth, we open our hearts and minds to God’s dream.  On Christmas Eve, we hear the chorus angels announcing the birth of Jesus as a sign of peace.  On Christmas Day, we contemplate the mystery of the Word made flesh and dwelling among us. November 27 – Advent 1 Watch Matthew 24:26-34 December 4 – Advent 2 Turn Matthew 3:1-12 December 11 – Advent 3 See Matthew 11:2-11 December 18 – Advent 4 Dream Matthew 1:18-25 December 24 – Christmas Eve Peace Luke 2:1-14 December 25 – Christmas Day Word John 1:1-14

Dear Trinity Friends, The results of the 2016 general election are in, and after a rancorous campaign, a new president has been elected.  Some of us are celebrating with a measure of surprise, while others of us are shell-shocked.          For the second time in less than twenty years, one party won the popular vote and another party secured the electoral college vote.  The wildly inaccurate election day polls added to the sense of drama and disorientation.       Among the people of Trinity Church, there are Republicans, Democrats, and Independents.  What unites us as a "welcoming community of compassion and faith" is not our political affiliation or presidential choices but rather our shared love for God and our neighbor through Jesus Christ.   I want to acknowledge the disbelief and anxiety that some of you have expressed to me.  Julie Beck's essay for The Atlantic describes "collective trauma" and how to...