Happy New Year!

January 4, 2022

 

Happy New Year, church family and friends!

Dennis and I are just back from a really nice visit with my 30 year old baby boy up in Washington. I remember how much I love spending time with that guy. His giggle, his kindness, the way we talk together, his perspective on things…so nice. I also remember how much Dennis and I both really dislike driving in the snow. BUT IT WAS WORTH IT. Stressful, but worth it. And now it’s very good to be home, with the holidays behind us and back into the comfortable rhythms of our ordinary life.

I’m just gonna toss this out there: the middle of winter is a very strange time to begin a new year, really, especially when it means making changes or plans for new endeavors. Ancient societies usually celebrated the new year in the spring or the fall…at planting time, or at the harvest. Which makes a lot more sense, to me at least. After the deadly cold and scarcity of winter, we emerge with hope in the spring and see how the world is waking up…naturally, that’s a time we’d be thinking of newness and life and exciting new ideas. The Roman calendar marked the new year exactly then, at the spring equinox, until Julius Caesar instituted some reforms to bring the calendar better in sync with the actual seasons and made January first – the month honoring Janus, the god of beginnings – New Year’s Day.

Autumn makes sense to me, too, as the start of the new year. After the work of planting and nurturing and harvesting, working to lay aside enough to endure the winter months, it makes sense that many ancient societies would sit back and take stock. Give thanks. Make sacrifices, and pray, and look forward to the new year. Ancient Israel established their new year then, at the end of the harvest in the fall, with ten days of awe (that is, thanks and praise to God) and repentance. Before moving into a winter season of cold and dark, in close quarters with family and neighbors, they made an intentional practice of giving and seeking forgiveness. Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is still practiced this way, seeking forgiveness from God and neighbor, forgiving others, and resolving to be more faithful in the coming year.

But winter? (Or in the southern hemisphere, in the middle of summer?) No. That’s weird. It doesn’t feel right. I mean, I realize that Jesus is born and we mark this time of Epiphany by being aware of the Light dawning…days growing longer and the darkness receding, literally and spiritually. I get it. But to me, in my bones, winter is a time for storytelling, and cooking, and creating. A time for family, and friends…for introspection, and appreciation. For love, and care, and gratitude. Not to do or achieve something new, but to see and love what already is. To be slow, and careful, and attentive. To love both the darkness and the light, because God is powerfully present in both.

Of course, I am very weird myself, so maybe none of this rings true for you. Maybe this is a perfect time for you, to make resolutions and have renewed energy for life. If so, then swell! But one note of caution, as you make your plans for the new year: be gentle with yourself. You are loved and loveable, exactly as you already are. And life is good.

Raising my Ebenezer,

      Pastor Dawn

Worship Any and Everywhere!

RHYTHMS: Finding Rest for Our Souls

This Sunday we begin a new series! We’ll talk together about the rhythms of life, what the Bible says about finding balance and peace, and what God tells us about work, rest, and worship. As you prepare your heart for worship, you might like to pray with Colossians 3:23-24, and the second chapter of Ecclesiastes. You’ll be amazed how God can speak into your life, when you take time in the quiet to read scripture and pray.

 

If you are worshiping with us from home, either via the radio broadcast or video, we are so glad! If we can pray for you, or if there is anything you need, we would love to do that. You can call the church office at 775-423-4714, or you can call Pastor Dawn on her cell phone any time, 775-671-5553.