Season of Dazzling Darkness

Season of Dazzling Darkness
By The Rev. Dr. Paul S. Nancarrow

Advent is the first season of the church calendar and marks the beginning of a new liturgical year. But it is worth noting that, astronomically speaking, the time we are in now is the end of the year, the final waning days of the solar cycle, the time of the longest nights and deepest darkness, as the solar year winds down to midnight on the night of the winter solstice. We don’t often think of it this way, but one dimension of Advent is that it is a season of darkness—and we acknowledge that darkness partly in the way our liturgy keeps turning to light: we light more and more candles on the Advent Wreath to keep the deepening darkness back; we remember Isaiah’s promise that “the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light”; we look forward to the moment in the Christmas Eve service when we hear Luke’s Gospel tell how shepherds sitting in the dark were dazzled by the sound of angels’ song and the glory of the Lord shining all around them. In Advent we talk a lot about the light; but we also know that in Advent we are enfolded in the dark.

And that is not all bad. In “typical” religious symbolism, we tend to equate light with good and darkness with evil; but it is good for us to remember that darkness is a creature of God, also. It was in the darkness on the face of the great deep that God prepared the creation: the darkness was the rich mysterious source from which God brought the light, and darkness and light between them form the balanced cycle of night and day, the primordial exchange of energies on which all life and being depends. Isaiah sets forth the promise of light; but Isaiah also hears God proclaim “I form light and create darkness, I make weal and create woe; I the LORD do all these things.” The night sky is a deeply traditional sign of the transcendence of God. Psalm 19 shouts “the heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows his handiwork… one night imports knowledge to another.” In a traditional chant for Advent, Conditor alme siderum (Hymn 60 in our Hymnal), we praise God as “Creator of the stars of night,” and look to the astronomical cycles of the night sky as signs of God’s faithfulness in carrying out the plan of salvation. Darkness is a religious symbol, not only for the frightening and evil, but also for the mysterious and transcendent, for the Presence that enfolds us like the living night around the circle of our campfire consciousness.

Looked at that way, the darkness can be a place of great spiritual power and growth. In the darkness we come face to face with our fears and our yearnings, our sorrows and our hopes; in the darkness we can dream of things that seem impossible in the cold light of the day. The season of Advent invites us into darkness so that we can dream. Just as the faithful people of ancient times dreamt of the coming of the Messiah; just as the Christian community dreams of the new coming of Jesus to bring the ultimate fulfillment of well-being in right relationships; so in Advent we are invited to dream of the ways God can come into our lives, the ways Christ can be born in us, the ways the Holy Spirit can open our hearts to new possibilities of growth and service and celebration in life. Advent invites us into the mystery of what God will do next.

It can be a little scary to venture into the darkness on the way to a “next” you cannot see in advance—like going into a tunnel before you know what the light at the other end really is. But the good news of Advent is that the darkness is full of promise, the night prepares the potential of the coming day, the waiting for God is itself charged with awareness of the presence of God.

May this season of dazzling darkness touch you with dreams of new possibility in your life, in the adventure of the new things God has coming for us all.

December Wednesday School
Studies Apocalypse

The final installment of Wednesday School adult Christian education classes for 2002 is now under way. Second Advent: Christian Apocalyptic Scripture is a four-session course which began on November 20, and will continue on December 4, 11 and 18. In this class we will explore what the New Testament has to say about the Return of Christ at the end of time and the remaking of the world. The apocalyptic literature is rich with strange symbolisms and deep meanings, but it is often interpreted today as if it gave a calendar for doomsday or a script for history’s last climactic act. Apocalypse provides a topic for fundamentalist preachers, a scenario for prolific novelists, a subject of ridicule for secularist skeptics. What is really going on in Christian apocalyptic? How can we sift through its images and symbols? What message did it bring to its original readers, and what message can it bring to us today? Come learn more about the good news of the fulfillment of all things in the Living Word of God in Christ.

And plan ahead for Wednesday School in 2003! Courses next semester will include God Whispers, You Could be This: An Introduction to Process-Relational Theology in Epiphany, ABCs of the BCP: A Closer Look at the Prayer Book on Sunday evenings in Lent, and Paul the Apostle: Missions and Epistles in Easter. For more information, please call the Parish office.

Vestry Needs Members

The Vestry is the governing board of St. George’s and is made up of members of the parish. The nominating committee for the 2003 Vestry is looking for people who would be interested in serving a two-year term on the vestry beginning early February, 2003. In addition, we will be electing a Junior Warden for a two-year term. If you are interested in having your name considered by the nominating committee or have someone you would like to recommend, please contact Kathie Brown, Senior Warden at 612-827-5760 or kbrown20@mn.rr.com or call the church office by December 16.

STEP Holiday Gift and Food Drive

During December, the Outreach Committee will sponsor a Gift and Food Drive for the St. Louis Park Emergency Program.

There are many families and individuals who are unable to provide these holiday extras for their families. Please consider helping these people out by providing a toy, food or cash gift for this cause.

On the insert, you will find many suggestions of toys and gifts as well as food suggestions. Final delivery of these items will be made to STEP by Monday, December 16, 2002.

Reach out to others by contributing to STEP in this meaningful way. Happy Holidays!!

Alley Update by Kathie Brown, Senior Warden

A neighborhood meeting was held at St. George’s in late September. The attendance wasn’t large, but most neighbors who attended were opposed to paving the alley. One person who had signed the petition for paving was considering withdrawing his petition which would have put us below the 51% needed to proceed. I was advised by the city on November 6 that this person decided not to withdraw his support. Therefore, the project will proceed with further plans and meetings this winter in preparation for construction in the spring. Yeah!!!

An issue that came up at the meeting was that there is a lot of traffic in the alley due to cars cutting through the alley to get to northbound Hwy. 100. We discussed with the city representatives at the meeting the possibility of making the alley one way in the eastbound direction. The city is looking into this, and we should hear more about this soon.

A Good Location! By John Stonhouse

According to responses on the Parish Connection questionnaires, an important reason why members came to St. George’s is that it was a convenient location for them. At least one thing this says to us is: We are blessed with having an excellent location for our parish church.

Let’s look at some of the actual responses to question #2—What brought you to St. George’s? Here’s a sampling:

“I saw the church while I was driving by.”

“It was close to home when we lived in Golden Valley.”

“When we moved to St. Louis Park, this was the closest Episcopal church.”

“It was important to have a church close by when we lived in the neighborhood.”

What’s important in these responses for us? St. George’s is on an extremely accessible corner to bus and auto travel, not to mention travel by foot. Our church is highly visible with our telephone pole cross as well as unique architectural features of quonset hut and A-frame building. In addition, we offer handicap accessibility for worshippers.

Because we’re located right above Highway 100 on Minnetonka Boulevard, we’re very visible to an enormous amount of traffic going to and from work and other activities on the west side of Minneapolis. We even have our own parking lot right across the street.

So you can tell friends and associates at work, school or social activities about us and mention the location. When they travel near us, they can’t help but see us. Maybe they’ll stop in to visit! Who knows? God knows.

Special Family Celebration

The Feast of St. Nicholas (aka Santa Claus)

For families and singles wanting to feature the Christian themes of giving and love as the real meaning behind the Advent/Christmas season, St. Edward the Confessor Episcopal Church is offering a celebration for the Feast of St. Nicholas of Myra. The service and play will be held on Thursday evening, December 5 at 7:30 p.m. in the main sanctuary of Wayzata Community Church (125 E. Wayzata blvd.).

An “Evensong” prayer service combined with a children’s narrated dramatization, this special service leads us into Christmas by telling the amazing story of Nicholas on the eve of his saint’s day. The Rev. Judy Hoover and the Rev. Dr. Paul S. Nancarrow will narrate the play and lead the prayers.

Known for his great generosity and his help to children, St. Nicholas’ story spread around the world where he is known by many different names. In Holland Sint Niklass became Sinter Klass. The Dutch brought his story to New Amsterdam (later New York) where his name evolved into — Santa Claus!

Choirs of St. George’s, St. Edward’s and other area musicians will provide the music for Evensong, a traditional Anglican evening prayer service. Congregational hymns will be sung in addition to a “Magnificat” by Ralph Vaughn Williams, “His Piety and Marvelous Works” from Benjamin Britten’s St. Nicholas cantata, “Good King Wenceslas” and a Nunc Dimittis by local composer and choral director, Lawrence Henry.

Local singers wishing to join the combined choirs—and anyone seeking additional information—should contact St. Edward’s Church office at 952-473-2262.

The Pantomime and play used for this event derives from “The Legend of St. Nicholas” by Paula Nancarrow and was first performed in Nashville, Tennessee in 1995. As part of the play, children in attendance will receive a treat from the saint, while adults will be asked to give from their treasure to local area food shelves. Refreshments will be served following the service.

So! How are the Children? By Jan Hagerman

The story goes that among the East African Maasai people the traditional greeting is not “How are you?” or “How’s it going?” but rather, “So, how are the children?” or “Kasserian ingera?” The Maasai know that if the children are well, safety and peace prevail in the community. Asking this question raises the awareness that the well-being of ALL our children is a crucial indicator of the health of our whole society. Greeting one another by first asking about the children could help us build a better society, one where the responsibility to care for all our children is a top priority. Maybe we would begin living our communal, as well as private lives with all children in mind if we knew we had to answer for their welfare.

Children are a part of all of our lives, whether we are parents or not, and we can all impact their lives. In future newsletters you will see more on this subject. Children are the future for all of us and the world. How they grow up makes a big difference in that future!

Parish Open Houses Bloom!

The Parish Life and Celebration Team wants to thank the Outreach Team and the Building and Grounds Team for the wonderful informational displays they created for their Parish Open Houses. The displays gave parishioners a great opportunity to discover what the teams did, how our church and the community at large benefited from their efforts, and what was coming up for the teams.

The displays were also lively and attractive additions to the Parish Hall. Thanks again for stepping up to the plate and helping the Parish Open Houses become a looked-forward-to event!