Dear Edgeboro Friends & Family,

The season is here. No longer do we have to separate ourselves into people who decorate for Christmas before Thanksgiving and those who do so after. It’s after Thanksgiving, which means we are now all on the same page. The trees and lights are going up, the music is on the radio, and all the traditions celebrating Christmas that we know and love are just about to take place.

Christmas traditions are easy to fall into and hard to break. We go to the same places and do the same things and see the same people. More often than not, this is a good thing because hopefully, the reason why we do the same things is that we find them enjoyable. Yet there is something we need to be aware of when we enjoy the traditions that we always do.

Advent is a season of waiting and watching for God to do something new. As we celebrate the story of Jesus’ birth, a time when God did something new and spectacular in the world, we also should be looking in our world to see the new and spectacular things God is doing today. When we do the same things with the same people in the same places, it can become challenging to look for the new that God is doing.

To keep our eyes open to the new, maybe there’s something new that we can do in the midst of our traditions that will keep us tuned-in and filled with Christ’s hope during this Advent season.

• Northeast Ministry is hosting a Christmas party for the youth involved in their programs. As gifts for them at that party, new zip-up hooded sweatshirts will be given out. These sweatshirts will be collected at Edgeboro! Please consider purchasing a sweatshirt for this cause – see details on the next page!
• Try something new here at Edgeboro – work at the Putz for a night, help make meals (Dec. 16th – see next page) and/or PB & J sandwiches (TBD) in cooperation with our partners in ministry (The Salvation Army, Trinity Episcopal Soup Kitchen, Bethlehem Emergency Sheltering, etc.), or do something else you have wanted to try.
• Make a small donation each day of Advent to a different organization helping the community.
• Do an “Advent Picture Challenge” on your Facebook/Instagram account. (Google it.)
• Find a free Advent devotional to do each day. (Google it.)
• Find a new Advent calendar that has you doing something each day of Advent: “Random Acts of Kindness Advent Calendar,” “Gratitude Advent Calendar,” “Advent Prayer Calendar.” (Google it.)

I would encourage us to be creative, as well as intentional when it comes to seeing what new things God is bringing to light in our world.

I look forward to witnessing with you this season and all the new things and traditions that come with it. May your Advent and Christmas be blessed by the hope, peace, joy, and love of our coming Savior!

Sharing Light with you,

Pastor Dan