The photo above shows a greenly glimmering wood we found ourselves in by the River Dart near Buckfast Abbey – a day or two before the November 2020 lockdown.It reminds me of the mysterious green wood with dark pools discovered by two children in ’The Magician’s Nephew’. If you’re a fan of the Narnia Chronicles by C.S.Lewis you might remember the scene where Polly and Digory find out that if they put on yellow rings and jump into a different pool, they enter a new world. Then by swapping the yellow rings to green ones they get back to the sleepy ‘wood between worlds’.
In her ‘Lectionary Reflections’ the theologian Jane Williams compares the season of Advent to Polly’s ‘Wood between the Worlds’ – or, as Digory prefers to call it, this ‘in-between place’. The children had to actively choose to jump into a different pool to reach a new world.
The Advent Sunday Bible readings all invite us to be active – to be squirrels not sloths, gardeners not gunmen, to seek the light – not cower in the shadows.

In Romans 13:11-14 Paul shakes his readers out of complacency. “Wake up!” he says. “The night is far gone, the day is near!” Be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed!

Isaiah rallies God’s people saying ‘Come on! Let’s walk in the light of the Lord!’ God’s clarion call at Advent urges us to wake up and wage peace, beating swords into ploughshares and swords into pruning hooks.

In Advent we are invited to walk towards the manger by the light of a guiding star to discover the Jesus child. Maybe a vulnerable, beautiful baby, who invites care and protection, can actually teach us how to live more peacefully on God’s earth.

Services this Sunday 27th November

The First Sunday of Advent

Readings: Isaiah 2:1-5; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:36-44

08.00am All Saints Said Holy Communion

10.00am St.Mary’s Sung Holy Communion with St.Mary’s Kids

10.30am All Saints Cafe Church on the theme: Why go to church?

10.30am All Saints Christingle

Coming up in the week ahead

Wednesday 30th November 9am Celtic Morning Prayer at All Saints Church

Thursday 1st December 10am Holy Communion at St Mary’s Church

Saturday 3rd December 11am St.Mary’s Christmas Fair

Next Sunday 4th December

10.00 – Creative Open Church St Mary’s Church on the theme of Waiting

10.30 – Holy Communion at All Saints Church

18.30 – Veni Emmanuel – Advent Sequence at St Mary’s

So many joyful and reflective services to help you get ready for Christmas…

This Advent, how you will choose to let the light of love be born in you …?
Come, O come Emmanuel!

Revd Diane, assistant curate.