More and more things are demanding our time and energy. More shopping. More travel. More planning. Pressure builds, and it is increasingly difficult to find quiet time for our Advent-life. As we brush elbows with more and more people who are more and more anxious for the season, we hear again our call to simplicity. The great mystery this Advent is that our personal holiness touches the lives of all those with whom we come into contact. When we are made holy as individuals, it is the whole world that reaps the reward.

If I had a dollar for every time someone has said to me in the last few weeks something like: “I can’t believe how quickly this year has gone!”, or “I can’t believe it’s nearly Christmas!”, I would be a wealthy man! Someone said to me last Sunday morning, “Is it really Advent Sunday next week?  How can that be? I got a real shock when you said that this morning!  Are you sure you’ve got that right?”   

Of course, people say every year that the year seems to have gone really quickly. That’s not new. But maybe, the busy-ness and pace of life are increasing just a little every year, and every year the months seems to fly by just a little quicker – and it’s as the year comes to an end that we start to really notice that. If that’s so, it makes the season of ADVENT even more important than it has ever been – a time when we make sure we pause and reflect on the stunning Christmas story, and allow it to grip us anew. And maybe also during Advent, or the holiday period, we should all give some thought as to whether we need to make some lifestyle changes so that our lives are less frantic in 2012.

Mike Enright

20 November 2011

 Alpha is a course that invites people to “explore the meaning of life”, and introduces them to the central beliefs of the Christian faith – in a relaxed environment, where every question is welcome. In the words of The Guardian newspaper of London, “What Alpha offers, and what is attracting thousands of people, is permission, rare in secular culture, to discuss the big questions – life and death and their meaning.”

 We are intending to offer Alpha at KBC next year. So think about whether you’d like to participate in such a course … and/or whether there is someone you could invite to an Alpha course. (By the way, there are some very interesting varieties of Alpha courses available now: Youth Alpha – specifically designed for teenagers; Student Alpha, for university students; Senior Alpha, for those over 75; Workplace Alpha; and Alpha for ESOL.) If you’d like to register an interest in participating in Alpha in 2012, please fill in one of the forms at our Info Desk or contact our office.  

 It was a great joy to share with Jo in her baptism last Sunday. I want to encourage others of you to be baptised by immersion, if you haven’t already been. Believers’ baptism is about beginning … It’s not a sign that you’ve reached a certain level of Christian knowledge or behaviour; it’s a sign that you’ve BEGUN THE JOURNEY. If you are interested in discussing this – or disagreeing with me! – I’d love to chat with you.

Paul Thompson

Chris Joll

Matt Gan