Image: " Carol of the Field Mice" from Wind in the Willows, 1908 Dear Beloved Community, This upcoming Sunday we will light the pink candle of joy. In the story, it is not the powerful or the well-connected who first hear the news of Jesus’ birth, but ordinary people. Working people on the edges of society. God’s joy shows up in the fields, in the dark, with those who are usually overlooked. That’s the kind of God I follow: one who shows up in unexpected places, with good new

Image: Jorge Bautista Dear Beloved Community, This Sunday I’ll be preaching with John the Baptist as our very intense, very honest companion (Matthew 3:1–12). John is blunt in a way that most of us would probably find offensive, but underneath his harsh words is a deep conviction: we really can change. Advent is not just about waiting for a baby in a manger; it’s about trusting that God is still opening up a future for us, even when we’ve settled, gone numb, or started to bel