Two things this month. First up, we're entering a new Christian year with the beginning of Advent on Sunday, November 30. I know, I know, the world thinks Christmas started as soon as Halloween passed. The world makes what it calls "Advent calendars," but for the most part, those calendars rarely display Advent, settling instead for "Days in December before Christmas."

Advent is a time of waiting. Do you remember the great Advent hymn, O Come, O Come, Emmanuel? We sing:

O come, O come, Immanuel,
and ransom captive Israel
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel
shall come to you, O Israel.

What do we do as we wait? A couple of things: We pay attention and we pray. We pay attention to what God is doing in our lives and the lives of the people around us. We ask God to lead us to those who need Jesus and we invite them to join us in our walk with him. All this is bathed in prayer. We don't invite people because of our awesomeness or superiority. We invite people to meet and be blessed by the Jesus we've met and are blessed by.

We have so many opportunities to invite people this month.
- Children's Choir Christmas Concert: 5pm, December 14
- Chancel Choir Cantata: Sunday morning worship, December 21
- Chili Cookoff: After worship, Sunday, December 21
- Christmas Eve Worship: 5pm, Wednesday, December 24

There's another thing I want to mention, something that has nothing to do with the season. Our Director of Christian Education Janet DeLaughter is retiring as of November 30. In my short time here I've seen the hard work Janet has done in so many areas. Some of that work you see – most of it you don't because it's behind the scenes. Janet has been a sparkplug here at Hardy, making things happen and helping people find areas to serve. I thank her for the blessing she's been to me – and to the church as a whole. Her husband David has done the newsletter for the past few years, and we'll miss his ministry as well. When you see them, tell them how much you appreciate them. If you don't get to tell them face to face, drop them a note.

1 Corinthians 15:58
Rev. Richard Heyduck