Dear Friends,

ADVENT PASTORAL LETTER – AN ADVENT INVITATION

As winter approaches, the days grow shorter and the evenings colder, reminding us of the natural rhythms of life. This season, while beautiful in its quiet evenings and festive lights, often comes with its own pressures and busyness. Preparing our homes, planning celebrations, buying gifts, and sending cards can leave little time for the deeper reflection that the season calls for.

Yet, winter and Christmas also invite us to pause—to prepare not only our homes, but our hearts. The birth of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, centuries ago is the reason we celebrate. He came as the Prince of Peace, bringing hope, salvation, and the promise of God’s unending love. This reminder is timeless: the true gift of Christmas is not wrapped in paper or tied with ribbons, but lives in the joy, peace, and love that Christ brings into our hearts.

Amid the busyness, this year we are called to slow down and reflect. How often do we get caught up in pleasing everyone, buying presents, writing cards, or arranging festive gatherings, and forget the deeper meaning of Christmas? What if, instead, we made room to reflect on the Messiah who came to bring light into a world in need of hope and peace?

Christmas is also a season to share Christ with others. It is an opportunity to invite friends, family, neighbours, and even strangers to meet Jesus and experience the love of God. Some may already know Him, while others may be encountering Him for the first time. Our words, our acts of kindness, and even our prayers can be instruments of introducing people to the hope and salvation Christ brings. As Isaiah reminds us: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given… and he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).

This winter, as we celebrate the birth of Christ, let us also take the time to open our hearts to His presence and reflect on His promises. Let us offer grace, patience, and love to others, remembering that the greatest gift we can give—or receive—is the love of God revealed in Jesus. In doing so, we not only deepen our own faith but also share the light of Christ with those around us, bringing hope, joy, and peace to our communities.

May this season of preparation, reflection, and celebration be one where we pause amidst the busyness to behold the wonder of the Messiah’s birth, allowing His love to shine through us and drawing others closer to Him.

With prayers and love,An Advent Invitation
There is something truly special about Advent. It meets us right where we are in the growing darkness and chill of the year and speaks a word of radiant hope. It is a season that does not ignore the shadows but rather teaches us to watch faithfully for the dawn. Advent awakens a sacred longing within us, stretching from our most personal hopes to our deepest yearnings for healing in our world.
In a time when the headlines are filled with stories of violence, greed, division, and despair, Advent calls us into a different story. It invites us to gather much like our forebears who huddled around firelight during long winter nights to tell the stories of faith, to sing songs of hope, and to keep watch together for the coming Light.
What is your heart yearning for this Advent?
Perhaps you carry grief or loss, or the ache of broken relationships feelings that the bright cheer of the season can sometimes sharpen. Advent honours these tender places within us. It gives us language for longing and offers us a steady promise of hope. We pray, we work, and we wait for the coming of Emmanuel—God with us. We lean into the ancient promise:
“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness, a light has dawned.” (Isaiah 9:2)
This is the vast, beautiful vision of Advent: a light that shines in both our personal darkness and in the deep shadows of our world. Christ comes whether we feel prepared or not. He was born in a time of anxiety and oppression, to a poor family far from home. And He is born among us still tender, vulnerable, and precisely what a world in need of a Saviour requires.
What a gift, then, to keep this sacred season together! Throughout our Circuit, we have the great joy of preparing our hearts as one through song and silence, prayer and reflection, waiting and watching. And what a joy it is to welcome Christ among us. By God’s grace, the mystery unfolds once more: the Word becomes flesh, God dwells with us, and love is born anew.
Our churches are especially beautiful during this season, but even more importantly, they become places of deep meaning and shared hope. We warmly invite you to join any of our churches as we worship, wait, and celebrate together.
Please take a moment to discover the special Advent and Christmas services, events, and programmes happening across our Circuit churches. We hope you will find a meaningful way to mark this holy season—and that you will feel encouraged to invite your family, friends, and neighbours to experience the hope, peace, and joy of Christ’s coming.
Wishing you every blessing of this holy and hopeful season,

Revd Dr. David Jebb – Superintendent Minister of St Albans & Welwyn Circuit