Happy New Year 2024!

 

Chapel's lit up tree in the dark.

Our children's creche.

Christmas at our house-2023

Modern Advent wreaths

 

Our Advent wreath is not a wreath at all, but instead is this really cool (sorry, I grew up in the 60s!) contemporary expression of the season of Advent with the traditional four candles, but set in a quite artistic and contemporary "wreath-like" setting. The candles and accompanying ribbons are set on four pyrex stands with a long sprig, well it's more like a branch, of an evergreen tree from our grounds, put inside.  Here's a close up of one of them and another photo of the whole group in the center of chapel.

This is one thing I really love about our creative liturgist, musicians and artists--they can take traditional and valued expressions/symbols and put them in a more contemporary, meaningful setting. They do this with so many of our religious symbols and signs, songs and prayers. 

Recently I re-connected with a gal that was two years ahead of me in high school and, as things are at that age, was one of the basketball players I looked up to when I was in 9th and 10th grade (as she was on the varsity in 11th and 12th). Here she is, back in Erie after quite a number of years on the west coast and, lo and behold, has found her way to the Mount and is experiencing our prayer through our Saturday night Advent vigils. After pulling away from formal religion for a while she seems to love our prayer and find it meaningful. I am thrilled to see her again and isn't that what it's all about? 

 

I am using this photo (taken in the summer) because this is exactly what our shoreline looked like this week, as we had 1-2 days of 50+ degrees and smooth waters on the lake. One of my friends mused that it seems as though our worse months of winter (cold and snow) have settled into January and February in the last few years--a change from former snowy Novembers and Decembers. Despite the non-lake effect weather, we continue to celebrate Advent and see Christmas erupting all around us. The amount of house decorations is greater than ever. Up and down the residential side streets we see roof lines outlined in lights, blown up Santas, deer and all sorts of characters on lawns, and, of course, the traditional decorated trees and nativity scenes. 

Our own inner courtyard's line of azalea bushes have grown large enough and strong enough to hold Christmas lights, too. Finally, in the Christmas spirit many of us are attending local holiday concerts. Manheim Steamroller was in town last week, the Philharmonic orchestra has special Christmas performances, as did the North East choral club this weekend. 

The Week Between

The week between Thanksgiving and the beginning of Advent brought these two scenes to our place that I'd like to share with you.

The first one happened during the early part of the week (Nov. 27-29)--our first real snowstorm:

The second one happened near the end of the week, this past Friday, Dec. 1--an Advent display of Brother Thomas' blue pots---perhaps his rarest color--at least in our collection: