Keep awake. Keep alert. Advent language.

It's quite a challenge to live with such mindfulness amid the complexity and overstimulation of urban life. Take a digital camera as one example of the ambiguous nature of much of our technology. Who isn't glad to be able to take dozens of pictures without concern for perfection or the amount of film used? Yet are we truly present to any of those "Kodak moments" when we click away endlessly?

Consider Jim Brandenburg, a National Geographic photographer. For ninety days he challenged himself to take only one photograph in a given day. No second chances. Instead of taking several hundred pictures and choosing the best one, he writes: "My quest was both arbitrary and rigid. Arbitrary in that no one had compelled me, or even asked me, to perform it. Rigid in that once engaged, the constraints I had chosen would force me to examine myself and my art in a manner I'd never before attempted."

Between the fall equinox and the winter solstice Brandenburg gave his attention to the wilderness of Northern Minnesota: bald eagles in trees, ice crystals hanging over a stream, gray wolves chasing after ravens. One picture a day. 

For many December is a relentless month of point and shoot. If we shoot five hundred pictures a day (or rush and hurry through everything) how much are we truly present to? What stunning images we may notice if we were but to slow down and pay attention. Advent invites us to be alert and awake to the divine in each moment, in each scene, in each encounter.

Brandenburg hoped to rediscover what drew him to his art, and his words offer us wisdom as we journey toward the winter solstice and the great feast of Christmas: "To break out of the pattern, to let go of life's clutter, to see the sun, to see what is over the next rise, to follow animal tracks in the snow. To break the numbness, the automatic frenetic approach to things, to be present, to contemplate."

Blessed Advent,

Pr. Craig M. Mueller

(photograph by Jim Brandenburg; based on material in a reflection by Abbot John Klassen of St. John's Abbey, Collegeville, MN)

UPCOMING SUNDAY  

John called people to repent, to clear the decks, to completely reorder their lives so that nothing would get in the way of the Lord's coming. The reading from Isaiah gives the context for this radical call: the assurance of forgiveness that encourages us to repent; the promise that the coming one will be gentle with the little ones. Isaiah calls us all to be heralds with John, to lift up our voices fearlessly and say, "See, your God is coming!" We say it to one another in worship, in order to say it with our lives in a world in need of justice and peace.

• 8:30 a.m. - Eucharist (about 45 minutes)
• 9:15 a.m - Choir Rehearsal
• 9:30 a.m. - Sunday School and Sunday Forum (below)
• 10:30 a.m. - Sung Eucharist and baptisms 
• 12:00 p.m. - Christkindl Market - See Below 

Sunday Forum - Poetry for Advent and Christmas

9:30 a.m. - Passavant Hall
Most of us are familiar with the vast store of artistic works about the Birth of Jesus in painting and in Christmas hymns and carols. But throughout the centuries many important poems by some of the world's great poets have been written on the subject. Join us for an introduction and a discussion of some of them as a way of injecting new images and perspectives on a familiar topic. Led by Ryan LaHurd.

Weekly readings 

Contemplative Eucharist - Tonight, 6:00 P.M.

Take a break from the busy city life, and join us for this simple, contemplative eucharist. We will be celebrating Advent and the feast of Andrew the Apostle.

Walk The Labyrinth This Advent

Holy Trinity will have a labyrinth laid out on the floor of Passavant Hall this Advent. Walking the labyrinth is a way to slow down, reflect, and be present to the inner and outer journeys of life. A special gift has enabled Holy Trinity to rent a canvas labyrinth for two weeks this December. A brief printed guide will be available. Holy Trinity members and others are welcome to walk the labyrinth at these times:
+ Saturday, December 3, Transitions retreat
+ Wednesdays, December 7 and 14, 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. (before or after the Wednesday contemplative service)
+ Sunday, December 11, 11:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. (after worship until the beginning of Lessons and Carols for Advent)
 

Festival of Lessons and Carols for Advent

Join us on Sunday, December 11 at 4:00 p.m. for Holy Trinity's annual Festival of Lessons and Carols for Advent. Scripture readings, anthems, Advent hymns, quiet meditation, candles, incense and prayer combine to provide a memorable service that will bring focus to your Advent experience. Music by the Holy Trinity Choir and Strings will include compositions by J. S. Bach, Thomas Ravenscroft and Healey Willan as well as traditional carol settings and the Collegium Regale setting of the Magnificat by Herbert Howells. Make Lessons and Carols a part of your Advent tradition!  Childcare will be provided in our nursery. 

Christmas Decorating Party

On Wednesday, December 21 at 7:00 p.m., come help us ring in the Christmas season while we decorate the tree, put up lights, arrange flowers, set up the cresh and fellowship together! If you are able to help, please sign up at the back of the church or email Josh in the office.

Mark your calendar for these upcoming events:

• Advent Retreat: Transitions - Dec. 3, 9:30 a.m.
• Christkindl Market - Dec. 4, 12:00 - 3:00 p.m.
• Festival of Lessons and Carols for Advent - Dec. 11, 4:00 p.m.
• Christmas Services:
  • Christmas Eve Services: 4:30 & 10:00 p.m.
  • Christmas Sunday Service: 10:30 a.m.
• New Year's Sunday Service, January 1, 2012 - 10:30 a.m.

8:30 - 21; 10:30 - 124

Introduction to Institutional Racism Workshop

Chicago ROAR (Regional Organizing for AntiRacism) is holding a workshop on Saturday, December 3 from 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. at Reba Place Church, 535 Custer Avenue, Evanston IL. The cost is $25 per person or $15 for students (with ID at door). For more information, please see this flier. Online registration at http://www.roarintro.ezregister.com 

...And Heaven and Nature Sing - A Jazz Nativity

On Saturday, December 10 at 4:00 p.m., Saint Luke Church, at 1500 W. Belmont, will hold a Jazz Nativity concert with free-will offering to benefit the Anti-Cruelty Society. Admission and parking is free. Pets are welcome, and there will be pet adoptions before and after the service. Form more information, visit their website.

Meditation Retreat: Holding Intentions With Wisdom and Compassion

Start your new year by joining the Chicago Weekly Sitting Meditation Group for a one day Mindfulness meditation retreat, Saturday, January 7, 2012, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. here at Holy Trinity in Passavant Hall. We will explore how the meditative practice of Mindfulness can help us embrace life with more joy. This retreat is appropriate for both newcomers to Mindfulness and meditation as well as for experienced practitioners. For more information, download the flyer here or head online for more information on the retreat and how to register.

"Team Trinity" Volunteer Opportunities

Please consider joining Team Trinity today! VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: Check out Volunteer website for upcoming opportunites.  It is Holy Trinity's goal to register as many members on-line to assist in helping with our ministry projects within the community.  Simply log-in now and sign-up online to volunteer today

--The Crib

The Night Ministry has reopened their youth/young adult homeless shelter, The Crib. Holy Trinity will be preparing and serving a meal once per month. On the third Saturday of each month, volunteers will meet at Holy Trinity at 7 p.m. to prepare the meal, then will head to The Crib to serve the meal. For more information, speak with or email Ken Duckmann.

--The Night Ministry Outreach Van

Holy Trinity will be assembling and distributing 'meals in a bag' with the Night Ministry in Rogers Park on a quarterly basis. Stay tuned for more information and how to help out.

Next Baptism Dates: January 8, February 12. More info.

Next New Member Orientation Date: January 22, April 15.  More info.

Office Hours: Mon., Tues., Thurs., 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.; Wed., 12:00-7:00 p.m.; and Sun., 8:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. 

November 27, 2011
The First Sunday in Advent
Mark 13:24-37; Isaiah 64:1-9
Pr. Craig M. Mueller

URGENT

Does it ever feel like you are living a world of overstimulation? Everything seems urgent. And everyone is trying to get your attention.

The messages are manifold, the choices endless. Think of all the choices we have in the grocery store alone. What brand? What price? What size? Regular or low fat?

And think of your email box and how you feel when it gets out of control. I was discussing with a few folks the phenomenon that many people don't seem to return emails, even important ones. What about the one that I need a response to-did it get lost in an inbox barrage?

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30

    6:00 p.m.  Contemplative Eucharist
    7:30 p.m.  AA & SAA (St. Mark's Room & Passavant Hall) 

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1  

    10:00 a.m. Weekly Bible Study - John 9  

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 3 

    9:30 a.m. Advent Mini-Retreat: Transitions (Passavant Hall)  

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 4 

    8:30 a.m.  Eucharist     

    9:15 a.m.  Choir Rehearsal

    9:30 a.m.  Sunday School and Sunday Forum      

    10:30 a.m.  Sung Eucharist    

    12:00 p.m.  Christkidl Market (Passavant Hall) 

    1:00 p.m.  Jared Metzger Studio Recital (Nave) 

MONDAY, DECEMBER 5 

    7:00 p.m.  Meditation Group  

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7 

    6:00 p.m.  Contemplative Eucharist  

    7:30 p.m.  AA & SAA (St. Mark's Room & Passavant Hall) 

COMMEMORATIONS FOR THE WEEK

From Sundays and Seasons.com. Copyright 2010 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual License #26481.

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Advent in 2 Minutes: Watch this You-Tube Video  

What is Advent about and how does it relate to Christmas? Watch this fun video.

Check it out! Watch now. 

Though in the video purple and pink are mentioned as colors for Advent (and still used by some denominations and marketed by church supply stores), Lutherans have used blue as the liturgical color for Advent since 1973. Blue represents hope and royalty. From a current ELCA resource: "The old practice of two purple colors, one pink or rose, and the last purple arose in coordination with the readings and colors of older times. For our lectionary, the use of four white or blue candles is appropriate." (Keeping Time: The Church's Years, Using Evangelical Lutheran Worship)