K Karpen: "Crying in the Wilderness" (Sermon from December 7, 2025)

Dear Friends,This Sunday marks the beginning of Advent, a season that starts not in bright lights and carols, but in the dark. It begins with tremors and shadows, with stars falling and the ground beneath us shifting.Guided by Mark’s gospel, we’ll listen for signs and portents, for the eerie syzygy of a world in upheaval and the unsettling beauty that comes when the familiar order begins to crack. In this uncertainty, we may just glimpse the nearness of God.We’ll gather to keep watch, to let our eyes adjust to the dimness where the Holy is already drawing near, to find hope flickering at the edge of endings and beginnings.Join us this Sunday, as we hold onto hope in the shadows.Until then, have a very Happy Thanksgiving and know that I am  grateful to wait and watch with you,Pastor Lea