This Advent season we are experimenting with bringing all-ages coloring to our coffee and community hour after worship. The church purchased these big, beautiful Advent coloring posters and this past Sunday a whole bunch of our folks got down to business and colored the first one in. Here’s a shot of the action:

 As I watched our community gather around the first Advent poster, an artistic rendering of the word “Hope,” I began to think about how Hope is something that is easier to cultivate in a community than by ourselves. Our youngest members worked alongside our oldest members, giving life to the artistic creation before them with love and care, and it seemed to me that this was a pretty good picture of what being the church is all about. Hope thrives on relationship and community. The world is a more manageable place when we don’t have to face it alone. We need each other.

As we gather together this season, let us be mindful to continue to build relationships within our community – welcoming each new face and getting know more deeply those we consider dear friends. I have faith that the results will be bright and beautiful.