Dear Friends,

During the season of Advent this year, we will be having some conversations at each of four weeks about the coming of Christ, which we will celebrate on Christmas Day. But the conversations we will be having will be about something more personal, and that is about the coming of Christ in our own lives.

In these times when the whole world is being tossed to and fro by the pandemic, by racism, by climate change, and by political polarization, it’s a good time to get some ground under our feet so that we can move through these chaotic days in a more graceful and self-giving way; and that is where Christ comes in, not as an idea but as a living presence accompanying us each step of the way.

At our conversations (which Mary and I will lead), we will explore Christ’s presence in ourselves, in our relations with others and in the world around us, and in our deepest concerns about the meaning and purpose of life. This we will do not by thinking about it, but through a contemplative awareness fostered by Richard Rohr’s book, “The Universal Christ”. Our first conversation will come by Zoom on Sunday, November 29, after the liturgy. Before leaving, we will decide together about a meeting day and time for the three meetings after that.

You will do well to get a copy of the book to use, not for study so much as for spiritual reading in the couple of chapters assigned before each meeting (for the first meeting it will be the preface, “Before We Begin” and Chapter 1). The following handouts correspond to each week’s study.

We hope you will join us, and if you have any questions, contact Ted Coolidge by phone (860-301-3603) or email.

Yours faithfully,

Mary and Ted