December 2024 Pastor’s Letter

Dear Friends,

Let’s talk about endings and beginnings.

Advent is a season of endings and beginnings. The Christian calendar year comes to a close on November 24th, and on December 1st the new Christian year begins, as always, with the season of Advent. The birth of Jesus Christ ushers us into new ways of living and loving; and yet, the world as we know it spins madly on as commercial images of the Christmas season fill of screens and airwaves.

In many ways, pregnant Mary was surrounded by endings—large and small, personal and political. But Mary proclaimed hope in a God who was and is making all things new.

Christ’s birth offered a beautiful new beginning for shepherds and wise men alike, even as King Herod, terrified of change and loss of power tried to bring Christ’s story to an end.

As Cornerstone moves into a new beginning in 2025, we will feel the tug and pull of endings and beginnings, grief and uncertainty, hope and new life, goodbyes and hellos.

When we ourselves navigate seasons filled with endings and beginnings, we need reminders. We need words that can feel like steady ground, like a path for our feet to find as we step forward into the unknown. I invite you to move through this Advent season understanding that we are entering a sacred new chapter, holding fast to the reminders that will bolster us for the journey ahead.

As you journey through this season, may you find words of love and hope. May you find words for beginning again. For no matter what you are facing, no matter what this new day brings, love is your beginning, your middle, and your end—for God is love.

We’ll talk again soon,

Pastor Melissa