Carrying Advent

Carrying Advent

Sunday morning sanctuary
People dotting the pews
Sitting back
Leaning forward
Pulled inward
Cautious and content
Saddened and shaken
Neutral and numbed
Voices raised
Candles ablaze
Prayers for peace, joy, love,
Hope
Swirling around us
Up and over our heads

Thursday morning sanctuary
Silent and cold
Empty pews stare up
At an empty cross
Wind howling outside
Blackened wicks inside
Stiffened wax
In purple and pink
Clinging to candleside
Waiting for the light to come
The light that will warm
And soften
What has grown hard


Everyday sanctuary
Carried in our hearts
Where the flame
Forever burns
Forever warms
Even when we can no longer
See it
Or feel it
Or imagine it
The light
of God
is always there
Carrying Advent
To us
And with us
Wherever we may be.

Photo by Adam Hawkes