A Season of Hope
It's a time of promise, hope and healing.
December 22, 2024 :: Landscape
Advent is the season of anticipation. For four weeks, we prepare our hearts and minds for the celebration of the birth of the Christ Child. The scripture readings, hymns and Advent candles guide us toward Christmas Day like a star to the stable.
Advent is also a season of hope. We will turn down the volume on the current events we can’t control. Then we’ll surround ourselves with the music and light, family and friends, and traditions and memories that nurture hope in our hearts.
On Christmas Day, we can find hope in a manger, in the baby who fulfills a promise. No matter which side of the civic issues we stand on, when we all kneel down at the crib, we discover we’re closer to hope than we’ve ever been. When we look up, we see we’re closer to each other, too. Maybe at the manger the healing begins. Maybe that’s the best gift we can hope for this year.
This year’s Christmas message honors the song “O Holy Night.” We’re fond of the sound of a soloist’s voice filling the church with this carol on Christmas Eve. But a phrase from it can begin our morning meditation or prayer every day. “A new and glorious morn” may help us greet each day in uncertain times. It can remind us that the day is precious and filled with promise. It can guide our daily search for hope. And as long as one heart remains open to it, hope lives.
MAKING THE PHOTOGRAPH
SUBJECT: Sunrise, Arches National Park, Utah
CONDITIONS: Calm, clear, autumn-like
EQUIPMENT and SETTINGS: (Unrecorded, but likely) Nikon F4 camera, 80-200mm Nikkor lens, Gitzo tripod, Kirk Enterprises ball head; Spot metering, Manual exposure mode, Manual focus, Manual shutter mode with manual cable release.
EXPOSURE: (Unrecorded, but possible) Fujichrome Velvia 50, f/16, ISO 50; natural light; image scanned from an original transparency; and no alterations or additions with AI or Photoshop. Yes, it was this stunning on its own. Some days you get really lucky.
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