Dear friendsWell, Advent is well and truly underway. After a wonderful concert by the Avon and Somerset Police Choir last Saturday (and with huge thanks to the team here who helped organise such a successful event), we held our "One Church Sunday" service which was a great opportunity to get together to mark the start of Advent together (apologies to those who missed out on the bacon butties because we ran out!). We then had a quiet and peaceful Evening Prayer in the afternoon.As for now, the Advent calendars have been opened (I'm delighted to have a cheese advent calendar this year!), the first candle on the Advent wreath has been lit, we've sung "O Come O Come Emmanuel" for the first time, Mary and Joseph are on their trip around the parish with the "Posada", and it's the Christmas Bazaar tomorrow! I do hope you'll be able to come along, between 10.15 and 2.15. As well as lots of lovely stalls, there will be refreshments and lots of free activities for children.Advent has also meant the start of Advent groups. A number of you have attended one of the 3 groups running (Monday or Thursday evenings, or Wednesday mornings) and it's not too late to go along next week. Others will have looked at the material at home, as this was a welcome addition to the opportunities to engage this year.This week we have been invited to think about Mary's journey to visit Elizabeth, after she discovers she is pregnant. We are invited to consider how we "receive the light", and in this week's case, in the words of the Magnificat, Mary's song, her awareness of blessing even when being asked to do such an enormous task for God; how we "walk in the light", how we might travel more wisely in our life journeys, and who might accompany us; and how we reflect the light, how we might reflect God's character and goodness in the way we live. This is frequently the pattern of my prayer "as we receive your light and love, Lord, so may we reflect that light and love to all we meet", as I'm a firm believer that we can't give away something we haven't got ourselves. I really appreciate this additional element of the journey, between receiving and reflecting, and that is to allow the light and love of God to change the way we travel through life ourselves.We commented in Morning Prayer today that we may sometimes have a tendency to think about what "others" need to do, and miss the number of times the Psalmists are crying out to God for their own needs, their own sin, their own situations. We need to receive God's light for our own souls sake, as well as to be able to reflect it to others!So as our journeys continue, we continue to ponder how we receive, walk in, and reflect the light and love of God. This Sunday we will be worshipping at 8.30am with a said Holy Communion service, and at 10.30am with a High Eucharist, and Sunday Spirit for our young people. This will be followed at 12.30pm with the internment of the ashes of a dear friend to the church, Ted Bowden. Everyone is invited to come along and be part of these services.Before that it would be great to see you tomorrow at the Church Bazaar!With all good wishes, as everBecky