Dear Partners in Mission:

As our leaders, lay and rostered, prepare for the celebration of Christmas please know that you are in our prayers. We continue to live in challenging and often confusing times. With a new variant of Covid-19, conflicting advice regarding gatherings, and so many expectations, this has and continues to be a difficult time to be a public leader. My prayer continues to be that you will be able to experience some Joy each day of this Advent and then 12 day Christmas festival. To be reminded again and again that God comes to us, not because of our effort, but because God has chosen to be incarnate among us. God has come so we might have life, and have our joy made complete.

Although it can be difficult to look ahead we do have some joyful opportunities coming to us in January 2022. Specifically on Saturday January 8th. The Parish Lay Academy will hold an in person (and online) graduation on Saturday, January 8th at Santa Maria in Irving. This will be the first graduation since January 2020 and will be for the graduating classes from Fall 2019 through Fall 2021. If you were a part of those classes please contact Pastor Phil Heinze, Dean of the PLMA, at phil@calvaryftw.org.

You are in my prayers and those of our entire synod staff. May God’s joy be yours this Christmastime.

Bishop Gronberg