As we move into the darkest season of the calendar year, daylight runs in short supply, particularly in the Pacific Northwest, where The Other Journal makes its home. By the time the winter solstice arrives, we’ll experience about eight and a half hours of daylight, with plenty of thick, low-hanging clouds to obscure our rare chances of sunshine.

It is a darkness with which many in the Northern hemisphere are familiar. And yet in the midst of this, the church across the world begins to look toward a bright light of hope. The season of Advent piques our expectation, hope, and our sense of God’s great love for us. It is a time when, amid creation’s dormancy, we anticipate the coming of the Christ-child and we eagerly watch for our Savior’s return. Indeed, the Advent season reminds us that there is a light that shines in the coldest, darkest places and that even in despair we can joyfully proclaim, “Come, Jesus, come.”

Throughout Advent we’ll be offering sermons delivered by pastors to their communities during this time of hope and expectation. From pulpits in the Southeast to the Northwest, and from various denominational affiliations, we’ll be publishing a wide diversity of reflections on how communities are celebrating and encountering the advent of God made present in their lives.

May these writings usher in a deep sense of hope and peace as you await the gift that is to come and Christ’s triumphant return.