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Dear Creator Family,
It is so cliché to say things like, “Here we are again at the break of a new year,” and yet we are (at least the secular celebration of such). The new year brings new opportunities, possibilities and availabilities. For people of faith, this newness cannot be overrated. As we live out our lives of faith in Christ Jesus, God has made many promises of help and aid along the way. God’s promises of healing and wholeness are a proclamation of hope in which we return from desperate times or events, back to being ourselves. Our faith in God’s provision is strong, but our language is flawed, for God does not promise us a return, but a newness. Holy Scripture repeatedly uses the language of newness as God leads us through life. God gives us a new birth (John 3:3), a new heart (Ezekiel 36:26), a new life (2 Cor. 5:17), a new hope (Rom. 5:2), and a new task (Matt. 28:19-20). Finally, when our heart has beat its last, He will give us a new body in a new home called heaven. In fact, God says “Behold, I am making all things new” (Rev. 21:5). Still, knowing this truth and living the promises are two different things. Our lives also bring new challenges and burdens, new disappointments and failures. There is often a disconnect of the promises of God from the daily lives we live. It’s not hard, when surveying the world around us and the difficulties of life, to go from “How can that be?” to “How can He be?” God knows (just read Scripture) that we need concrete reminders of God’s presence. It is amazing to me that we can ever forget or overlook the constant love and promises of God as we mark time, day to day, year to year. No subtle reminder this; we literally mark our lives by it and often record it ourselves. 2026 Or more accurately, Anno domini nostri Iesu Christi' duo milia viginti sex-- The year of our Lord Jesus Christ two thousand and twenty-six Sixth-century Scythian monk Dionysius Exiguus introduced "Anno domini nostri Iesu Christi'" (the year of our Lord Jesus Christ) in his Easter tables calendar, thus marking years by Christ's Incarnation. By the time of Charlemagne in the ninth century, his calendar and this basis for delineating the days (A.D. and B.C) was universally accepted. Sadly today, the actual meaning of this phrase has been lost to many who believe it is only “The year of our Lord,” but people of faith know better. Every day we mark and repeat, perhaps dozens of times, the awesome truth that even time itself is marked with the victory of our Jesus Christ at Calvary. Every year belongs to Jesus as we make our proclamation that he is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! Our calendar is a proclamation of the Gospel itself! You remember that when Jesus burst onto the scene in public ministry in Nazareth, he quoted the words of the prophet Isaiah when he announced, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me. He has sent me to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to liberate the oppressed, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. – Luke 4:18–19 In these words, Jesus was referring to the Old Testament “Year of Jubilee,” in which every seven years, wonderful things happened! Debts were forgiven, slaves were set free, and everything returned to the rightful owners. It was a huge year of celebration! When Jesus quoted Isaiah, he was saying that he had come to bring one massive Year of Jubilee to this world, and that because of what he would do at Calvary, we would live every year as a Year of Jubilee. Because of his victory over sin and death, today Jesus Christ is the Lord of time, the Lord of space, the Lord of every relationship, the Lord of every good thing, and the Lord of us. This year will certainly bring blessings to you, and it may also bring apparent evil. Whatever the Lord may allow to come to you in this new year, trust in him. Commit yourself to him. Never let go of Christ’s hand of love, because he will never let go of you. Take hold of this bold concrete reminder that God’s promises are present and true. Start each day, prompted by your calendar, with the certainty that Jesus is your Lord and Savior and that, come what may, he is with you always. Look for God’s grace, love, peace, and companionship in all things at all times, and may 2026 truly be “The year of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Heavenly Father, Thank You for making all things new! As another new year begins, help me live each day for You. May I continually have a new song in my heart to sing to You, no matter what comes my way. I trust in You because I know that Your mercies are new every morning, and nothing ahead of me will take You by surprise. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. —Joan Walker Hahn Happy New Year in nostri Iesu Christi', Fr. Bill+
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In religious communities, great Cathedrals and small chapels around the world, the Proclamation of Christmas will be joyfully sung or read on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning. From ancient times, this has been the way the Church begins its celebration of this glorious day.
Read this this year, read it aloud and with all your heart. Amidst the important events of our lives came the most important child to all humanity. The words of the Proclamation offer us a sense of the place in human history that the birth of our Savior has and invite us to rejoice eternally. Today, the twenty-fifth day of December Unknown ages from the time when God created the heavens and the earth And then formed man and woman in his own image. Several thousand years after the flood, When God made the rainbow shine forth as a sign of the covenant. Twenty-one centuries from the time of Abraham and Sarah; Thirteen centuries after Moses led the people of Israel out of Egypt. Eleven hundred years from the time of Ruth and the Judges; Oné thousand years from the anointing of David as king; In the sixty-fifth week according to the prophecy of Daniel. In the one hundred and ninety-fourth Olympiad; The seven hundred and fifty-second year from the foundation of the city of Rome. The forty-second year of the reign of Octavian Augustus; The whole world being at peace, Jesus Christ, eternal God and Son of the eternal Father, Desiring to sanctify the world by his most merciful coming, Being conceived by the Holy Spirit, And nine months having passed since his conception, Was born in Bethlehem of Judea of the Virgin Mary. Today is the nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ according to the flesh. Amen. I pray that you all have a most blessed Christmas celebration this year! Allow the innocence you once had to ignite your joy in the birth of eternal innocence made manifest for you. Go to the cradle as a child and receive the baby from the arms of the Savior. Merry Christos Maesse, Christ-Mas to you all! Fr. Bill+ As we near the end of the Advent season, I find myself reflecting on the unique and wondrous perspective that children bring to this special time of year. I was walking through Walmart last week when I overheard a conversation between a little girl and boy and their mother. I can’t recall all the details except to say it was all about Christmas, or rather the build-up to Christmas, that which we call Advent.
They never used the word “Advent” (I did tell them about it later on), but the excitement and joy that they were expressing about the lights and the music and the feeling was delightful. When I turned the corner and saw them, the look in their eyes was of joy and awe and excitement, seeing the world with a sense of wonder that often fades as we grow older. Children approach Advent with an open heart, eagerly anticipating the joy and mystery of Christmas. They marvel at the twinkling lights, the stories of angels and shepherds, and the promise of something magical just around the corner. Their belief in the goodness and beauty of the season is pure and unfiltered. We have a little time left in this Advent season, and for some, the “chores” of Christmas preparation have taken a toll. I invite you, with the time we have left, to embrace the childlike wonder that children naturally possess. Slow down these last few days and take in the simple joys: the glow of a candle, the sound of a favorite carol, the warmth of a shared moment with loved ones. By seeing Advent through the eyes of a child, you can rediscover the profound sense of hope and anticipation that this season brings. To help you along the way, I have posted below the link to a video telling of the Birth of Christ. It is a joyful rendition of Christmas told by children and acted out by adults (quite the switch around). Take a few minutes and enjoy this, and then allow yourself to be captivated by the story of Christ’s birth anew, like you were when you were a child. Through the eyes of the child you once were, find joy in the small, everyday miracles and hold onto the belief that something wonderful is always possible. May these last Days of Advent be an awakening for you, and may the birth of Jesus be to you as to a child, filled with wonder and joy! Seeking God as a child, Fr. Bill+ Here is the link, enjoy! The Christmas Story - through the eyes of a child I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!
Psalm 27:13-14 Advent is about waiting. Traditionally, this season in the calendar of the Church has been about leading believers to live faithfully in the present, and to do this, the attention of believers is turned both to past promises fulfilled and to promises made for a bright but unrealized future. During Advent, Christian waiting is shown to be not a passive exercise in keeping busy while staying put, but an intentional practice of keeping faithful while moving forward. As we approach Christmas, we look back on the world as it waited in desperation for the Son of God. The posture and the prayers of God’s people then, who would leap for joy at the birth of Christ, become the posture and the prayers of God’s people now, who are waiting for the day of his return. The fulfillment of past promises becomes the fuel of present hope. This sounds easy enough, but waiting is difficult, perhaps never more so than in the culture we live. In its pace and its relentless commitment to immediacy, our world seems to loathe both waiting and the conditions that can make it fruitful. The rose-colored lenses we look at our past through only make the present more painful. So, nostalgia drives our history. Rather than learning from the pains of the past, we only inherit its false promises. “Those were the days,” means these aren’t them. The best Christmas season is usually behind us. Without a promising present, we then might barrel forward into the future. If we cannot recreate the past, we just might be able to surpass it. The next Christmas season can be the best one. The present thus passes in a snap. Pulled to the past and the future so forcefully, we never seem to find enough time to linger in all the unique joys and frustrations and hopes of today. Christian waiting turns the directions of these currents completely around. It is not blind to the past or ignorant of the future, but neither is it living in either of them. Christian waiting does the pulling. It takes the prayers and the posture of faith’s past and the vision of faith’s future as the substance and the mandate of faith’s present. This is active work. It requires reflection and intention and patience. I think this can be hard for us for a lot of reasons. One of them is the pressure to make the Christmas season culturally profound. We have a vision for what Christmas should be in front of us for weeks. In the shows we watch on our TVs, in the speakers at the shops whose aisles we drift through – the world has an idea of what the season should feel like, and our options seem to be experiencing that or accepting the failure of our exhaustion or poverty or loneliness or hurt. But this is a worldly pressure that we often accept, one that Advent invites us to shed. It is in waiting where we discover that the pain our seasonal consumerism attempts to numb actually holds the key to the joy we’re truly after. By inhabiting the story of the past, we can cherish God’s present faithfulness as we anticipate His promised future. You don’t get to truly savor what you haven’t anticipated. And it is in this often painful or frustrating waiting where the joy of the Lord grows sweeter. This is ultimately the promise of Advent. Rather than uniting us around one culturally-driven vision of a successful Christmas, like the people of Whoville singing around their tree, we find that the joy of the season gathers around us – right where we are, right as we are. To help focus our mind and spirit, in an amazing way, as we wait for Christ, Christ waits with us. James Smith, philosopher and author, wrote in his book How to Inhabit Time: While God is eternal, creatures are seasonal, and thus our relationship to God is characterized by a seasonality that is natural, expected, and good. In the same way that you relate differently to a parent when you are eighteen versus forty-eight, so it is natural to relate differently to God at different points in the journey of creaturehood through time. In some ways, this might be experienced as an ebb and a flow, with varying waves of intimacy and distance, enthusiasm and struggle. When one cultivates some expectation of this, the seasons of ebb and distance need not be alarming, even if they might be difficult and puzzling. But the seasons of relating to God might also be varying dynamics of how one experiences God's presence… God's nearness looks and feels different depending on the season you're in. During this pre-Christmas season, our culture will tempt you to look away, to numb your waiting by crafting a perfect Christmas that looks like a nostalgic past or a vision board future. But Advent invites you instead to see clearly, to feel deeply, and to let God find you in the picture imperfect of your life. Our past is redeemed and our future anticipated in the blessed now. We will see the goodness of the Lord, not at some distant time around a tree or at a party, but now as we wait with Christ. Waiting with Christ, Fr. Bill+ I am the resurrection and the life, saith the Lord;
he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live; and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. John 11:25 St. Paul wrote these words as a statement of fact and to comfort those who were grieving. When a Christian dies to this earthly life, earthly grief follows, but grief is not a concession to despair; rather, it is simply a confession of emotional pain. For the Christian, earthly death is simply a state of temporary separation. For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For if we live, we live unto the Lord. and if we die, we die unto the Lord. Whether we live, therefore, or die, we are the Lord's. Romans 14:7-8 While we are apart and see each other here no longer, we are not bereft of consolation and peace, for those are the promised gifts of our Lord. Jesus gave Himself up for us that we would live forever with Him, and with each other in the Heavenly country. Our Parish Family is grieving the earthly death of three of our beloved members, Carroll Jones, Sam English and Jack Hardy. Carroll and Elizabeth Jones were members at Creator for over thirty years. Devoted attendees of the 10:30 service, servers of multiple parish ministries, and bringers of genuine companionship to all they knew. Several years ago, Carroll and Elizabeth retired to the Richmond Masonic Home and so have been absent from our Church services, but never from our hearts. Carroll died to this earthly life two months ago and received services from Grace Church in Purdy, Virginia, where he and Elizabeth had lived. Jack Hardy was an original member of Creator and constant attendee of the 8:00 Sunday service. Jack had served in multiple positions through the years until he left the parish several years ago. Jack was a delightful companion, always ready with a smile and good humor. Jack was a “keeper of the history” of Creator and a guardian of the hopes and dreams of our Parish. Of the many gifts Jack gave to our Parish, the blue Advent accouterments which currently adorn the Church were a special gift in memory of his wife Shirley. Sam English was also one of Creator’s original members. Sam was an attendee of the 8:00 service and a beloved servant of the Lord. Always available to help, Sam was on speed dial for those times when a sage point of view and friendly assurance were needed. Carroll, Jack and Sam are here no longer, they are with the Lord! Our grief is that of separation, but our celebration is the victory over death and the assurance of the joyful expectation of eternal life with those they love. BCP pg. 481 Please continue to pray for all who are grieving this earthly separation. Jack Hardy’s visitation is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, December 3, 2025, at Monaghan Funeral Home, 7300 Creighton Parkway, Mechanicsville, VA 23111. A graveside service will be held at 2 p.m. on Thursday, December 4, 2025, at Signal Hill Memorial Park, 12360 Hanover Courthouse Rd, Hanover, VA 23069, followed by a reception at Monaghan Funeral Home. Link to Jack Hardy's obituary Sam English’s visitation is scheduled from from 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday, December 7, at the Mechanicsville Chapel of Bennett Funeral Home, 8014 Lee-Davis Road. A funeral service will be held at 9:30 a.m. Monday, December 8, at The Episcopal Church of the Creator, 7159 Mechanicsville Turnpike. Entombment will follow in Signal Hill Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Virginia Thoroughbred Project (virginiathoroughbredproject.org). Link to Sam English's Obituary Carroll Jones’ obituary is below. https://www.owenfh.com/obituaries/carroll-jones Elizabeth lives at the Masonic Home (15 minutes from the Church, and you can find more information here). You can visit her or send correspondence (she loves cards) to: Elizabeth Jones MAHOVA 500 Masonic Lane Richmond, VA 23223 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. He that raised up Jesus from the dead will also give life to our mortal bodies, by his Spirit that dwelleth in us. Wherefore my heart is glad, and my spirit rejoiceth; my flesh also shall rest in hope. Thou shalt show me the path of life; in thy presence is the fullness of joy, and at thy right hand there is pleasure for evermore. BCP pg. 484-485 O Almighty God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, who by a voice from heaven didst proclaim, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord: Multiply, we beseech thee, to those who rest in Jesus the manifold blessings of thy love, that the good work which thou didst begin in them may be made perfect unto the day of Jesus Christ. And of thy mercy, O heavenly Father, grant that we, who now serve thee on earth, may at last, together with them, be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light; for the sake of thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. BCP pg. 486 Peace in Christ, Fr. Bill+ |
AuthorFather Bill Burk† Archives
January 2026
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