The First Sunday of Advent, November 30, 2025

Welcome to All Souls Parish in Berkeley! We welcome your participation in the service. Feel free to add intercessions and Thanksgivings in the chat. To view this week's bulletin, visit https://allsoulsberkeley.squarespace.... To learn more and sign up for our newsletter, visit https://www.allsoulsparish.org. 00:00:00 - Prelude 00:03:08 - Matt leads us in learning a round 00:06:59 - Introduction and Welcome 00:14:41 - First Reading 00:19:11 - Second Reading 00:20:59 - Gospel 00:23:46 - Sermon 00:41:40 - Prayers of the People 00:49:46 - Announcements 00:55:24 - Birthdays, Anniversaries, or other Moments of Grace 01:02:53 - Liturgy of the Table The sermon uses Mary Oliver’s poem about the world descending into winter “rich mash” to explore how loss, darkness, and stillness are not endings but the ground of renewal. While nature’s cycles teach this intuitively, trusting the same process within our inner lives—especially during Advent—can be frightening. Stillness can uncover unprocessed grief or desired changes we’ve avoided. Though the Advent gospel speaks of upheaval and the unknown timing of Christ’s return, it reassures us in three ways: Christ meets us amid ordinary life; faith requires surrender rather than control; and in God, every ending becomes the seed of a beginning. Resurrection is a pattern that shapes all creation. Advent invites us to enter our “inner winter” with trust—slowing down, keeping awake, and attending to hidden truths—supported by Scripture, liturgy, and poetry. The sermon ends with Oliver’s reminder that the vigor of what was is connected to the vitality of what will be.