International Association of Women Ministers
Office of the President
18 Darcy Street,
Newcastle, Ontario,
Canada L1B 0H7
December 2021
Dear Sisters in Ministry,
Once again, we are in the midst of the Advent season with its vision of hope, peace, joy, and love. If you are like me, however, you are only too aware of how hard it is for so many to hold on to a hope that genuinely expects renewal and peace in our world, a hope that empowers us to live filled with love and joy.
As I write this letter, the news continues to be about wars and discord in so many parts of the world and in its wake the suffering of so many of the world’s most vulnerable Yet, even in midst of all that argues against the reality of hope, peace, joy and love, this season is beckoning to us, calling us to embrace the gifts of Advent by being present to the world in which so many years ago the incarnate one proclaimed God’s love to a wounded people. This is the gift of Advent we are called to share with those in near and distant neighborhoods, with those in our church communities and families and those who are strangers.
Our faith also calls us with hope to look to the future – to that day when all creation will be renewed. In these days and weeks as we move ever closer toward that silent night in Bethlehem, we remember that the Christ child, born into a world of inequality, a world of upheaval, of colonial occupation and displacement, throughout his life and death showed us how to live in harmony with God, ourselves, and our neighbour.
As women in ministry, we seek to participate actively, playing our small part in such renewal. May we once again this Christmas, like the shepherds, having experienced anew this thing that has taken place, which God has made known to us through the Holy Spirit, continue on our way into 2021 glorifying and praising God for all we have heard and seen.
May the present and future possibilities of hope, peace, joy, and love continue to empower our ministries and fill our hearts this Christmas!
J. Dorcas Gordon,
jd.gordon@utoronto.ca
Cell: 905-213-4274
PS I trust that we shall be able to meet in person in Karlsruhe, Germany in August 2022