Dear Talmadge Hill Family,
As we stand at the threshold of 2026, I find myself noticing the swirl of emotions that a new year can bring. For some of us, it feels like a deep breath, a gentle invitation to begin again. For others, there may be a quiet heaviness, the ache of uncertainty or the shadows of what we have just walked through. However you arrive in this first week of January, please know that you are welcome here, with all that you carry. There is room for your hope, your questions, your weariness, and your wonder.
Even as the world rushes ahead, we are still held in the gentle embrace of the Christmas season. This sacred time lingers with us, culminating this Sunday as we gather for Epiphany. Together, we mark the close of these twelve days and prepare our hearts to turn toward the story of Jesus’ baptism next week.
The Wisdom of the Outsiders
This Sunday, we turn our hearts to Matthew’s account of the Magi (Matthew 2:1-12). These foreign astrologers were outsiders, excluded from traditional Temple worship, yet they were the very first to recognize God’s presence in the world.
Their journey was anything but certain. They made their way through Herod’s dangerous kingdom, guided not by a roadmap but by a light and a sense of wonder. All they had was the courage to trust what they sensed and the hope that something holy awaited them.
The Brazilian theologian Rubem Alves beautifully captures this spirit:
"Hope is hearing the melody of the future, and faith is dancing to that melody in the here and now."
In this in-between season of our life together, I find myself looking to the Magi as companions on the journey. They remind me that faith rarely means having everything figured out before we begin. Instead, it is the quiet courage to follow the light we have, to trust the dreams that stir in us, and to keep moving to hope’s melody even when the way ahead is still hidden.
Community Notes & Schedule Reminders
Because of our New Year celebrations, this edition of the Happenings newsletter comes to you on a slightly different schedule. I want to make sure you have the details for when our mid-week gatherings will begin again:
Contemplative Prayer in Community: We will gather again on Wednesday, January 7, from 5:00–6:00 PM on Zoom to find stillness together.
Bible Study: Our weekly study resumes on Thursday, January 8, from 9:30–11:00 AM. You are welcome to join us either in person or via Zoom.
I am looking forward to gathering with you this Sunday as we celebrate the light that shines in the darkness, a light that no darkness can overcome.
Wishing you and those you love a gentle and hope-filled New Year.
Mooi Loop,
Dries