Greetings,

We are delighted to bring you the latest edition of the BC Conference Spiritual Care Network newsletter. We are most grateful to those who have contributed their insights into our theme: The Context of Spiritual Care in the Church.
As the coordinating committee, we are aware that this newsletter arrives on the threshold of that great festival we call Advent and Christmas. It is a mark of the changing context in which we find ourselves, that many in our culture no longer make that identification. From a Santa who sings for Coke(®) to the “winter” concerts at my children?s schools, the next 6 weeks are a living illustration of what the statistics say: fewer and fewer identify the Christian story as relevant to their daily life.

With each passing year, the voice of the church becomes a fainter cry in the wilderness of a seasonal frenzy whose cacophony will not be muted by any Scrooge-like rumour of economic slump.

There is, however, one anomaly in this “shop-alyptic” scene: Christmas Eve. Where all the other indicators of spiritual interest might be down, Christmas Eve is up. Open the doors of the narthex, lay in the extra chairs because the 24th night of December retains a mystical power to bring people together for a glimpse of Wonder that remains hidden in their shadows the rest of the year. In our hyper-rational age, perhaps it is Wonder that is the bruised reed the Messiah will not break, the dimly burning wick which will not be quenched, the hope of the nations that cannot be bought or sold. Could this Wonder become the context for the spiritual care we exercise in our communities throughout the church?

We hope you find comfort and inspiration in the articles that follow. May the God of fulfillment and longing be present with you in your life and work.