The Very Rev Albert Bogle urges readers to make space for Christmas.

ISN’T it so sad, that too often when Christmas is over, if we were being honest with ourselves, few of us will have taken the time needed to allow Christmas to find us.

The Christmas card scenes of a peaceful Christmas belong to fairytales. Amidst all the good intentions we discover, we wish we had given more time to the people and plans that really matter to us.

As we pack the boxes away we know we have missed out on something that is meant to be and could have been much more meaningful for us and our families. Packing the decorations neatly into their place for another year, we regret that not enough room was left to make space to encounter the peace and joy of a less complicated Christmas.

This year in Sanctuary First we’re reaching out and inviting people to connect with us and find time to start preparing spiritually during this time of Advent. This Christmas we want to uncover peace, to encounter stillness, to share love, to make room for Christmas and discover our healing hallelujah.

We all value spending quality time with loved ones. The story of Christ’s coming among us, God taking human form to dwell in our time and space, then abiding with us, through the presence of the Holy Spirit, must be the ultimate in what we describe as quality time. The Word spoken bringing all things into being, now dwelling within us, is the great revelation that Christmas invites us to celebrate and share with others.

We know this will be a difficult winter for many of us. Rising prices and political uncertainty all add complications to our mental sense of wellbeing. But what if we could uncover the greatest gift of all that God has placed within us – his Holy Spirit? What if we could make a decision during this Advent season that we would focus on quality time with those we love and those who need encouragement, spending time replenishing tarnished relationships? What if you could take up Sanctuary First’s offer of being part of a Church of Scotland initiative, throughout the country that seeks to find time to acknowlege Jesus’s presence with us, sustaining us and helping us through these difficult times? Well we can.

Starting the first week in Advent on Monday November 28, Sanctuary First will be hosting a series of Advent online bible study groups open to congregations or individuals who would like to be encouraged to be more spiritually creative this Christmas. If you go to the Sanctuary First website https://www.sanctuaryfirst. org.uk/connect you will be able to see how to be part of this initiative. Here is an excerpt from the introductory material on the website:

Forget the wrapping paper, the tinsel, the recipes, the to-do lists – what shines brightest is the opportunity to take time together. Time with Jesus and with one another matters more than any decoration or recipe or present.

Of the 33 odd years of Jesus’s earthly ministry he only spent the last few years in active public ministry, he spent the decades before that spending time with us. Jesus could have materialised as a thirtysomething firebrand, but he didn’t. He was born a baby to live a real flesh and blood human life. He took his time with us. We should take our time with him.

"This year in Sanctuary First we’re reaching out and inviting people to connect with us and find time to start preparing spiritually during this time of Advent."

So let’s find time this Christmas. Time with Jesus, time with those we love, time with those who need us. Christmas can be an insular time where we focus on our nearest and dearest but our calling from Jesus invites us to look outwards too! What really matters, what is really important? Let’s think about how we spend our time? What are we going to find time for this Christmas?

So wouldn’t it be great to have no more regrets packing away the Christmas decorations. Instead, you could be reflecting upon the new friends and the new connections made because you discovered Christmas had found you at last.