Dear Circle of Hope,

Last Saturday was the winter solstice for us here in the southern hemisphere. It’s quite a strange and deep phenomenon that in the one 24 hour period we experience the shortest day and the longest night of each year. So many themes intersecting with spirituality that can be metaphors for life and faith flow from this event. This year I was struck by the idea of the longest night.

For many people in our world today this may resonate deeply as they experience a season in life that feels like their longest night. These are periods in our lives when all seems bleak, lacking in colour and void of the light. Darkness and a loss or absence of hope, are an overwhelming force that consume and permeate all other experiences in these times. 

All around us in our community there are people experiencing their own longest night and many who are not even our radar. Homelessness, mental health issues, grief, relationship breakdowns, financial pressure, fear and anxiety are all prevalent in our local community and to be honest, in most communities around our country. I wonder what we can do to bring hope into these situations.

The great human rights activist Archbishop Desmond Tutu reminds us that “hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” How can we be a light in these longest night experiences for people in our community? Maybe we can begin with awareness. Taking some time to truly listen to someone’s experience is one way that we can become more aware of the lived reality of an individual. Awareness can lead us to compassion and compassion can lead us to action when appropriate.

Another aspect of the winter solstice is the reminder and promise that the light will return. What a beautiful thing this is, that on this shortest day of the year, when it feels like the darkness may never end, the light returns with the dawning of the sun. The days had been getting shorter and shorter as the darkness grew, but on the winter solstice, the light returns. At the core of the Christian faith is the understanding that Jesus Christ is the light of the world. All of us are invited to bear this light into the world as we seek to love people who are experiencing their longest night. Let’s all explore how we might bear this light into our world and in this way see the return of the light.

Thank you for being part of our Circle of Hope.

Grace and peace, 

Phil