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1st December — First Week of Advent
Hush the Noise
Jesus encourages us to note the chaos around us and rather than being overwhelmed by it to respond to it in a way that recognises what is truly important. In that way the noise is, in effect, hushed.
Check out “The Stress Bucket” on the shelf in the Church Sanctuary.
24th November — Leading up to Advent
What is “Hush the Noise”?
One of my favourite verses from a carol goes like this:
“But with the woes of sin and strife, the world has suffered long; beneath the angel-strain have rolled two thousand years of wrong. And man, at war with man, hears not, the love-song which they bring— Oh hush the noise ye men of strife, and hear the angels sing!”
It Came Upon the Midnight Clear, by Edmund Sears
Particularly at this time of year, our lives are full of ‘noise’
This year the Methodist church has chosen Hush the Noise as their theme for 2024. To be clear, it is nothing to do with hushing children up; as the Church’s children’s worker I am firmly in the camp that children’s voices should definitely be heard! No, it is more about having the space to think about where the ‘noise’ is in our lives. Particularly at this time of year, our lives are full of ‘noise’—the ‘busy-ness’ that comes with the festive season. School plays, lunches, mince pies, present buying, working out whether you have enough ‘emergency chairs’ for Christmas lunch, visiting all and sundry…the list seems endless.
There is so much ‘Noise’ in the world too: the strife and suffering feels like it is everywhere that you look. We only have to turn on the news to hear about places which so desperately need to hear a love-song instead of the sound of conflict.
I wonder if there is any way we can put aside some of the busy-ness for something more meaningful? ‘Meaningful’ will be something different for each of us. Perhaps it’s about more time for family or friends. For others, buying fewer but more meaningful presents. It could be about making more space for ourselves—time out to read or reflect with a cup of coffee instead of rushing about. Or maybe it’s about volunteering somewhere?
The joy of the children (and adults) dressing up for the Nativity
For many, myself included, hushing the noise is about making sure there’s time to reconnect to God. That could be in many different ways over the Advent season: the Taketime Meditation; a crisp winter walk in nature with a cup of hot chocolate; the joy of the children (and adults) dressing up for the Nativity; or belting out a carol or two!
For many people it may have been a difficult year and taking time to simply be still—to breathe and know that God’s close by—in a Blue Christmas service is something to be treasured.
Check our Christmas gatherings and services or those of other local churches for many opportunities to ‘hush the noise’; you will find a warm welcome and a smile (and no doubt a cuppa!) in all of them.
Here’s one simple way you can hush the noise:
Make an origami decoration for our Community Christmas Tree:
Pick up instructions and a piece of origami paper from Aroma Coffee Shop in Haxby, or find them in our blog post: Origami for a Community Christmas Tree
Pause for a few minutes and perhaps light a candle if you wish. Then write on the back of the paper your hopes for the future—perhaps they are for yourself, for those your love, or for our community or the world.
Take them back to Aroma, where they will be collected to add to our Community Christmas Tree in the porch of the Methodist Church.
I wonder where the noise is in your life? I wonder how you can hush the noise and hear that love-song?
Lorraine Jones Children and Families Worker