The 3rd Sunday of Advent

"Rejoice!"  The call rings out from across our scripture readings this week:  Rejoice!  Take joy in the work of God already visible in our midst.  Root your joy in the promises of what God is preparing in and for our world.  Find joy singing out despite all odds from desert landscapes and impoverished teen mothers.  On this Third Sunday of Advent, we will join with the wilderness and with Mary in singing our joy, especially as we celebrate the current and future life and witness together of our community of faith.  We'll dedicate our pledges of financial giving for the coming year, an embodied testimony to our commitment to being "together for joy" -- together with one another and together with God.