We Need More Light to Shine

The world is in chaos. Looking around, it is tempting to think that a previously unseen side of our humanity has suddenly been made manifest – systemic evils have become mainstream media, almost banal in their prevalence. We are tired, hungry for the good news of Advent, longing and trusting for the in-breaking of God.

2000 years ago, the world was in a similar state of chaos – division, strife, and systemic oppression were being sustained by religious and social authorities who had allowed their hunger for power to blind them to what it meant to be the people of God. It was into this chaos that a child was born – the living incarnation of a God whose love for creation knows no limits.

The child born in a barn in Palestine on that cold winter night 2000 years ago grew into a man who embodied the call for righteousness, who called out any religious or social order that valued money over people, tradition over commandments, death-dealing isolation over life-giving touch. Jesus’ refusal to give into any status quo that maintained the idea that some people were more worthy than others of the love of God has been More Light’s guiding light throughout our 40 year history.

Advent is a time of revealing. We believe the current state of the world is a call for us to open our eyes to what is being revealed. For too long we have allowed systemic evils to go unchecked, leaving the wounds of these evils to go unhealed; we’ve looked for easy solutions to problems that can be solved with nothing short of a combination of divine intervention and a willingness to dig in and do the holy work of living into the belief that we are all God’s beloved children.

Throughout this season of Advent, we are challenging ourselves and the entire More Light community to look honestly at the world around us and to acknowledge the ways in which oppressive systems have gone unchecked for far too long. We believe the first step in healing these wounds is the willingness to see them as they are, and we know we cannot do this work without you. So that’s why we have decided to spend this Advent season asking you to join us and Shine More Light.

During Advent and through the end of the year, More Light has set a goal to raise $40,000 – an acknowledgement of how much we have accomplished in the 40 years since More Light began, and of the need we have, now more than ever, to persist in shining more light into our world. We hope you will shine that light with us.

If you would prefer to give a one-time gift today click here. In this season of giving and anticipation, we are also offering a gift at each giving level so you can shine more light with a monthly gift.