advent, bikes, lessons, and carols

in case you missed it with the lateness of last week's post, advent has come in a big and busy way this year!  the past few weeks have involved:

a new-to-me (refurbished) bicycle for the small price of a four-part online bicycle safety course (i could've volunteered for 10 hours instead if i wanted), $10 (which i wouldn't have had to pay if that would cause undue financial strain), and a brief in-person review of the safety course (to make sure i didn't cheat)!  not only that, i received some free gear (headlight and taillight for the bike, helmet, and lock)!  here's a picture the person who runs the organization took with me and my new bike and free gear:

before coming to kansas city, i was lamenting that i couldn't bring my bike with me when a friend of mine mentioned a non-profit in denver that gave people bikes for free or cheap and suggested i check it out in kansas city to see if there was one here.  well, i did and i found revolvekc.org a non-profit doing just what my friend had mentioned, so i took the online course and got my bike!  in conversations with the woman that runs the organization, i discovered that there's a really good program for this in chicago as well (and probably in any substantially sized city near you)!  what a brilliant idea!

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in addition to the new bike, i also was in charge of the silent auction part of lessons and carols at st. mark hope and peace lutheran church, the second of the music on troost series that st. mark hope and peace is doing with st. james catholic church.  the silent auction was wonderful and big and great, but the really amazing thing was the lessons and carols program!  a local a cappella group, octarium, performed the carols and community leaders did the readings.  each carol and scripture was paired with a short reading from a variety of people: walter burghardt, madeleine l'engle, dom helder camara, peter chrysologus, and julia esquivel in addition to two anonymous works: che jesus (from argentina) and the aztec story of the nativity.  

the readings were thought-provoking and engaging, the music was wonderful, the church beautiful, the sanctuary full, the reception delightful, and the silent auction (stressfully) successful!  and so, i leave you with a picture from my seat before the service of lessons and carols began:

so, as with most people, advent has been a ridiculously busy time that i should've seen coming but still didn't expect.  busy and beautiful.