For the 24th day of Advent, Rev Kerr Wintersgill and Rev Moira Taylor-Wintersgill, joint ministers at Milestone Community Church on Orkney's West Mainland and Mission Development Officers for the Orkney Islands, reflect on their first Advent in their first charge - and how some unusual animal helpers have helped the couple share the Christmas message.

This Advent is truly unique for us.

It began with a 304 mile move north from Edinburgh to Orkney to be ordained and inducted as parish ministers at The Milestone Kirk, Dounby, serving the parishes of Birsay, Harray and Sandwick, and introduced in our 18-month presbytery role as Mission Development Officers for the Islands – we job share both roles.

As you can imagine we are in a bit of a guddle, especially as, to our delight, 23 friends and family came to Orkney to celebrate our ordination with us.

We wanted to be in place so that our first service was on the first Sunday in Advent and so we were ordained, inducted, and introduced on Wednesday 23rd November.

Our first service was on Sunday 27th November. We planned the service to begin with the lighting of the first candle on the Advent wreath. We don't have our own wreath, but every church has one nowadays so it would be just a case of finding it and maybe buying some new candles…

First mistake: never assume…

It came to Sunday morning and no Advent wreath had been unearthed and so improvisation was required.

Having started ministry training in 2017 when talk of a Radical Action Plan was rife and now starting our ordained ministry in the midst of mass presbytery and parish changes, we always anticipated the need to be flexible, adaptive, and utilise the resources we have to hand…

The Zebra of Hope

So, in the Milestone Church this year, on the first Sunday in Advent, we lit the Zebra of Hope candle, explaining to our delightful congregation how it came to be… I think the word "quirky" was used more than once.

We said that we might have a "proper" wreath for the following week depending on the feedback, but low and behold when we came home from an engagement one evening during the week there was an elephant candle holder on our kitchen worktop, so in week two we had the Elephants of Peace candle.

That Sunday someone brought in a rabbit candle holder, so on the third Sunday of Advent we lit the Rabbit of Joy… who knows what Advent animal will appear for the fourth Sunday.

Jesus, when He called His first disciples, said simply, "follow me…" He did not give them time to prepare or any resources, but they went by trust and faith, following Him and learning how to live in love.

Boy did they make mistakes, but God used them to build His Church.

Jesus tells us that people will know who His disciples are by their love. We as a denomination are being called to follow Jesus into the unknown. We can either do it in love through faith and trust or we can wish it were like it used to be, complain, hoard resources, cling on to buildings, claim to want mission whilst refusing to give up the known and go.

We felt called to Orkney and, by their love and openness; our congregation have truly sustained that call.

By joining in with us, turning a mistake into an opportunity for creativity and having fun whilst walking through the sometimes challenging messages of Advent, they have encouraged and accepted us when they could have complained and judged.

There may be painful change coming but if we cling to the instruction to ‘follow me' in love, and seek only His Kingdom, we may actually experience a wonderful, resurrected Church.

As Christians, we were never promised ease in this life, but we are promised the faithful loving presence of Jesus with us always, preparing the way… so let's go!