Merry Christmas to you! We celebrate today, after four weeks of Advent preparation, for the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ who came to reconcile us to God and to teach us to love Him through our neighbor. Our joyful hope is fulfilled as we commemorate the Good News of God becoming man, born of a virgin as the prophets foretold, so that all men can become Children of God.

The transept beams have been installed. The mason is working on the roof line of the transepts. They will be complete by December 29. The structural steel for the Nave will begin to be installed on January 9. The storm drain will be completed by December 27. The plumber will be out of the driveway in front of the Annex buildings at that time. The duct work will begin installation after the first of the year.

We are in the fourth week of waiting for the coming of Jesus into our lives. But do we really know what it means for Jesus to come into our lives? Are we aware that when Jesus is allowed into our lives, He is very likely to effect significant changes that will alter the course of our lives?

The building is taking its final shape and no longer looks like a box. It now has the beginning of the shape that we saw in the original video. We have been blessed to have a great general contractor who has been able to handle the challenges that we have faced.

The block work for the tower has been completed. The scaffolding was lowered Thursday and is being dismantled. All block work is scheduled to be completed in two weeks.

The theme of patience and joyous hope runs through the Readings of this year’s Third Sunday of Advent. We who await the arrival of our salvation are encouraged to do so joyfully, patiently and full of hope.

The new mechanical sub is onsite today to finalize the layout for the saw cuts through the block for the additional A/C ductwork.

The plumbing leak that was discovered last week has been located. It will be fixed when the plumbing team is onsite to install the main storm drain on the east side of the construction project. This will occur during St. John Bosco's Christmas break. We will be trenching down the center of the driveway which is between the new worship space and the Annex buildings.

For the ancient Jewish people, there were three boxes to be ticked in order to prove the authenticity of the expected Messiah. The Messiah would have to come from the royal household of King David, He would establish justice in the land, and He would cause the restoration of the incredible peace found in the original garden of Eden.

The tower is at 61 feet and the upper tower arches are beginning to form. The southside arches are complete along with the eastside arches. Significant work has been done on the westside of the building.

A leak was discovered in the new domestic water system. It is being tracked down and will be repaired.