Throughout the Advent season, members of the MLP Board of Directors will provide weekly reflections via email and social media. We hope these words will inspire and awaken you to the hope, peace, joy, and love of this season. Today's reflection on "Peace" is provided by Rev. Ashley McFaul-Erwin (she/her): If any of you have watched the show Derry Girls, you will have had an introduction to a saying from the part of the world that I call home. That saying is “Give my head peace”. It is a phrase that has been uttered by many of my fellow country people, myself included. It is a way to tell someone to keep quiet or give you some alone time. It’s not surprising that a colloquial saying from Northern Ireland contains the word peace. It’s a land that has struggled to find, define, and live in peace. As a young, closeted queer person growing up in Presbyterian Church in Ireland, a place where LGBTQ+ people are not welcomed, my heart certainly wasn’t at peace. In fact, it was torn apart by spiritual violence over and over again. Like the land I called home, I worried I would never find peace. I didn’t find it in the church back home, but I kept on searching. I found glimpses of peace in a rugby team that welcomed me in. Another glimpse came when I saw queer people dance with abandon in the gay clubs of Belfast. And so I was called to dance, to play, and breathe deeply. To take my heart that was in pieces, and be me. To be at peace. So, friends as we seek peace and pursue it this advent, may we root our peace in love and justice. May the hearts of queer people in our churches no longer be in pieces, but be at peace. Let us embody peace that breathes deeply and knows belovedness. May the peace of Christ be with you all. CLICK HERE TO VIEW ASHLEY'S VIDEO RECORDING OF TODAY'S REFLECTION | 
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