Advent is a season that calls us to learn how to live in harmony with one another as we wait together for the promised coming. In Romans, Paul speaks of the oneness of like-minded believers as a means to accomplish God’s will. But this does not mean that we abandon our individuality. We are like the single notes on a musical scale and, when we are played together in Christ, we form a musical chord. But our harmony is impossible apart from Christ who calls us to act with one accord, to speak with one voice, to be in accord with one another.

The Very Rev. Billy Alford (VTS ’92) is the rector at Saint Alban’s Episcopal Church in Augusta, Georgia.

The Lady Chapel at Gloucester Cathedral: Memorial window to the composer Herbert Howells (1892-1983) by Caroline Swash (installed 1992). The four panels illustrate settings of his music.