The Words of Advent
Dear Bethanians,
Happy Thanksgiving! I pray that you enjoyed the day in community, whether that’s with family, friends, or neighbors.
We have a lot to be grateful for–and it’s not just for the “stuff” we have. Diana Butler Bass once wrote, “Gratitude is an emotional response to the surprise of our existence–to sensing that inner light and realizing the astonishing sacred, social, and scientific events that brought each one of us into being.” As we begin the Advent season, I hope we can carry forward gratitude for our very lives, and the abundant gifts of God’s grace sprinkled throughout.
Beginning on Sunday, our Advent worship will be grounded in the themes of hope, peace, joy, and love which are the gifts of God that help us navigate the season of waiting. I’ve chosen a series entitled More Than Words © 2024 Barn Geese Worship to guide us. The “words” are the themes of the Advent candles we light each Sunday in anticipation of the birth of the Christ child and we’ll explore each in depth in our communal worship. You’ll also have an opportunity to reflect on the themes in your personal devotions during the week.
Each Monday morning, you’ll receive a devotion in your email inbox. You can expect to see the Gospel lesson from the previous Sunday, a reflection based on the theme, a weekly prompt to guide your personal reflection (perhaps you’ll choose to journal throughout this contemplative season), words of wisdom in the form of poetry or song to inspire you, a prayer to add to your prayer practice, and scripture lessons to ground your Advent journey. You can be as creative or as quiet (or both!) as you like, using the material that speaks to you.
Several special activities are planned for the season beginning with the Advent fair on Sunday after worship. Fun activities are planned for all ages and Advent calendars will be available to purchase from Divine Chocolates. Our annual caroling event to visit homebound friends will be held on Sunday, December 15. Cookies will be delivered and songs of cheer will be sung, making everyone–giver and receiver alike–feel a little warmer, no matter what the weather’s like!
On Saturday, December 7 at 5:00pm, we’ll have a special Blue Christmas worship. Blue Christmas is also referred to as the Service of the Longest Night because it takes place on or near the winter solstice. The worship is a more solemn service offering an opportunity to express grief which sometimes gets papered over during the “jingle bell” season. Sarah Wildman, a New York Times columnist who writes about grief, said that as a culture, we don’t have “grief literacy” despite the fact that grieving is universal and needs tending to. As a congregation, we carry the burden of collective grief in wake of the losses we’ve experienced over the past year–and that’s in addition to our personal grief. I hope you’ll join me for this special service of honest reflection, hope, and healing.
So let us begin. It’s a new church year, and it’s already filled beyond our wildest imaginations with the good gifts of God’s grace. As we wait, let us prepare, making space in our hearts, in our busy lives, and in our biggest dreams for the birth of the Christ child who is always making everything new.
In Christ,
Pr. Erin
