Advent 2023
Advent (from the Latin word adventus, meaning “coming” or “arrival”) is a season dedicated to getting ready for Jesus to arrive. For four weeks, we focus our hearts on two things: first, the birth of Jesus, and second, the promise of God coming again to fill the world with even more hope, peace, joy, and love.
Advent is also a time of year when Mary comes center stage. We see her kneeling beside Jesus in the stable; we hear her sing her powerful song, the Magnificat but other than that, in many churches today, we don’t really give Mary much thought.
For thousands of years, however, Christians have held a special place in their hearts for Mary. All over the world, she’s captured imaginations as Theotokos (“Bearer of God” or “House of God”). But her identity doesn’t stop there! She’s also known by a host of other names, among which are the names we will focus on week by week through Advent:
“Our Lady of Sorrows,”
“Our Lady of Guadalupe,”
“The First Disciple,”
“Our Lady of the Palm,”
This Advent season, as we prepare for Jesus to arrive, our aim is to get to know Mary a little bit better: exploring some of her many names and filling out her ordinary, extraordinary, inspiring portrait – all the while learning how we, too, can become bearers of God.
Download the guide as a companion to walk through the weeks of Advent as we prepare for Jesus’ arrival. Here’s what will be happening on the Sundays through the month of December.
Week One - Dec 3
Our Lady of Sorrows
Join us on zoom, as Kathy Klassen unpacks some thoughts around Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows, and the theme of hope
Week Two - December 10
Join us LIVE, as Jeff Kornelsen explores Mary, Our Lady Of Guadalupe and peace. Jeff has spent some time living and working in Latin America and will bring some of that experience along with the experience of being at the birth of many, many children in his years as a maternity doctor.
Week Three - December 17
The First Disciple
Join us on Zoom, as Eden Jersak helps us to take a look at Mary’s song in the Magnificat as The First Disciple along with the theme of joy.
Week Four - December 24
Miracle of the Palm
Join us LIVE for brunch and a telling of the story. We will use the ancient story of Jesus’ birth under a date palm tree which is another version to the stable scene we might be used to. This story and the theme of love will be our celebration of the Love of God come to be with us.
Sarah Pickering will unpack this one for us and use her memories of Christmas’ spent in the Middle East as a teenager to fill out the story for us.
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Advent 2023, House of God
A four week exploration dedicated to getting ready for the arrival of Jesus using stories of Mary, Theotokos 'Bearer of God' or 'House of God' |