Advent Resources and Opportunities 2020

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Advent Opportunities, Studies, and Ideas

Prepare for the holidays and Advent with a silent retreat at Ignatius House. Come for a day or stay overnight, or enjoy new online prayer experiences with a retreat director from wherever you are. Visit IgnatiusHouse.org/advent2020  for information. See how the staff guards your wellbeing during COVID at  bit.ly/RetreatSafety

Throughout December -- Advent Days of Reflection Adults are invited to spend a day in silent prayer and contemplation. Choose Dec. 1, 2, 7, 8 or 9 from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., led by the Jesuits and spiritual directors at Ignatius House, 6700 Riverside Dr. NW, Atlanta 30328. Your retreat director will present contemplations about the holy season. $65 includes three presentations with scripture to ponder and pray, lunch, use of 20 acres and a concluding Mass. Limited to the first 22 registrants. https://www.ignatiushouse.org/advent2020/

We are invited to join the Aquinas Center, Emory, November 30 at 7:30 p.m. for an Advent concert/reflection led by Latin-Grammy-nominee and theologian Tony Alonso. After the stressful months we’ve been experiencing, this evening will be an opportunity to take a breath and begin the sacred season of Advent. Register - Waiting in Hope.

Many different resources and ideas in Advent Toolkit - Episcopal Relief & Development

New this year to the #AdventWord offerings is a podcast for each day by Virginia Theological Seminary community members produced in partnership with Forward Movement. More here.  The images and meditations can be experienced through AdventWord.org, direct daily emails, and on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and ASL videos via YouTube. Meditations will also be available in English, Spanish and Haitian Creole via email and on www.adventword.org. Find Watching & Waiting on www.forwardmovement.org. 

This Advent, “Prophetic Voices: Preaching and Teaching Beloved Community” explores the readings for each week of Advent and Christmas Day through the lens of social justice. Subscribe on your favorite podcasting app for this series brought to us by The Episcopal Church. First episode dropped Nov. 9. It’s here now.

Journeying the Way of Love Advent curriculum and Advent calendar (available in English, Spanish, and French): A four-week Advent curriculum and Advent calendar pegged to readings and themes from the first two chapters of the Gospel of Luke that incorporates Way of Love practices and the nativity/infancy narrative of Jesus.

Digital Invitation Kits for Advent and Christmas (Advent kits available in English and Spanish; Christmas kits available in English, Spanish, and French): Continuing the invitation to connect The Way of Love, Practices for a Jesus-Centered Life more deeply to the seasons of the year, these kits include customizable posters, postcard, and flyer; a social media-ready graphic; and a Facebook cover image.

#AdventWord (available in English, Spanish and Haitian Creole): For the seventh year in a row, #AdventWord will gather prayers via a global, online advent calendar beginning Sunday, November 29. Learn how you can participate in #AdventWord here. Daily Advent and Christmas emails: From Advent 1 through Christmas Day, daily emails will feature the reflection from AdventWord, the daily practice from the Journeying the Way of Love Advent calendar, and a resource from The Episcopal Church. For the Twelve Days of Christmas, the newsletter will highlight one new Way of Love resource from the last year. Sign up to receive the Daily Advent and Christmas emails here.

Episcopal Migration Ministries Refugee Prayer Vigil: EMM’s vigil, modeled off a ‘Blue Christmas’ prayer service, invites prayer and reflection on Advent themes in a world being transformed by forced migration. Learn more here.

Advent study “Mary in the New Testament and Beyond.” First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta. Join Chris Holmes, Scholar in Residence at First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta, and Brennan Breed, Old Testament professor at Columbia Theological Seminary, for an in- depth and interactive study at 9:30 a.m. on Zoom or Facebook Live.  A thematic study on the figure of Mary with topics: Mary in the New Testament with Dr. Susan Hylen, Candler School of Theology, November 29; Mary in early Christian thought with Dr. Brittany Wilson, Duke Divinity, December 6; Mary in the Qu’ran and Islam with Dr. Zeyneb Sayilgan, Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies, December 13; and Mary in Orthodox Christianity and Christian art with Dr. Jennifer Awes Freeman, United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities,  December 20. Visit firstpresatl.org/office-hours for more information, or join the Facebook Group here. 

The ELCA Faith Formation team curates many resources for children, youth, and families.  Lots of good ideas here. Click here to find some ideas for the upcoming Advent and Christmas...