Dear Church,
This Sunday after worship, Leslie and I will be hosting an Intergenerational Advent Workshop – this is something that’s new at Grace, so I wanted to share a little bit more about why we’re doing this, and why, no matter your age, you should consider attending!
Advent begins on November 29th this year, and is the start of a new church year. It is a season of preparation, and waiting, and dwelling in the gifts of the dark evenings and cold weather. It’s a season that allows us to reflect, and breathe, and grieve, before we celebrate Christ’s birth and the lengthening of the days.
Contrast that to what we’re also surrounded by in the Advent season – Christmas carols playing over every speaker starting in November, stores putting out their decorations earlier and earlier each year, schedules packed with concerts, and parties, and to-do’s.
The intergenerational workshop this Sunday will be a space where we can “get ready to get ready”. There’ll be hot chocolate, cider, and coffee, conversations around the table, a time where each person/family/kiddo can choose to hear a story with Leslie, or participate in a short discussion and reflection about Advent practices with me, and then we’ll all regather to make reusable Advent calendars that are modeled after a project my home church did, that I still use each year!
We’re hoping that this is a restorative and connective time to reflect on Advent, with some concrete practices and ideas that you can take home with you, no matter your age. One of the values we hold at Grace is nurturing intergenerational community – and workshops like this are one way we live that out. This is the only programming after worship on Sunday, so we’re hoping that allows more folks to attend!
In Christ,
Pastor Reed