Happy Advent Everyone,
I don't know about you, but I love this season of waiting and anticipating the birth of the Christ child. My email box fills up with daily advent devotionals. I love that in this liturgical season, I ponder more poetry and art that keeps me centered even as life speeds up. My children look forward to the lighting of the advent candles at dinner as well as the transformation that happens as our home gradually becomes more festive as Christmas Day approaches.Many of us have individual and family traditions that we practice in advent, but how do communities celebrate this season in their life together?
In this blog, we wanted to highlight how different communities celebrate advent.
Hope Fellowship- Waco,Texas
Hope Fellowship is a bi-lingual community deep in the heart of Texas. Having many Latino families in their midst, they have a posada event (a Latin American tradition that recreates the story of Joseph and Mary looking for accommodation in Bethlehem). Church members gather at their meeting house and then march through the neighborhood to several Hope Fellowship homes as they sing the Posada song in Spanish- a song about Joseph looking for housing on Christmas Eve. The group knocks on several doors and the people inside respond in Spanish, playing the part of the innkeeper and giving various reasons why they can’t come in. Each innkeepers ends with some form of, “Begone! You are not wanted here!" After about five different houses, the group ends back at the meeting house where a wonderful welcome is given to Joseph. Then everyone (even the hostile innkeepers) are invited in to party-- complete with pinata and good food!
Look closely and you can see the start of a nativity scene in this wood panel artwork!
Bruderhof Community- New Meadow Run, Pennsylvania
The Bruderhof are a large Anabaptist community of about 2000 members worldwide. For a number of years, the community at New Meadow Run in Pennsylvania has celebrated the first Sunday of Advent with a Breakfast Service that includes lighting candles, singing carols, and unveiling the ‘Advent Calendar’ (Christmas Countdown) that the youth prepare for the community children. Each day until Christmas a figure is unwrapped, or a portion of a picture is uncovered (by a different child) until the scene or picture is complete in time for Christmas…
Jesus People USA (JPUSA)- Chicago, Illinois
Jesus People USA is a community in Uptown Chicago of about 150 people who share a common life and resources as well as ministering to the homeless and aging poor of their city. Two years ago, JPUSA did a nativity made of recycled material in the dumpster area of their building. The community went outside and the sermon was preached in the falling snow right in front of the dumpster nativity. This was in collaboration with a new church plant called Uptown Church. This isn't a tradition, but JPUSA is always doing creative art and worship experiences at advent time.
Genesis Community- Minneapolis, Minnesota
Genesis Community reminds us that we don't have to make things complicated. Each year their community throws an old-fashioned Christmas party for community members and neighbors where everyone dresses fancy, eats good food, sings Christmas carols and gets to be with friends both old and new!
Does your community have an Advent tradition that you want to share with others? Visit Nurturing Communities Network on Facebook and share your story...
Happy Advent and Merry Christmas to you all!
Elizabeth
on behalf of the Nurturing Communities Network