In these weeks leading up to Christmas, our lives can feel so full we perhaps hope and pray no one asks us to make room for one more thing. How do we capture the sacred nature of these weeks we call Advent, to reflect, make space and prepare our hearts and selves to be placed into God's story? Mary hears she is chosen to bear Jesus in to the world, to make room for new life. We invite you to step away from what is taking up all the space in your life. As we remember Christ' birth, we breathe, and make room for Christ, so we can join in God's possibility and encounter God's presence now and hope for the future.
Pastor Carolyn Hetrick of Grace Lutheran Church in State College, PA leads a time of reflection, God's words to Mary, breathing and prayer to ground ourselves and leave carrying a pocketful of grace for the journey.
For more about Grace Lutheran Church, visit https://www.glcpa.org/
Additional resources: "A Liturgy to Mark the Start of the Christmas Season" from by Douglas McKelvey, https://www.everymomentholy.com/
https://www.luthersem.edu/godpause/advent-devotional/
Music: Judy Nishimura arrangement of "Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence," Copyright © 2019, ALRY Publications, LLC. Available at www.alrypublications.com. Used with permission from the publisher. Laurel Sanders, flute.
Worship resources from www.sundaysandseasons.com, copyright 2023, Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved. Used with permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual License #20807. Permission to reprint, podcast, and / or stream obtained from ONE LICENSE with license ##A-700989. All rights reserved.
To learn more about our ministries at Grace Lutheran Church, visit glcpa.org.