Beloved Friends,
This Sunday we turn the page in our church calendar and begin the season of Advent. These are the four weeks we set aside every year to prepare our hearts to once again hear the story of how love came to dwell among us through the birth of Jesus on that cold dark night in an out of the way place to two scared and almost forgotten would-be parents. It is a story I not only never tire of hearing, but as I grow older, anticipate hearing as a necessary balm for my soul. It is a story passed down from generation to generation infused with the hope-filled expectation and imagination of a new world, a new way, a new reality.
And this year, we will be using the wonderful resources created and curated by A Sanctified Art to accompany us. This is a collective of women in ministry who have come together for the past 6 years to create and offer liturgical resources for creative communities of faith. Here is how they describe themselves and their mission:
We are a team of artists in ministry who create multimedia resources for worshiping communities of all shapes and sizes. We work collaboratively to bring scripture and theological themes to life through visual art, poetry, liturgy, curriculum, worship installation art, coloring pages, graphic design, and more. We founded A Sanctified Art with dreams to fill the Church with more art, inspiration, creativity, and God-breathed mystery. Our mission is to provide spiritual nourishment for church leaders and the communities they serve. We’re committed to expanding imagination around the divine image and providing resources with inclusive and affirming theology.
Each week you will experience different pieces of this resource.
- Our Trinity@316 bulletin images were created by their artists
- Each Sunday after Trinity@316 we will enjoy one of their multi-generational craft projects
- Our services will incorporate their prayers, reflections and liturgical creations
- And in this blog post I will share Advent poems written by founding member the Rev. Sarah Speed.
So as we prepare our hearts during this season for the advent of the birth of Christ in our lives, may we do so also mindful and responsive to those in need of the things we have to offer today without delay; dignity amidst a climate of hatred and violence, hope amidst a climate of despair, connection amidst a time of isolation and a spirit of kindness, forgiveness and reconciliation amidst a climate of division.
For as this first Advent poem reminds us- there is room on that “bus” for us all!
Traveling mercies my friends.
May you never forget that you are loved,
Lisa
There’s Room for Every Story
by Rev. Sarah Speed, A Sanctified Art LLC, sanctifiedart.org
I asked God— what about my
fingernail-biting habit
or the way I leave all the cabinets open in the kitchen?
What about the way I can be dramatic,
drumming up a fight, only to
hand out apologies like souvenirs?
What about the way I second-guess myself,
let shame drive, or stay quiet when I
have something to say?
What about the way I chase accomplishments like a dog with a bone?
What about the doubt,
or the fact that I’m terrible at prayer and
cannot help but yawn during church?
What about What about What about?
My baggage might be too big for the van.
But then
God called me by my first and middle name,
which always means business,
and said:
Who told you that you were too much?
Sugar, there is so much room for you here.
So that’s when I grabbed a seat and we hit the road
and I knew right then that the rumors were true.