We love Advent in Circle of Hope but I’m sure some of you are like “Ad-what?” Come and see—Advent is for you too!
Advent is the season of waiting before Christmas. Advent means “arrival.” We wait for the arrival of the miracle baby who changed history. We need the miracle to keep changing us. Advent is the alternative to the hustle and bustle of Christmas time in the United States, and we need that alternative more than ever. We need a subversive baby savior who helps us slow down and hold on.
The world is full of trouble: hurricanes, wildfires, totalitarian strongmen, nuclear war. Also, broken marriages, lack of reconciliation, unemployment, student debt, anxiety, depression. There are fierce winds blowing at us. It can feel hard to simply survive, let alone nurture our fragile faith. In Advent we tell the Good Story that started the faith and we hold on to the pieces of it we have.
Jesus meets us in our smallness and saves us, not as a strongman but as a baby. In the midst of all of the trouble we face, Jesus comes to us small and miraculous, fully himself, fully alive. We are too! This is the miracle; this is the mystery.
Join us for this season of Advent, starting on December 3 and ending on Christmas Eve with a candlelight vigil. It’s a time of year we unleash our creativity. We write new songs, engage our hearts and minds in worship, contemplation, and prayer. It’s a time for gentleness, children, and community. We’d love to journey with you.
Sunday meetings, Dec. 3 to 24:
2007 Frankford Ave, PHL at 5 & 7 p.m.
2214 South Broad St, PHL at 5 & 7 p.m.
2309 North Broad St, PHL at 5 & 7 p.m.
3800 Marlton Pike, Pennsauken, NJ at 10:30 a.m. & 7 p.m.
5720 Ridge Ave, PHL at 5 p.m.
Special Christmas Eve Schedule
- 10:30 a.m. & 5 p.m. meetings are family friendly (kids in the meeting)
- There are no 7 p.m. meetings
- 10:45pm candlelight vigil at 1125 S. Broad St. Philadelphia, PA 19147