Heaven and Nature Sing Self-Directed Advent Groups

Brendan Murphy on October 20, 2021

“Why do we gather? We gather to solve problems we can’t solve on our own. We gather to celebrate, to mourn, and to mark transitions. We gather to make decisions. We gather because we need one another. We gather to show strength. We gather to honor and acknowledge. We gather to build companies and schools and neighborhoods. We gather to welcome, and we gather to say goodbye.” – Priya Parker, The Art of Gathering

The 2021 congregational Avent booklet is Heaven and Nature Sing. Limited hard copies will be available for pick-up at the church or you can order an e-book here for a very small price.

Our life together is already in the next era, even if we have not flipped the calendar. The CCRP community isn’t just neighbors in the area who see each other occasionally on the property, it is strangers and friends across the region and even country. We need to learn new ways of gathering, fresh ways that are safe for all who are gathering. So this Advent season, we invite you to the new era, to try something new. We invite you to try creating a small group to gather for fellowship, discussion, and perhaps food for Advent and Christmas.

  • For some a breakfast group would be wonderful, others a pint of something around a fire, others gathering online or by phone.
  • For some, every week would be lifegiving, for others two meetings would be all they could wedge in.
  • If you are willing to host a group with guests you don’t already know – let Rev’d Jane know the details of place and safety.
  • If you are new or loosely connected here and would like to join a group – also let Rev’d Jane know.

However, you gather, follow this pattern:

  • Share a prayer from the page of the day in Heaven and Nature Sing or the prayer of the week for the Advent Wreath (at the end of the book).
  • Check-in with one another. Joys, concerns, stories, whatever you want to share.
  • Choose one day to read together, sharing who reads.
  • Ask the four questions:
    • What sentence or phrase leapt out at you?
    • Is there something that pokes or rubs?
    • Where do we find ourselves in these pages?
    • How will we respond in our lives?
  • Close in prayer (another from the book or you could use the Prayer During the Day collects).