Advent Prayer Retreat

Posted December 7, 2019

Time:
Dec 07, 2019
9:00 am - 1:00 pm

Location:
1632 Hopkins St
Berkeley, CA

Cost: FREE ($10 per child for childcare)

The first day of Advent is the beginning of the Christian liturgical year. Our Early Church Leaders with great discernment crafted the liturgical year over centuries to shape the worship of the Christian Church, its communal life and its members. Advent is essentially the four week season before Christmas that Christians have been celebrating in its current form since 741AD. The word “advent,” comes from the Latin adventus which means “coming”. The season of Advent is a time of preparation, contemplation, and prayer focused on the three “comings” of Jesus in our lives. First, we evaluate our lives in the light of Christ’s second coming where He will come to judge the living and the dead. Next, we become more aware of His daily engagement and current entering into our lives through His Holy Spirit. And, toward the end of the season, we turn our attention to Christ’s historical coming as a baby culminating in our Christmas celebration. In this whole season, we allow the mystery of the Incarnation to infuse more deeply into our consciousness.

Consider attending the Advent prayer retreat as a generous step toward God in this season. In Romans 12:2 it says “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” In particular, the American pattern of busyness in the weeks leading up to Christmas is one that can easily drown out the voice of God in this important time of preparation and even disrupt a pattern of holiness that we as Christians are diligent or may even struggle to establish. So, let us choose to lean in toward God and allow Him to shape our Advent Season and our experience of Christmas this year. At the retreat, you can expect a brief orientation to resources and a short communal time of scripted prayer and worship, but the majority of the time will be dedicated to silent individual prayer. There will be a wide range of resources available to help shape and direct your time no matter what your experience of prayer is.

Advent is marked by a spirit of expectation, anticipation, repentance, waiting, preparation, joy, love and longing. We pray “Come, Lord Jesus, Come”