Advent & Christmas
2025
We hope that you will join us for our Advent & Christmas offerings. Below you will find more information about our upcoming worship and social gatherings for this season. ​
Advent Word
Advent began on Sunday, November 30. This is a time for preparation and the first season of the church year, beginning with the fourth Sunday before Christmas and continuing through the day before Christmas. The name is derived from a Latin word for “coming.” The season is a time of preparation and expectation for the coming celebration of our Lord's nativity, and for the final coming of Christ “in power and glory.”
You are invited to prepare yourself through AdventWord. AdventWord inspires followers of Jesus with an accessible and creative daily prayer practice. During this holy, busy season, disciples are invited to find small moments of reflection to stay connected to their personal faith, to others, and to God. Learn more about AdventWord here.
You are also invited to view an Advent video on The Beloved Community's homepage.
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Welcome Baby Jesus Into Your Home
Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. ~ Hebrews 13:2
Las Posadas, Spanish for “the inns,” is an Advent celebration of hospitality in Mexico and some parts of Central and South America. The Posadas symbolize Mary and Joseph’s long, frustrating search for a place to stay where Jesus could be born.
Traditionally, different neighborhood families take turns scheduling a night to host the Posada, beginning December 16th and ending on the 24th. The host family acts as the innkeepers, while the other neighbors act as pilgrims, or “peregrinos,” going from house to house singing about Mary and Joseph’s search for a place to stay. The pilgrims are turned away at every house until, reaching the hosts’ home, they are welcomed for the night.
Advent provides many opportunities to welcome the stranger and offer genuine hospitality in our homes and our faith communities. As we await the birth of Jesus, we are invited to practice the same hospitality toward the visitor or outsider that you would offer Mary and Joseph.
Here at the Beloved Community, we will again borrow from this rich tradition of Los Posadas. Each week, someone from our community will have the opportunity to take the baby Jesus into their home to reflect, prepare, and pray for the coming of Christ. This is an opportunity to practice hospitality. Along with the baby Jesus, there is a journal to record prayers for one’s self, one’s family, this community, and all of God’s creation. And, as Christ again travels from home to home over this season of Advent, he carries with him the prayers and presence of this Beloved Community.
Each week, between the Eucharistic Prayer and Blessing, we will pause and offer the following invitation to the person or family hosting Jesus for the coming week:
"_______we invite you to take Jesus into your home over this coming week. Welcome him, care for him, hold him, pray with him, and love him, just as he has done for you. And, as you do, know that you also take us, The Beloved Community, with you. We will be praying for you and for a blessed Advent for you and your family. And, we welcome you and the baby Jesus back with us next Sunday when you will have the opportunity to share him with another member of our community as he continues his journey towards his blessed incarnation."
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Blue Christmas Service
On Wednesday, December 17, at 6:00 PM we will gather at The Trees for a Blue Christmas Service. Christmas time can be a difficult time for many. For those who experience grief, loneliness, sadness, or loss during this time of year, The Beloved Community at the Trees offers this quiet liturgy of a Blue Christmas Service, in which we can offer our sorrows to God and receive assurance that we are not alone.
Christmas Eve Service
On Wednesday, December 24, at 10:00 AM we will gather at The Trees to decorate for our Christmas Eve Gathering. We will prepare our space and enjoy Christmas treats before our Worship Gathering at 11:00 AM. Following our time of worship, we will enjoy a shared meal and being with one another for this special day. Please invite your family and friends, especially those who may be without community during the holiday season.
Advent Spotify Playlist
The Beloved Community is on Spotify! Members of the Beloved Community have contributed to our Advent Spotify Playlist. We invite you to listen with the QR Code below or using this link.
