Gabby Cudjoe Wilkes: What is possible? Out of a season of hardship and into a season of hope
From her perspective in the midst of the pandemic and with a new year dawning, a New York pastor advocates for leaders to look again for possibilities.
Recently published
Chris Seiple: Let Advent remind us -- Christ came to save all
Christ’s unifying message was clear from the beginning -- that he is Lord and Savior of all, says an expert on religion and foreign policy.
Link to author Chris Seiple
By Chris Seiple
President emeritus, Institute for Global Engagement
Advent 2020 -- leaning into divine mystery
The right plot and cast of characters can help prepare us for a holy season of watching and waiting, writes a managing director of Leadership Education at Duke Divinity.
Link to author Gretchen E. Ziegenhals
By Gretchen E. Ziegenhals
Spiritual director and retreat leader
It's time to talk about Advent in a pandemic
If congregations begin to consider what Advent and Christmas might look like online, they will have time to imagine and plan together, writes a managing director of Leadership Education at Duke Divinity.
Link to author Nathan Kirkpatrick
By Nathan Kirkpatrick
Managing director, Leadership Education at Duke Divinity
A pastor’s message for Advent in sanctuary
As Christmas approaches, a pastor in long-term sanctuary reflects on waiting, faith and family.
Link to author Pilar Timpane
By Pilar Timpane
Filmmaker and producer
Enuma Okoro: The wait might be the thing we're waiting for
This Advent, the practice of waiting can feel like a burden, but it can be exactly the gift God wants to give us, says the author and speaker.
Link to author Enuma Okoro
By Enuma Okoro
Author, speaker, consultant
Christmas Festival brings 'good news of great joy' to a diverse and changing world
The St. Olaf Christmas Festival, one of the oldest and most highly regarded musical Christmas celebrations in the country, is a constantly changing ‘global event,’ bringing a message the world wants and needs to hear.
By Jeff Strickler
Journalist
Bodega Advent Project in New York uses art to connect two congregations with neighborhood stores
Twenty-four mostly small-scale grocers in Brooklyn and Queens post art in their store windows in a series of displays modeled on an Advent calendar.
Link to author G. Jeffrey MacDonald
By G. Jeffrey MacDonald
Journalist and UCC minister
Justin Coleman: Stories of hope and second chances can inspire all Christians during Advent
In his new Advent study resource called “Home for Christmas,” a pastor shares stories of people struggling to escape gangs, homelessness and drug addiction -- stories that offer hope, love, joy and peace.
Gretchen E. Ziegenhals: "Behold!" and the practice of opening windows on Advent calendars
Young people are trained through social media to graze. But an annual practice of opening Advent calendars can help them learn to gaze, imagining the world as it could be and not just as it is.
Link to author Gretchen E. Ziegenhals
By Gretchen E. Ziegenhals
Spiritual director and retreat leader
Hope Morgan Ward: Advent after the storms, and the boundary between darkness and light
As Advent begins, we stand once again amid the destruction left by devastating storms. In the darkness, we yearn for light, a UMC bishop writes.
Link to author Hope Morgan Ward
By Hope Morgan Ward
UMC bishop
Apply to Foundations of Christian Leadership
Join us for Foundations of Christian Leadership in San Antonio, where we will draw on the rich resources of the surrounding community as we imagine and listen together to how God is stirring in our world, in our church and in our lives. Applications are due Friday, August 13, 2021. Session 1 will take place October 25-28, 2021. Session 2 will take place January 18-21, 2022.