Advent 3: Love Candle
Read Luke 3:7-18
It seems trite to state that we are all different from one another in some ways. Intellectually, we know it’s true…but still we seem determined to silo ourselves against our differences and create echo chambers where the only voices we hear are the ones we agree with…especially in the church.
But what if we learned to embrace our differences more than we fear them? Not just on the surface level of appearance and belief, but on the deeper levels of our individual and collective lived experiences?
This third week of Advent, we’ll continue our series featuring author, educator, and activist Parker Palmer‘s series “A Hidden Wholeness” from The Work of the People. Our discussion video, titled “Spaces of Grace,” challenges us to learn from each other’s differences on the soul level, not out of command or coercion but out of unconditional love and the expectancy of hope.
Please join us this Sunday, Dec. 15 in the New Wineskins Virtual Theology Pub powered by Zoom as we light the Love Candle and hold a conversation about the ways that extending grace to ourselves and one another can help us shape a new society rooted in a pursuit of the common good.
6:00pm ET: Happy Half-Hour (informal meet & greet time)
6:30pm ET: Presentation & conversation begin
Check out this week’s discussion video
Click here to view this week’s discussion video on The Work of the People (email address required, no subscription necessary)
Advent 2025: Incarnating Wholeness
This Advent season, our New Wineskins community will take a four-week journey with American author, educator, and activist Parker Palmer titled “A Hidden Wholeness” from our friends at The Work of the People. Through each video session and each week’s gospel reading from the Revised Common Lectionary, we’ll explore the traditional Advent themes of Peace, Hope, Love, and Joy through the lenses of hospitality and grace.
Each week, you are invited to light a candle as we begin our time together to symbolize the collective light of our humanity as a beckon and beacon to peace, hope, love, and joy.
Descriptions below via The Work of the People. All videos available for viewing throughout the Advent season (email address required, no subscription necessary). Click here to download the discussion guides and full video transcripts.
Sunday, Dec. 1: A Larger Welcome (Peace candle) — This session explores the transformative power of hospitality. Parker Palmer reflects on how welcoming the stranger—both spiritually and civically—deepens our humanity, enlarges our worldview, and strengthens the bonds of community. Drawing from Scripture and lived experience, Palmer invites us to consider hospitality as a radical act of faith and connection. [Read Luke 21:25-36]
Sunday, Dec. 8: Habits of Hope (Hope candle) — In uncertain times, hope is sustained through small, faithful practices. Parker Palmer shares how cultivating habits of the heart fosters resilience and strengthens the fabric of community. This session invites participants to explore how intentional acts of love and courage can bring healing to both individuals and the world. [Read Luke 3:1-6]
Sunday, Dec. 15: Spaces of Grace (Love candle) — Spaces of grace are environments where safety, trust, and love create the conditions for transformation. Parker Palmer reflects on how such spaces foster healing, nurture connection, and enable people to flourish together. This session offers guidance for cultivating grace-filled spaces in our relationships, communities, and the wider world. [Read Luke 3:7-18]
Sunday, Dec. 22: Wholeness & Hospitality (Joy candle) — Wholeness emerges when we embrace life’s tensions with love and compassion. Parker Palmer explores the paradox of brokenness leading to greater capacity for connection, inviting participants to consider how holding tensions with grace can lead to healing and renewal. This session ties together the series’ themes, highlighting the relationship between hospitality, healing, and transformation. [Read Luke 1:46b-55]
Sunday, Dec. 29: NO GATHERING (Happy New Year!)
Do you receive our weekly newsletter?
If you haven’t already signed up for our weekly email newsletter, now would be a great time! Get weekly announcements delivered to your inbox so you don’t miss a thing. Plus, when you sign up, you’ll get a free digital download of our New Wineskins Manifesto for Spiritual Exiles!
Click here to subscribe to our newsletter!
Invest in our community!
Want to invest in our community for Spiritual Exiles and our work to create and support online micro-communities focused on justice and liberation? Our online giving platform makes it easy for you to support the work we do! Just click the link below to give. Recurring gifts support the community over the long-term…your assistance helps us grow and sustain the important work we’re doing together!
Feature image generated by WordPress AI (text added)
Leave a Reply