Welcome to our Los Altos UMC online study gathering for Advent Reflections.
I will be leading this group, and I'm so glad that you are joining us. Obviously, this will work a little differently than the other groups that will be gathering in person to reflect, listen and study together this Advent, so I will explain briefly how this will work below.
First, we will all be reading the same material from Advent Reflections: You Shall Have a Song, which you can purchase through the church office, or order online yourself through amazon.com. You should make sure to do this very soon, if you haven't obtained a copy just yet. I would begin by looking over the book, noting the different sections and sub-headings.
Second, we all will read the daily devotions through Advent. So, dutifully on Sunday, Dec. 2, the first day of the Advent season, begin reading. It may help to pick a certain time of the day which you normally have a little quiet time to yourself, and try to read around that time each day. Often, when I engage in a period of devotions such as this, I pick a time, a place and I light a candle before I begin the devotion. I find that even such a simple ritual helps me settle into a quieter, more listening mode ...
Look throughout the week, as I will post periodically reflections on the daily devotions to which you can respond or comment as you feel led to do so.
Third, I will post weekly on the Bible Studies component, sometime between Thursday and Saturday of each week. This will be the place where our group will need to engage in order for this to be as successful as it can be. I would ask each participant in our online study to commit to posting a minimum of twice per week -- one of which would need to be in the Bible Study component.
So -- all to say:
1. Get the book.
2. Read the book daily.
3. Check the blog during the week and post as you feel compelled.
4. Check the blog between Thursday and Saturday for the Bible Studies component, and post a response!
That's it. You can do this anytime during the night or day, from your home, from a coffee spot, from your mobile phone.
I am looking forward to a-waiting the birth of Christ with you this season,
Pastor Melinda
