2020 online Advent retreat

This year’s Advent retreat, titled “Stories of Disorientation: Mary and Joseph in a New Light,” is scheduled from 10:00am-2:30pm Saturday, December 5 via Zoom. The retreat will offer times for silent meditation.

As 2020 draws to a close, a new liturgical year begins amidst continuing disorientation and uncertainty. So many of our assumptions about how we traditionally celebrate Advent and Christmas are being upended. As we lament the loss of communal in-person liturgies, large family gatherings, office parties, and other aspects of “the holidays,” it is even more fitting to consider how disorienting Jesus’ incarnation really was for his parents.

In this live interactive Advent retreat day, we will hear the stories of Mary and Joseph from their perspectives and explore the disorientation they experienced and the new orientation they had to embrace in order to accept God’s dramatic reordering of their lives. Through reflection questions and discussion, we will ponder what their experiences can teach us about accepting the changes that have taken place during 2020 and living with our own uncertainty about what lies ahead.

Retreat Leader: Shirin McArthur is a spiritual guide, retreat leader, writer, and editor who ponders the sacred through prayer, poetry, dance, photography, nature, and contemplation. She holds a Master of Divinity degree from Boston University School of Theology and a Certificate in Spiritual Guidance from the Shalem Institute in Washington, DC. Shirin has been leading retreats for over 25 years and her award-winning Prayerful Pondering blog is part of the Christian Century network. Raised in New Mexico, she lives in Arizona and is a member at Saint Philip’s in the Hills, where her husband, the Rev. Henry Hoffman, is a retired affiliate clergy. You can learn more about Shirin on her website.

To Register: click this link. If you have questions, please email Shirin at shirin@shirinmcarthur.com.