For the sixth year in a row, #AdventWord will gather prayers via a global, online advent calendar. Virginia Theological Seminary is offering 24 meditations and images during this holy season beginning Sunday, 1 December. Images and meditations can be experienced via the #AdventWord website and direct daily emails, as well as on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and ASL videos via YouTube. This year, meditations will also be available in English, Spanish and Haitian Creole via email and on www.adventword.org.

“AdventWord is an imaginative vehicle that enables a person to pause in this hectic season and focus afresh on the eternal and divine,” says the Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, dean and president of Virginia Theological Seminary. “It is a moment when you are lifted out of the mundane and invited to see what really matters. It is a contemporary devotional vehicle that uses social media in a deeply imaginative way.”

This initiative, spearheaded by Lifelong Learning at VTS, invites over 25,000 people to pause and engage in this prayer-filled and preparatory Advent season. Reaching out through social media and email, it meets people where they are and allows for the creation of a holy space online. Individuals, parishes, dioceses and other entities are welcome to reflect on the words and post their own visual and written meditations.

“There are so many ways to participate with AdventWord and its extended, global community. I always look forward to the different mediums, written and visual meditations that appear that reflect the diversity of our spiritualities,” says Sarah Stonesifer, digital missioner for Virginia Theological Seminary. “With 24 different writers, there is a range of voices and experiences that helps participants consider a variety of experiences.”

#AdventWord begins on Sunday, 1 December 2019, with images and meditations available via email, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Persons interested in participating should visit www.AdventWord.org and sign up via email. During the 24 days of Advent, a daily email featuring the #AdventWord meditation and image will be sent to registrants’ inboxes; participants are encouraged to share their responses to the meditations and images on social media, some of which will be pulled onto AdventWord’s aggregated visual calendar.

We welcome posts that resonate with #AdventWord from all persons:
1 December #Unexpected 13 December #Water
2 December #Visit 14 December #Gather
3 December #Time 15 December #Turn
4 December #Humble 16 December #Learn
5 December #Raise 17 December #Pray
6 December #House 18 December #Worship
7 December #Unity 19 December #Bless
8 December #Worthy 20 December #Go
9 December #Root 21 December #Rest
10 December #Grace 22 December #Restore
11 December #Confess 23 December #Message
12 December #Harmony 24 December #Beloved

A bulletin insert, available in English and Spanish, will be found on the Episcopal Church Bulletin Resource website.

During the 24 days of Advent, participants can deepen their understanding of the coming of Jesus into the world through the practices of meditation and prayer. Join an international community in prayer to explore the mystery and wonder of Advent!

For more information:
www.AdventWord.org
www.instagram.com/adventword
www.twitter.com/AdventWord
www.facebook.com/AdventWordOrg
AdventWord@vts.edu
+01 703.461.1885