In his painting entitled “Annunciation”, Irish artist Adam Pomeroy imagines Mary as a contemporary young Irish woman. What do you notice?

I was first struck by the portrait’s simplicity. So often it seems like Mary is so decorated that she ends up looking twice her age & way more wealthy than she actually was. With less ornamental attire and embellished scenery, it was easier to focus on Mary’s seemingly stunned expression.

She seems unable to process what is happening to her. She is totally taken off guard. Rightly so.

This is one of the stories in the gospel of Luke that prepares us to meet Jesus. Luke begins his account by telling us about not just one, but two impossible pregnancies and the reactions of the parents who receive their unexpected news. It’s like Luke is laying the groundwork for a story where disruption is not the exception, but the rule. He’s trying to warn us: if we aren’t prepared, we’ just might miss it.

It’s been a year of disruptions, and sometimes I have felt like Mary looks in this portrait: dazed, confused & unable to move. But, it’s here, in the chaos and uncertainty, in the tension & the unsettledness, in our unknowing & our longing that we are invited into a story.

It’s a story in which disruptions are not only normal…

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Advent starts in the darkness. Our journey toward Christmas begins in a place we do not like to be. It starts in the wilderness, where we can easily experience disorientation. That seems particularly relatable this year.

Writing to a people in exile, the author of this portion of Isaiah promises a way forward that will lead to return and restoration. His vision is full of rich & compelling imagery: tender loving care for crying Jerusalem, a voice crying out in the desert, all people seeing together, flocks being fed and gathered in the arms of a shepherd.

This is where our Advent journey begins. In the wilderness, we are invited to prepare to experience God-with-us. In the darkness, we are invited to prepare the way for the unimaginable.

But, how do we prepare?

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While there are some traditions The Well has set aside, the church calendar is not one of them.

In the last 9+ years of our life together, we have found so much meaning & significance in moving through the seasons of the church year. It not only helps us journey through the entire story of Scripture, but it helps us mark time in a different way.

This is especially true of Advent, and especially true this Advent.

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I was recently asked to be one of the guest facilitators for a clergy cohort conversation about how we as white pastors lead our congregations deeper into the work of racial justice. I accepted the invitation, but with lots of reluctance. I was relieved to find out I would not be looked to as an expert, but instead would get to tell our church’s story. We’d be a case study and that is way more up our alley than pretending we have this figured out.

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I used to believe conversion was a moment in time. I used to see conversion as an event that happened when we prayed a prayer or made a decision - and from that point on, we were choosing to trust God with our lives.

As much as I treasure the moments of profound surrender that have happened along my life’s journey, I no longer think of conversion that way. I see it instead as a process.

I am constantly being converted into God’s ridiculous way of love.

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For the past month, we moved through the story of Jacob’s family found in Genesis. It’s the tale of family dysfunction, complete with favoritism, jealousy, hatred & revenge. It starts with Jacob’s favorite son, Joseph, being thrown into a pit by his own brothers. That’s not how the story ends though.

Throughout our life together, we have been guests in some incredible community spaces.

Not owning a building has caused us to not only get creative, but to rely on the hospitality of others in our community (which means we’ve gotten to cross paths with some really wonderful people!).