Pastor Joel Engman
Nov 17, 20211 min
Join us Sundays during the four weeks of Advent leading up to Christmas starting Nov. 28, 2021 as we let scripture and Maya Angelou’s poetry be our guides, together pointing us toward weekly practices that can help deepen and enrich our experience of the season – a perfect way to prepare for the hope, peace, joy, and love of Christmas day.
Pickup a copy of Harmony Springs 2021 Advent Devotional Guide to help move towards Christmas with the poetry of Maya Angelou and scripture.
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Maya Angelou is an Advent poet extraordinaire, in the sense that she often stands in the shadows and writes of the light. She boldly insists on blessedness and freedom, even as she confronts – with both candor and wit – the pain and injustice of the world.
Advent begins in the shadows of despair, war, sorrow, and hate. For it’s precisely there that the God of grace will arrive, and accordingly, it’s precisely there that God’s church is called to light candles of hope, peace, joy, and love.
So grab your favorite Bible and Angelou’s The Complete Poetry (the poems can also be found online). Carve out some space and time for reflection, and remember that, for Angelou, “I” often means “we.” Night has fallen, and God is coming. The question is whether we’ll have the presence of mind and heart to notice, and to rejoice – and sing – when morning comes.